My guess is that either Kluwe will step up, or the Vikings will go a different direction. That would be sad, because Kluwe is one of my favorite players in the NFL. (But then, I was a Mitch Berger fan, too... what is it about punters? )
If Kluwe decides he is done with football, good on him. He is one of those rare players who has publicly shown he has myriad interests outside of football. He is probably viewing his time as an NFL player like we look at our day-to-day employment... as a job. There really is nothing wrong with that, IMO. Is he fortunate to be playing in the NFL? Sure! But he has also worked hard, trained and played well (before the last three weeks). He's right... it's a game. And while his comment on human rights was a bit tongue-in-cheek IMO, there was some truth in it - and I respect him for saying it.
Every punter has slumps, and I imagine the coaching staff is trying to suss out whether this is a slump or something more. Could be they are looking to get him to focus, or just thinking the competition will be good for him.
"You can't be a real country unless you have a beer and an airline. It helps if you have some kind of a football team, or some nuclear weapons, but at the very least you need a beer." - Frank Zappa
BGM wrote:If Kluwe decides he is done with football, good on him. He is one of those rare players who has publicly shown he has myriad interests outside of football.
Like sci-fi novels, video games and playing in a garage band at the age of 30? I hope he's been saving money from his day job.
Funny how Kluwe's sh!t punting seems to correspond pretty much directly to his 15 minutes in the limelight (blogging for the Pioneer Press, sending profanity-laced letters to U.S. Congressmen, posing for gay magazines, etc.).
Maybe it has something to do with his punting, maybe it doesn't. But the SOB makes $1.8 million dollars this year to kick a football 4 or 5 times a game (well, 9 or 10 times more recently). He needs to maybe think about doing that a little better.
The fact is, if he gets cut, he ain't gonna make 1.8 playing in a bar band. And if he's not an NFL celebrity, nobody -- especially the Pioneer Press -- is going to give a damn about his opinions on gay rights.
Is there any evidence he's devoting less time to punting this year? He's played in the band for years, even in season. Personally, I think he's in a slump. If it continues too long, he will be cut irrespective of his political views. No one waits on a punter like a QB.
Eli wrote:
Like sci-fi novels, video games and playing in a garage band at the age of 30? I hope he's been saving money from his day job.
I'm sure he has. Doesn't seem like the kind of guy who burns through his millions at a strip club. And he's made more in his short time in the league than I will in my entire lifetime, so I'm guessing he'll be ok.
Sounds like football is his means to an end. He gets financial security, time to pursue his own interests, a platform for issues he finds important, and the Vikes get, up to this point, a very good punter. If he really is done, he's done. If he's just in a slump, he and the team will find a way out. He has had three bad games in a row. I am concerned, but I have seen it before with other very good punters. If this doesn't improve, then we can grumble.
"You can't be a real country unless you have a beer and an airline. It helps if you have some kind of a football team, or some nuclear weapons, but at the very least you need a beer." - Frank Zappa
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