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A.D. and Co. know how to have fun

Posted by jennicarlson
on October 6, 2009 at 12:18 pm

I’m going to let you in on a little secret — being a sportswriter can take the fan right out of you.
 
At least, it has for me.
 
Cover teams long enough, deal with athletes and coaches long enough, and slowly but surely, the fandom drains right out of you. I don’t cheer for any teams. I don’t pull for any programs. I just don’t have it in me anymore.
 
But the Minnesota Vikings are doing their darnedest to change that.
 
You probably think this is all about Brett Favre, and while it’s true that the old guy is really something special, I’ve never been a big fan of his. He isn’t the reason why I’m on the verge of cheering for the purple and gold.
 
No, the reason I’m really coming around to the Vikings is because they play fun. Some teams play fast. Some play hard. The Vikings play fun.
 
They just seem to be out there having a great time. Now, I suspect that’s because they take what they do very seriously. They put in the time at practice. They put in the effort in film. They do all the grunt work behind the scenes so that when they hit the field, they can let it fly.
 
It’s like Olympic gymnasts. What they do looks effortless, like any of us could do it if we just try. But the truth is, most of us can’t even do a cartwheel.
 
Listen, I’m not saying the Vikings are the best team in the NFL. Heck, they might not be among the three or four best teams. But after watching the Vikings beat the Packers on Monday night, I realized how exciting they were. Watching Jared Allen and Percy Harvin, Adrian Peterson and Kevin Williams, Bernard Berrian and the rest of those guys is fun.
 
This is a fun and exciting bunch, fun enough to make a fan out of anyone, even yours truly.
 

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Bomar still an NFL prospect

Posted by jennicarlson
on February 21, 2009 at 12:43 pm

Rhett Bomar has been out of sight and out of mind for the past few years.

Many in the Sooner Nation would say that’s good news.

Booted from the Oklahoma football team for taking money for work he didn’t do at Big Red Sports and Imports, the quarterback became Public Enemy No. 1 for many a Sooner fan. He transferred to Sam Houston State. The division was lower. The stage was smaller. But Bomar just wanted to get his football career back on track.

Looks like he’s done it.

Looks like he might not be out of sight, out of mind much longer, either.

Bomar is expected to be drafted in the middle rounds of the NFL Draft later this spring. So says a story on FoxSports.com. He is strutting his stuff this week at the NFL Combine. That means he’s being poked and prodded. It also means he’s being asked about what happened at OU.

And according to the FoxSports.com story, that won’t be much of an issue come draft day. NFL scouts, apparently, are more concerned about his arm strength than they are about his NCAA rules violation.

It’s hard to blame them.

For starters, the infractions might have been major in the eyes of the NCAA and college football types everywhere, but they are small potatoes compared to some of the issues that NFL teams must grapple with on draft day. There are prospects with arrests and convictions. There are resumes that include assaults and DUIs right beside 40 times and bench press reps.

Bomar’s offenses are minor compared to that.

Then, there is his ability.

I had a chance to meet Bomar when he was still a high school senior in Grand Prairie, Texas. I went down there to work on a story about him and had a chance to see one of his workouts with his personal trainer. He was doing drills specific to the quarterback positions, things with drops and such that I can’t imagine many high school quarterbacks are doing.

And it showed.

Everyone saw the results while he was at OU. He could throw. He could run. He could do just about everything. He has an NFL skill set.

Now, I’m not saying he’s a first-day guy in the draft. I’m not saying he’s going to start right away or become some great NFL quarterback because, frankly, such things are rare even with the most talented players. But Bomar has always shown abilities that could one day take him to the NFL.

Looks like that day will come soon.