You’re getting ready for Super Bowl Sunday. You’re familiarizing yourself with the rosters of both the New England Patriots and the Los Angeles Rams. You see Greg Zuerlein, the Rams’ kicker, and head to YouTube to watch a few of his past field goals.
And instead of field goals, you find figure skating.
No, the Rams’ “Greg The Leg” didn’t have a past life as a figure skater. He just happens to share a name with a former World Junior Champion skater whose former partner is a two-time Olympian.
Greg Zuerlein was the 2009 World Junior Champion in ice dance with Madison Chock. If Chock’s name sounds familiar, it’s because she has represented the U.S. at both the 2014 and 2018 Olympics with current partner Evan Bates (a three-time Olympian in his own right.) Chock and Zuerlein competed from 2006-11, winning not only that World Junior title, but a National junior title, a bronze on the senior level at Nationals and a top ten finish at the World Championships.
The name “Greg Zuerlein” isn’t exactly like the name “John Smith.” What are the odds that two high-level athletes would share the exact same name? I don’t know if the two happen to be related, though I’m sure it would have come up in skating circles prior to Super Bowl Weekend if they were.