Last night marked a couple of interesting games and eventual outcomes in Monday Night Football. Rather than dwell on who won or lost, let’s take a look a one particular player from the Houston vs. San Diego game. Arian Foster missed the entire preseason for the Houston Texans and he struggled a little in his first game back. He ran for 57 yards on 18 carries and had 6 catches for 33 yards. While these stats may be unimpressive or mean absolutely nothing to you, I want to point out how cool Arian is both on and off the field.
In a recent GQ article, the running back was dubbed the “NFL’s Unstoppable Vegan Philosopher.” Now that’s a title you don’t hear often in the league. Here are GQ’s 10 reasons Arian Foster is their favorite every-down back right now:
- Because he scores. A lot. He didn’t come within nine yards of breaking the NFL’s single season rushing record, like Adrian Peterson. He doesn’t break off ninety-yard sprints, like Jamaal Charles. But he did lead the NFL in touchdowns last season-his third straight with at least a dozen.
- Because he came into the league undrafted and made himself into a three-time Pro-Bowler.
- Because he majored in philosophy at the University of Tennessee, and one of his favorite authors is astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson.
- Because he’s probably the only guy in the NFL with both Queen and Patsy Cline on his iPod.
- Because he just named his second child Khyro, which is unusual but also pretty badass.
- Because Foster is cool with gay marriage. “I’m an advocate of freedom,” he tells GQ. “If two people choose to partake in a relationship, you should allow them to partake in the symbolization of it.”
- Because he’s one of the NFL’s best-dressed players without ever being one of it’s most overdressed. His style: “low-end to high-end, Marshalls to Louis Vuitton.”
- Because he’s a vegan. Okay, “mostly vegan,” he says, “supplemented with the occasional chicken or fish dish.”
- Because he spent the off-season appearing in Ivan Reitman’s new movie set during the NFL draft, with Kevin Costner, Sean Combs, and Jennifer Garner.
- Because we dig his philosophy on life: “Everyone should smile. Life really isn’t that serious. We make it hard. The sun rises. The sun sets. We just tend to complicate the process.”
While last night was a tough game for every player on that field (so sloppy!) the Texans did come out with a win, so cheers to them and to Foster. Keep an eye on him next weekend when they take on the Tennessee Titans Sunday, September 15th.
