Immigration Law

IMMIGRANT OF THE DAY: JAN STENERUD - NFL HALL OF FAME MEMBER

By Greg Siskind

So just how did all these foreign players end up kickers and punters in the NFL? Norwegian-born Jan Stenerud was one of the first players to bring their soccer-style kicking skills. He came to the US as a foreign student with no intention of playing football. In fact, he came on a ski jumping scholarship to Montana State University. One day in his junior year he was training and happened to see the football team practicing. He decided to try kicking a couple of extra points the way he saw other players - straight on with his toe. Then he decided to try like he knew from soccer - with the side of his foot. He spent nineteen years kicking this way for the Kansas City Chiefs, the Green Bay Packers and the Minnesota Vikings. In 1991, he became the first pure kicker to be elected in to the NFL Hall of Fame, one of the most important accomplishments in American sports.

Full post as published by Greg Siskind's Blog on February 08, 2008 (boomark / email).