OFFBEAT: Kouts grad dons Gladiator garb to escort Madonna Super Bowl entrance

After Jake Lambert graduated from Kouts High School in 2011, he already knew he wanted to major in forensic psychology at Purdue University and become an FBI profiler.

He never expected that nearly a year later, it would be his own classic "Roman profile" that would net him a one-time gig leading Material Girl Madonna onto a Super Bowl football field for a splashy halftime show sponsored by Bridgestone Tires.

Lambert, 19, of Kouts, a freshman at Purdue in West Lafayette, was one of 130 young men sporting gladiator and Roman soldier duds as key performers for Madonna's big entrance Sunday at Super Bowl XLVI at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

"I'm on Purdue's Club Soccer Team and all of the members of the team received what at the time seemed like a very random email pitch, sent from what was listed as 'Super Bowl Casting Team,' looking for 'muscle men' for a production number at the Super Bowl halftime," said Lambert, who said his beard and mustache helped him spot himself when he watched the show replayed later.

"I'm not sure how they had all of our university student emails, but I know a lot of people just thought it was a hoax when we got it in our inbox right after we got back to campus after Christmas break. And when people saw they wanted a photo attached to the online application, I think most people didn't want to take a chance. I was probably one of the few who did."

Lambert said he was contacted within days by the casting producers and told to report to an audition at University of Indianapolis.

"There were probably about 200 guys and by the end of the casting, there were only about 130 of us who remained after they weeded out guys based on looks or not being fit enough for the builds they wanted."

Lambert agreed to sign "a mountain of contractual paperwork" agreeing not to discuss the planned production number, theme and specific details until after the big day.

"They had us do costume fittings right away and we had to agree to doing 10 rehearsals, all over at Lucas Oil Stadium," Lambert said.

"In addition, by the time we got to the week before the Super Bowl, the last three rehearsals, which were with Madonna there for the run-throughs, were extra long from 3:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m."

Though all the hired performers were told to "remain professional during the rehearsals" and not to "act like fans around the talent," Lambert said all of the headlining celebrities — from Madonna and Cee Lo Green to Nicki Minaj and M.I.A. — were "down-to-earth" and "socialized" with the surrounding cast.

Once the halftime show was finished, Lambert said he and the others who performed were made to immediately turn in all of their costumes, which had to be accounted for, and then watched some of the game from the off-field stadium interior prep area before they were made to leave the property prior to the game ending.

As for payment, Lambert said, "nothing has been formally decided."

Maybe a Bridgestone Tire gift certificate is on the way?

The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer. He can be reached at philip.potempa@nwi.com or (219) 852-4327.