Famous father brings out 'The Animal' in Bucks

Many players are star-struck around freshman James Laurinaitis' father.
COLUMBUS (AP) -- The fathers of some Ohio State players are doctors, some are lawyers, some are wealthy businessmen and some played professional football.
Only one, however, leaves the Buckeyes begging for autographs.
James Laurinaitis is a freshman who has seen little playing time at linebacker and on special teams this season. But he's a big man with his teammates because his father is "The Animal" of professional wrestling fame, part of the legendary WWE tag team called Road Warriors or the Legion of Doom.
"A lot of the guys are into it, a lot more than you would think," said Laurinaitis, a 6-foot-3, 231-pounder. "I was kind of hoping I'd come here and maybe no one would really know about it. But it turns into every day someone will ask me about it."
Wrestling fans
College kids have grown up steeped in WWE lore. It means far more to them to meet a professional wrestler than a senator or celebrity.
"I knew all of the guys: Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Andre The Giant and all of those guys," said senior linebacker Anthony Schlegel. "And of course, his dad. Now he's here and we talk to him. He's a great guy."
A.J. Hawk, the Buckeyes' All-American linebacker, said the word spread quickly when Laurinaitis was considering Ohio State.
"Everybody's excited to see his dad," he said. "We heard when James was getting recruited about his dad. It was cool. His dad's a really good guy. He comes in and talks to us. He's still out there wrestling at 40-something. So we have a lot of respect for him."
Joe Laurinaitis, still the WWE tag-team champion at age 43, is a doting father who has only missed one Ohio State game this season and is a familiar face around the team. And, no, that face isn't painted when he attends the games, as it is when he steps into the ring.
"When we went to homecoming games in elementary school and middle school, my friends would be like, 'Hey, Joe, can you paint our faces for the game?' " James said. "And he'd paint them in either his design or the Road Warriors design. He'd do it in blue and varsity gold, our [school] colors instead of his colors. He was pretty cool about it. He uses that artist paint instead of face paint. Halfway through the game your face would be peeling because the paint would dry up, and you'd be scratching all over the place."
Different path
James Laurinaitis was counseled early on by his father that he was not to follow him into professional wrestling. James played football -- his father was offered a scholarship to play at BYU before he began wrestling -- baseball and hockey at Wayzata High School in Hamel, Minn. He led the football team to the 5A state championship a year ago.
Besides James, Joe Laurinaitis, and his wife, Julia, have a younger daughter, Jessica, considered one of the top female hockey players in Minnesota. Joe's brother John also works for WWE as Vince McMahon's right-hand man -- when he isn't wrestling as "Johnny Ace."
Even though James was recruited heavily by the University of Minnesota, he elected to go to Ohio State. He had longed to play for the Buckeyes since his father bought him an authentic Andy Katzenmoyer jersey years ago.
"He was a big fan of [Chris] Spielman and Katzenmoyer. He was a fan of tough guys," James said. "He always thought Woody Hayes was awesome, that he shouldn't have gotten in trouble for hitting that Clemson player. He loved that. He loved it. He said Woody should have just said he slipped or something."