Bears Blitz

Published by Majesh Abraham on May 29, 2009
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears

What about the kickers? These unsung heroes of the gridiron are overlooked for their more muscular, athletic and flashier teammates. but often times it is a kicker’s leg that determines the outcome of a NFL game.

Just ask any New England Patriots’ fan, how many Super Bowls has New England since the “Iceman” left for Indianapolis? A big fat zero, and the year that Vinatieri joined the Colts, it was finally able to get over the hump and win the Super Bowl. I’m not saying there is a direct correlation between Vinatieri and Super Bowls, but statistically speaking you could make an argument.

Ask the average NFL fan to name players from the Chicago Bears, and they would name the usual suspects. Brian Urlacher, Lance Briggs, and Jay Culter would immediately come to mind. But everyone knows the story behind these guys. They are highly touted athletes who have been in the limelight since an early age because of their superior athletic ability.

But it is those same superior athletic gifts that make it impossible for your average Joe to relate to them. That’s why I would want to sit down with  Chicago Bears kicker Robbie Gould (pronounced Gold). Gould’s personal story from working a construction job to being the highest-paid kicker in the NFL is the stuff of Hollywood.

Here are the questions:

1) I’m going to start by asking you what’s been on everyone’s minds since last year’s Super Bowl. Have you been approached to be on a Cash 4 Gold commercials? You would be a perfect spokesperson.

2) You were initially interested in becoming a professional soccer player coming out of high school. What made you change your mind to football?

3) You persuaded your high school principal to write a letter of recommendation to Joe Paterno. Did you honestly think you would hear back from Joe Pa?

4) Paterno invited you as a walk-on for Penn State? Describe the experience as a walk-on as opposed to a scholarship player and what kept you believing that you could one day make the team?

5) What secret concoction/treatment is Joe Pa taking to keep himself still ticking at this age?

6) Describe your emotions and thoughts when you were left undrafted in the 2005 NFL Draft?

7) Bill Belichick signed you as a free-agent for the Patriots. Is he as crazy a coach as the media makes him appear to be?

8) Did you pick up any tips from the “Iceman” when you were in New England?

9) You were released by the Patriots and picked up by the Baltimore Ravens. Who was scarier, Brian Billick or Ray Lewis?

10) After being released by the Ravens, you went back to working construction in Pennsylvania. Did you think you would make it back to the NFL at that point?

11) Describe the emotions on the day that you received the call from the Bears?

12) How nervous were you when you kicked your first kick during an actual NFL game?

13) What did it feel like going into the 2006 off-season knowing that you had a secure job lined up for the next season?

14) You kicked a Bears’ record 26 consecutive FG’s in 2006. Any superstitions during the streak?

15) What was the atmosphere like when you lined up to kick the game-winning kick in the playoffs at home against Seattle?

16) What did you take away from the Super Bowl experience in Miami?

17) You went from being an undrafted player to working construction to going to the Super Bowl and Pro Bowl in less than two years. Is the whole journey still hard to believe?

18) Now you are the highest paid kicker in the NFL. How has this new-found security changed your day-to-day life?

19) What are your expectations for the team with the addition of Jay Cutler?

20) Any movie deals lined up at the end of your career?