Andreas Knappe Moves From Denmark To UConn To Play With The Huskies
Posted: August 12, 2015
Updated: October 6, 2017
Following your dreams is important, and as Andreas Knappe goes to UConn to chase his, we look at this big man and why the University of Connecticut “Huskies” plucked him out of the crowd.
If you're Danish gambling laws of linear time progression means I'd have by now forgotten about the bad taste joke that was the Archery World Championships held in Copenhagen you're about to be very disappointed. At the time I got several rather pointed comments, although these were mostly from Fencers for some reason, that I was missing the point. That archery was sport like any other and that thinking it a slippery slope to terrorism competitions was silly. However as Andreas Knappe goes to UConn it would seem he at least listened to me.
Knappe is an impressive figure. At 6 foot 8 he's imposingly large, looming above most around him, and sports the sort of beard that you would expect to see on a Norse god, or perhaps Duck Dynasty. This has led his teammates to refer to him as Thor, and many a journalist to leap upon hammer metaphors as if the ability were about to be removed from them. I personally shall refrain from this simplistic description of which, I feel sure, Scandinavians get bored. Danes aren't all vikings just as Swedes weren't all porn stars in the 1970s.
What I will be only too happy to say is that he's turned his back on Archery, and indeed the even more ridiculous Handball, to play American Football. Handball is a ridiculous sport because it takes an error from one sport and makes it a virtue in another, like someone deciding to make a sport out of bowling wides in cricket. If you want to be amused read any American journalist describing Handball, it agonized comparisons will make you laugh. That he was a junior Archery champion seems not to bother Andreas.
“They were training me to see if I could get to go to the Olympics or the World Championships or something like that.” Said Andreas to the press, “I think that ship has sailed for me. I know a couple of people who went to the Olympics and I know a couple of world champs in archery from Denmark. I'm tremendously proud of them and happy for them, but I chose a little bit different pathway.” It is a ship that as Andreas Knappe goes to the Huskies he won't miss having missed. He may well have come to the sport late but American football is where he belongs.
If you like to bet on sports in Denmark you can, of course, follow the college ball season online on sites like ComeOn! Sportsbook, and with such an imposing Dane on their offensive line perhaps the Huskies will be able to build up some results that will have people in internet casinos betting on them instead of against them. Last season was a little disappointing, to say the least, but the coach at UConn, Bob Diaco (in only his second year at the helm) believes that much can be done about this state of affairs and that Andreas Knappe will help.
Bob waxes quite lyrical about Knappe. A 2-10 record in your inaugural year will do that to a coach who is now pinning his hopes on fresh blood improving results. He claims Knappe is the perfect face for the still teething program, with some of his descriptions just a tad overblown. “He has a rare combination of tough gentleman.” Said Diaco, “He has a rare combination of aggressive intelligence.” He added. Which makes him sound like a guest-star baddie from an episode of Star Trek if you ask me, but in college ball these are useful traits.
Of course whilst Bob and indeed Andreas are gambling news coverage will be of a massively improved Husky win/loss ratio next season, rather than just of Knappe's beard, college ball is more than just the game. Like so many other sports there is a need for the game to interact with the community on a level far beyond merely being a spectacle and entertainment for it on the weekend. Away from the gridiron Andreas Knappe has been making great strides in this field.
Involved with the “Goal Line Project” where middle school athletes are mentored by College level sportsmen is but one of the aspects of this necessary part of modern sports Andreas has explored. He is also said to spend a lot of time with the inner-city kids of Hartford discussing life choices and ethics with them, and providing them with an example to follow. This then is why Andreas Knappe is on the watch list for the Wuerffel Trophy and why he was nominated to the 2015 Allstate American Football Coaches Association Good Works Team.
A big man, then, with a big heart, and he's going to need it if the Huskies can't pull some decent results out of the first few games. The coach thinks he can add weight to their offense and offensive coordinator Frank Verducci agreed saying; “We like guys who compete in everything they do. We love three sport athletes. Now football, archery and team handball are not usually the three sports, but he's unique, that's for sure.” It remains to be seen if that combination of unique qualities will help Andreas Knappe follow his dream beyond UConn to the NFL.
