Vikings sackmaster tossing rocks and polishing the pebble at DeKalb Superspiel

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 01/12/2023 (702 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

MORRIS — Jared Allen spent more than a decade chasing down superstar quarterbacks such as Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady.

This weekend, the NFL legend is chasing rocks down the ice in Morris, Man.

The former all-pro defensive end, who retired in 2016 after a 12-year gridiron career, is in the southern Manitoba town playing lead for Rich Ruohonen’s new Minnesota-based team at the DeKalb Superspiel.

“I’ve heard some beautiful things about Morris,” Allen said Friday morning before opening with a 5-4 extra end victory over Fargo’s Ethan Sampson.

“Most of my teammates are from the Twin Cities, Minneapolis, so it’s an easy drive up… It’s a good little event right across the border, so, why not?”

Allen, 41, lives in Nashville, Tenn., but happened to be in Denver prior to the event. He flew to Minneapolis, then to Grand Forks, before driving just over 90 minutes to make his Manitoba curling debut.

He got started in 2018 when a friend told him there was no way he could become an Olympic athlete in any sport.

Allen was eager to prove him wrong, so, he formed a curling team with former NFLers Marc Bulger (quarterback), Michael Roos (offensive lineman) and Keith Bulluck (linebacker).

They didn’t have much success, but Allen was hooked. He got coached up and has been playing on competitive teams ever since.

“I took a bet to try to make the Olympics, so, I chose curling. At the time, we weren’t very good, but then (John) Shuster went on a run and won the gold,” said Allen.

“I was already too far down the rabbit hole, so I just stayed with it.”

His first four NFL seasons were with the Kansas City Chiefs before being traded to the Minnesota Vikings. The Vikings signed Allen to a record six-year deal that was the richest contract for a defensive player in NFL history at the time. After six seasons in Minnesota — including a career-year in 2011 in which he recorded 22 sacks, a franchise best and just a half-sack behind Michael Strahan’s single-season NFL record — he split his final two campaigns with the Chicago Bears and Carolina Panthers.

With five Pro Bowls, four First-team All-Pro nods, and 136 career sacks (16th most in league history), a call from the Pro Football Hall of Fame could be coming soon.

The Vikings inducted Allen into their Ring of Honour last season.

His curling resume isn’t quite at that level, but it’s impressive. He’s been to U.S. nationals four times — most recently last season playing lead for Jason Smith. They started the week by knocking off Shuster but ended up settling for fifth place with a 3-4 record. Smith and Allen joined Ruohonen — a two-time national champion — this year.

“First off, I think the people are great, and I like the fact that I’ve had to learn a new skillset,” said Allen. “From a mentality standpoint, you can’t use aggression to your advantage. You really got to stop, reset, and focus on each shot. I don’t know, it’s just a fun sport and I didn’t realize I was going to love it as much as I do.”

Even though the 6-6 Allen used to make a living trying to get around 300-plus pound offensive lineman, he’s quick to tell you that curling is no walk in the park.

“It’s definitely tougher than you think. It takes some serious core, serious balance. And then if you’re sweeping properly, like I’m spent after a few days,” he said.

“I’m getting old so it’s Biofreeze and as much tape, rest and recovery as I can get.”

The DeKalb SuperSpiel features 16 men’s and 24 women’s teams and wraps up Monday.

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

X: @taylorallen31