Colts K Rodrigo Blankenship proves athletes are just people too

Colts kicker Rodrigo Blankenship built two lego sets the night before signing with the Colts, proving that athletes are big nerds just like the fans are.

The NFL has always been a sport defined by masculine identity. Take the 1970s Steel Curtain, the 2000 Ravens defense, and even head coaches like Mike Ditka. Football has always had the stigma of players who rub dirt in their bloody noses or continue to play despite a broken nose like Brian Cushing and J.J Watt.

However, Colts kicker Rodrigo Blankenship just blew the doors off that stigma.

The rookie kicker said he was building lego sets the night before signing with the Colts, changing his life forever. This is something he and I have in common — as a massive fan of LEGOs, I approve of this behavior. The earliest memory I have of building lego sets was the Naboo fighter from Star Wars: The Phantom Menance. I sat up for hours being the 11-year-old kid I was flying it around the house believing I was Anakin Skywalker destroying the Trade Federation blockade. I assume Blankenship and I share this experience.

Blankenship reminds me of a big kid whose toys get bigger instead of him growing up. Even better, he attributed his signing with the Colts to the lucky LEGO sets he has built over the years. Being a fellow nerd myself, I love seeing players getting outside of the box and providing a small insight into the world they live in outside of football.

Last week, Blankenship hit the walk-off field goal in overtime after the forced fumble by rookie Julian Blackmon to take the huge win over the Packers in overtime. Clearly, it’s safe to say the hobby works.

Hopefully, he continues to build LEGO sets well into January to get us to the Super Bowl.

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