Jared Allen may no longer be giving NFL quarterbacks nightmares with his pass rushing ability, but he has big plans to once again compete at the highest level at a different sport.
Allen and three other former NFL players — quarterback Marc Bulger, linebacker Keith Bulluck and offensive tackle Michael Roos formed a team back in March 2018 and they are attempting to qualify for the U.S. national curling championships against players who have been throwing stones for most of their lives.
This is the first step toward competing in the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing.
“Every team in the NFL — whether you’re hot garbage or the defending Super Bowl champions — every coach come August says the same thing: ‘We’re trying to win the Super Bowl,'” Allen said. “We come from that mentality, where we set lofty goals.
“Our short term goals are continually to get better: Fundamentals, strategy, sweeping. We know if we master these little things, it will take us a long way.”
The foursome is competing this week at the USA Curling Men’s Challenge in Blaine, Minn.
“The entire (curling) community — every team we play — has been very, very welcoming,” Allen told CNN’s Patrick Snell on Thursday. “They realize we’re laughing, we’re joking … but we’re not doing this in a disrespectful manner.”
“We are progressing in a manner that people — the comment we get is, ‘How long have you been doing this? You’ve been doing this for how long?’ and then they’re shocked at where we’re at in such a short time that we’ve been doing it,” Allen added. “So we’ve got to build on that.”
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