Håvard Rugland
Every day we are pointed towards something to watch or read on the Internet. We all are guilty of ushering folk to do same also. We are all butlers to the Internet. We usher our friends and family to links, articles and videos, and we’re doing it more and more every day. In such a saturated market it is often hard to find something genuinely jaw dropping, however, this video, I wager, is just that. If you have any interest in the NFL, soccer, or sports in general, if even you like well put together amateur video with a difference, this video is for you.

At its most basic, it’s a young man kicking an NFL ball around, trying (and succeeding) with some ridiculous trick shots, however that’s like describing Mozart as a ‘decent’ composer.

Taking a step back, From The Bleachers found this video yesterday, and on our first view the video had 6,000 hits. As of this morning, it stands at 140,000. We reached out to the maker, Håvard Rugland, to ask him a few questions, and he graciously replied straight away. Frankly, I doubt he’s going to have much time for anything in the near future, if the video continues to explode across the Internet as it has done so far.

Really refreshing video, and also very refreshing response from the young man. First the video, then a little bit more about Håvard.




Pretty cool, right?

The guy in the video making the football do all those amazing things is Håvard Rugland, 28, from Ålgård in Norway. Amazingly, he told From the Bleachers he has been kicking field goals for just one and a half years. Basically, a soccer fan all his life, he knew he had a good leg, and wanted to try his ‘foot’ at kicking. Initial results were good, very good, and Håvard decided to make the video just to show his friends and family what he was up to. Kicking field goals alone wasn’t exciting enough for him, so he decided to add some fun elements, tricks and funny kicks into the mix.



Let’s just say he succeeded. Watching a man hit a moving target, in a boat, is just something you don’t see every day.

The interesting thing is, it appears kicking came first, and Håvard became interested in the NFL because of same, not the other way round. Up to now, he hasn’t picked a favourite team as yet, he just loves watching the games. Apart from the NFL, Håvard’s favourite sports are snowboarding, soccer and the UFC.

The latter is an interesting choice. As you will see from the video, Håvard is a well-built man, and if he ever did get a chance to play in the NFL it looks like he would be the kind of kicker that would have no problem laying out any kick returner who thought he was home clean.

In terms of the video itself,  Håvard created it over the course of a couple of weeks with the help of his brother and a few friends, and it is shot entirely ‘on location’ in his home town of Ålgård in Norway.

What strikes you about Håvard is his amiable humility. One of the last questions we put to him was, if you found yourself kicking field goals in front of 50,000 screaming people, how do you think you would react? He replied

‘’I don’t know how I would react, but I hope i would be able to handle it. I have never played American football other than by myself, so I think with the help of a good coach, I know I could become a very good kicker. I have still a lot to learn, but I think I have the talent to get really good and I am a fast learner.’’

You couldn’t ask for a more honest down to earth answer. Having had the chance to put a few questions to Håvard, and having enjoyed his video so much, it is impossible not to root for him.

Here’s wishing him the best in future, and hopefully an NFL general manager gets a chance to see it, rolls the dice, and ends up with a linebacker size Norwegian place kicker, who can knock the pigskin from Fjord to Fjord no problem.

 


Follow Cormac on Twitter