10-09-2009, 11:19 PM
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Join Date: Nov 2003
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Quote:
Rams rookie LB Laurinaitis excited to face team he grew up watching in Minnesota
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS (CP)
ST. LOUIS ? The telephone has been ringing a lot this week for St. Louis Rams rookie linebacker James Laurinaitis.
That's because the Rams (0-4) are hosting the Minnesota Vikings (4-0) on Sunday. Laurinaitis, a native of Plymouth, Minn., grew up a Vikings fan and everybody back home wants to get his thoughts about the game.
"The fact that I'm from there is the only thing different this week," the six-foot-two, 247-pound Laurinaitis said Friday after practice. "You get a few more phone calls from the family saying, 'Hey, do you know you play the Vikings?' I go, 'Oh really, we do? I must of forgot about that.' "
Other than that, it's business as usual for Laurinaitis, the three-time All-American from Ohio State who won the Nagurski Award as the NCAA's best defensive player as a sophomore and the Butkus Award, as the top linebacker the next year.
"Yeah, I grew up a Vikings fan but that's actually from being from there," Laurinaitis said. "I think as you start getting to college and you realize the possibility of playing in the NFL, all those biases and all that stuff kind of goes out the window a little bit and you start opening your eyes up to all the teams in the league."
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The Canadian Press: Rams rookie LB Laurinaitis excited to face team he grew up watching in Minnesota
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Rookie linebacker James Laurinaitis one of the few bright spots for Rams
Updated October 9, 2009
By Chip Scoggins
Star Tribune (Minneapolis)
MINNEAPOLIS — Like many Minnesotans, James Laurinaitis didn't care much for Brett Favre when Favre wore the Green Bay Packers uniform.
Laurinaitis, a diehard Vikings fan as a kid, respected Favre as a player but rooted against him for so many years.
"If he was on your team you would love him, but if he's on the other team you can't stand him because you know you want your guy to be like that," Laurinaitis said. "It definitely was something that you didn't like him when he was running around at Lambeau Field."
Favre is still running around — albeit in a different uniform — and now Laurinaitis gets his chance to chase the future Hall of Fame quarterback.
The former Wayzata High and Ohio State standout is a starting rookie middle linebacker and one of the few bright spots for the 0-4 St. Louis Rams. Laurinaitis will face Favre and the Vikings in his fifth career game Sunday in St. Louis.
"It's definitely going to be pretty cool," Laurinaitis said. "I would be lying if I said it wouldn't be, growing up as a Vikings fan in Minnesota, obviously watching him in Green Bay twice a year do his thing. I think as an athlete and as a football player, I have a ton of respect for him. You sense that when he plays the game of football he has a passion and love of the game that you don't see a whole ton across the board."
Laurinaitis is winning over Rams fans with his passion and on-field performance. A second-round draft pick (No. 35 overall), Laurinaitis leads the Rams and all NFL rookies with 38 tackles.
In his NFL debut, Laurinaitis collected a team-high 14 tackles and forced and recovered a fumble against Seattle.
"He has done a terrific job for us," Rams coach Steve Spagnuolo said. "It's not easy. It's tough, in and of itself, being a rookie in this league and I would add to that being the (middle) linebacker in our system. We ask him to do a lot from the chin to the hairline. He handles it terrifically, and I think the guys trust him."
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