If you're Danish gambling laws of linear time progression means I'd have by now forgotten about the bad taste joke that was the Archery World Championships held in Copenhagen you're about to be very disappointed. At the time I got several rather pointed comments, although these were mostly from Fencers for some reason, that I was missing the point. That archery was sport like any other and that thinking it a slippery slope to terrorism competitions was silly. However as Andreas Knappe goes to UConn it would seem he at least listened to me.
Andreas Knappe Leaves Denmark
• Forsakes Archery & Handball
• Joins UConn Huskies
• Works in the community too
Knappe is an impressive figure. At 6 foot 8 he's imposingly large, looming above most around him, and sports the sort of beard that you would expect to see on a Norse god, or perhaps Duck Dynasty. This has led his teammates to refer to him as Thor, and many a journalist to leap upon hammer metaphors as if the ability were about to be removed from them. I personally shall refrain from this simplistic description of which, I feel sure, Scandinavians get bored. Danes aren't all vikings just as Swedes weren't all porn stars in the 1970s.
What I will be only too happy to say is that he's turned his back on Archery, and indeed the even more ridiculous Handball, to play American Football. Handball is a ridiculous sport because it takes an error from one sport and makes it a virtue in another, like someone deciding to make a sport out of bowling wides in cricket. If you want to be amused read any American journalist describing Handball, it agonized comparisons will make you laugh. That he was a junior Archery champion seems not to bother Andreas.
Andreas Knappe Joins Huskies
His popularity grows quickly in America
“They were training me to see if I could get to go to the Olympics or the World Championships or something like that.” Said Andreas to the press, “I think that ship has sailed for me. I know a couple of people who went to the Olympics and I know a couple of world champs in archery from Denmark. I'm tremendously proud of them and happy for them, but I chose a little bit different pathway.” It is a ship that as Andreas Knappe goes to the Huskies he won't miss having missed. He may well have come to the sport late but American football is where he belongs.
If you like to bet on sports in Denmark you can, of course, follow the college ball season online on sites like ComeOn! Sportsbook, and with such an imposing Dane on their offensive line perhaps the Huskies will be able to build up some results that will have people in internet casinos betting on them instead of against them. Last season was a little disappointing, to say the least, but the coach at UConn, Bob Diaco (in only his second year at the helm) believes that much can be done about this state of affairs and that Andreas Knappe will help.
Bob waxes quite lyrical about Knappe. A 2-10 record in your inaugural year will do that to a coach who is now pinning his hopes on fresh blood improving results. He claims Knappe is the perfect face for the still teething program, with some of his descriptions just a tad overblown. “He has a rare combination of tough gentleman.” Said Diaco, “He has a rare combination of aggressive intelligence.” He added. Which makes him sound like a guest-star baddie from an episode of Star Trek if you ask me, but in college ball these are useful traits.
Andreas Knappe Won't Be Back
Knappe was nominated for newcomer of the year, too
Of course whilst Bob and indeed Andreas are gambling news coverage will be of a massively improved Husky win/loss ratio next season, rather than just of Knappe's beard, college ball is more than just the game. Like so many other sports there is a need for the game to interact with the community on a level far beyond merely being a spectacle and entertainment for it on the weekend. Away from the gridiron Andreas Knappe has been making great strides in this field.
Involved with the “Goal Line Project” where middle school athletes are mentored by College level sportsmen is but one of the aspects of this necessary part of modern sports Andreas has explored. He is also said to spend a lot of time with the inner-city kids of Hartford discussing life choices and ethics with them, and providing them with an example to follow. This then is why Andreas Knappe is on the watch list for the Wuerffel Trophy and why he was nominated to the 2015 Allstate American Football Coaches Association Good Works Team.
A big man, then, with a big heart, and he's going to need it if the Huskies can't pull some decent results out of the first few games. The coach thinks he can add weight to their offense and offensive coordinator Frank Verducci agreed saying; “We like guys who compete in everything they do. We love three sport athletes. Now football, archery and team handball are not usually the three sports, but he's unique, that's for sure.” It remains to be seen if that combination of unique qualities will help Andreas Knappe follow his dream beyond UConn to the NFL.
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