Ahman Green on Bringing His NFL Experience to Esports
*By Zane Bhansali*
For NFL player Ahman Green, 2003 was a year for the record books: He set the Green Bay Packers franchise record for rushing yards and touchdowns, and became the first and only player in NFL history to record at least 1,850 rushing yards, average 5.0 yards per carry, score 20 touchdowns, and catch 50 passes in a single season.
But he doesn't take all the credit for his success.
"It was a team effort," he says. "I'm a team player. From my offensive linemen to the full backs to the tight ends to the wide receivers blocking down the field, that's why that happened," he told Cheddar Sports.
Now, Green is taking his affinity for teamwork off the field and entering the esports game with his purchase of the Halo Pro Battle League team Wisconsin Fury.
"That type of teamwork is what I want to bring to the esports world," he said.
And that type of idea and that type of teamwork is what I want to bring to the esports world."
"It's been something bouncing around my brain for a couple of years," he says.
Green's love affair with gaming goes all the way back to his childhood.
He's been involved on an industry level for the better part of two decades ー since he served as the motion capture model for running backs and wide receivers in Madden 2K, and currently coaches high school "Overwatch" teams in his old home base of Green Bay. But it's Halo that's captured his heart since 2007, during an unfortunate stint on the injured reserved list.
"Halo 3 was my indoctrination into it," he says. "I was on IR unfortunately that year... and so on IR means basically you get a paycheck and that's all you do. So I was playing Halo 3, falling asleep with the controller in my hand, nodding off, nights like that." he said.
Since then, Green's passion for Halo has been unquenchable. His Twitter is littered with clips from tournaments and other events, including last weekend's DreamHack Atlanta. Becoming the owner of a team seemed to be the logical next step.
"I feel great about it," Green says of owning the team. "It's a product that's growing in the community that's going to be big for 2019 and 2020."
Professional golfer Phil Mickelson issued an apology this week after facing backlash over comments he made in support of a golf tour backed by Saudi Arabia. The proposed golf league is called the Super Golf League and is funded by the Public Investment Fund, the financial arm of the Saudi government. Mickelson faced criticism after seeming to imply that he was willing to overlook the Middle Eastern country's human rights record in order to create a league that would rival the PGA Tour. David Salituro, PGA sportswriter for fansided.com, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Every few years, the Olympics roll around to prove that, yes, the world’s best athletes can jump farther, swim faster, and generally crush records that would’ve been impossible just a few decades ago. Take ski jumping - the world record has increased by well over 200 meters in fewer than 100 years. Responsible for this is a lot of intentional engineering of equipment and hills, but perhaps the biggest change is thanks to one act of human daring. Watch to find out how!
Add FIFA to the list of organizations announcing a break with Russia. The world soccer authority has suspended the nation from competing in the 2022 World Cup tournament, while the NHL also announced suspending business relations with Russia. Executive editor and senior writer at Sports Illustrated, Jon Wertheim, joined Cheddar News to discuss the rebukes. "I think a big element of this is, this is a way to really hit at Putin because we know how much this appearance of strength and the victory… often portrayed through sports, how much that means to him," he said. "This will bother him in a way that it might not bother other world leaders."
The Winter Olympics is slowly winding down with a lot of competition left. Boston Globe Reporter Nicole Yang, joined Cheddar to discuss more on what we can expect to see and some of the hiccups surrounding the games this year.
Rohit Ponnaiya, betting analysts for Covers.com, discusses the impact Juwan Howard's suspension will have on Michigan and dishes out his picks for Thursday's top college hoops contests.
Ryan Cochran-Siegl earned his silver medal 50 years after his mother won gold in the 1972 Olympic games. Coming in a close second in the men's Super-G, he was the first American skier to snag a medal at the Beijing games this year. J.D. Durkin sat down with Ryan to discuss the highlights from the games, his road to the Olympics, and how he's gearing up for his next shot at gold.
Ben Wittenstein, podcast host for Stadium, joins Cheddar Bets to break down his favorite win total bets for the last quarter of the NBA season. Ben also plays a round of Pick 6.
Sponsored by BetMGM
