YouTube video could kick off NFL bid for Norwegian wannabe
Iain Hepburn | December 25, 2012
Videos can be made to show anything. Clever shot selection, camerawork and editing can contrive to make a journeyman clogger into a world class athlete or a talented schoolboy into the next Robinho.
After all, former Celtic manager John Barnes was convinced to fork out the best part of Dh30m on a Brazilian defender purely on the strength of a VHS of his best performances, despite being a player once described by a teammate as someone who ‘couldnae trap a bag of cement’.
So as always with Youtube compilations of tricks and talent, there’s a healthy dose of sodium chloride to be taken. And yet, it may have landed a Norwegian wannabe his dream of playing in the NFL.
Havard Rugland uploaded a compilation of his supposed kicking skills a couple of months ago, in the hope of attracting interest from a football side’s scouts and fulfilling his ambition of playing as a kicker in the National Football League.
And a few days ago, he achieved just that – with the New York Jets reportedly giving the 28-year-old a tryout.
The odds on him landing a full-time gig are pretty remote, especially since the Jets already have a more than decent kicker in Nick Folk. But there’s precedent for late-bloomers to make their way into the NFL, so who knows…?
Watch Rugland’s skills for yourself:
