Direckshun
07-31-2007, 10:41 AM
Topeka Capital-Journal continue their streak of great Chiefs pieces.
http://www.cjonline.com/stories/073107/chi_188000192.shtml
Allen: Clean and sober
After two DUI arrests and a suspension, Chiefs end Allen is done with alcohol
By Rick Dean
The Capital-Journal
Published Tuesday, July 31, 2007
RIVER FALLS, Wis. — It's formal name is the Festival of San Fermin, which sounds benign enough. But this is no mere fiesta. Every July, thousands of people with an appetite for adventure and a disregard for their safety flock to Pamplona, Spain, for the week-long running of the bulls through the city's narrow streets. And, of course, for the raucous parties that follow.
Jared Allen, who was a teenage steer wrestler long before he became a present-day party animal, always dreamed of running with the bulls. It was one of two goals — skydiving being the other — he set after acquiring the wealth that enables a young man to live his dreams, however wild and crazy they might seem.
Kansas City's Jared Allen said he's cleaned up his act after two DUI arrests in 10 months. He was originally suspended for four games, but the NFL cut the suspension down to two games.
Within the past couple months, just before beginning his fourth season with the Kansas City Chiefs, Allen lived his dreams. Skydiving came first, Pamplona followed. Both were every bit as thrilling as he had envisioned.
"It was the scariest thing I've ever done in my life, and I doubt that I'll ever do it again," Allen said of running side-by-side with a bull. "But it was a tremendous rush."
But there was one aspect of the experience Allen hadn't thought possible.
"I ran with the bulls cold sober — maybe the only one who did,'' he said proudly.
That's a significant statement, for it's only in the last year that Allen could utter the words.
But after his party-hearty lifestyle began to affect his day job — after two DUI arrests in a year caused the NFL to suspend him for four games, effectively cutting his gross annual income by 25 percent — Allen knew some major changes had better be forthcoming.
The first change was obvious.
"I haven't had a drink in 10 months, and that's all by personal choice,'' Allen said with a touch of pride. "I looked at all the things happening to me, things I'd done to myself, and saw the common denominator. It was time to grow up.''
Especially after the 25-year-old California native spent much of his life on the wild side. As a teen he wrestled cattle on his father's ranch for fun, long before he got into rodeo.
His collegiate career at Idaho State was marred by bar fights, one involving a teammate. Uncertainty about his character contributed to him falling into the fourth round of the 2004 draft despite winning the 2003 Buck Buchanan Award as the premier defensive player in Division I-AA.
At the same time, living on the edge contributed to Allen's abilities as a pash-rushing defensive end. In his 2004 rookie campaign he made a run at Derrick Thomas' rookie team record of 10 sacks before falling one short. No other Chiefs defender is remotely close to his 27½ sacks over his three seasons.
On and off the field, Jared Allen became an immediate fan favorite. A carefree player known to wear a Speedo swim suit to Arrowhead practices, he would occasionally don a cream-colored John Travolta "Saturday Night Fever'' suit and head off to the Plaza in a powder-blue 1969 Cadillac that sported a gapping set of bull horns attached above the drill.
It was a car and a lifestyle that attracted attention. Cops, for instance, noticed it immediately.
Allen was the life of the party, and everyone wanted to buy the popular new Chief a drink. It shouldn't have surprised anyone when the flashing red lights of the Overland Park police pulled him over twice in 2005.
The two arrests, the subsequent convictions and scare time in jail proved to be more than embarrassments to Allen and the Chiefs.
"I embarrassed my family's good name,'' he said. "My grandfather, Capt. Ray Allen, was a Marine who fought in three wars. It hurt when he called me. I also knew I'd let down a lot of cousins who look up to me.''
The spring of 2007, while serving his short jail term and awaiting his sentence from the NFL, was a low point in Allen's young life.
"But that's when I realized," he said, "that as bad as things were, there was nothing that couldn't be fixed.
"I'm a firm believer that things happen for a reason. I think now that what happened to me was a blessing in disguise. I didn't think what I was doing off the field was affecting what I did on it, but obviously it did. I mean, If I'm not available to play...
"I've made major changes in my life. I didn't make them with the idea of getting the suspension reduced, but when you start living right, good things happen. I'd like to think the commissioner considered that.''
Neither Allen nor the Chiefs yet know why NFL commissioner Roger Goodell reduced his suspension from four games to two. Some suspect Goodell wanted to send a message, that penitent players who get their act together can be forgiven. Others believe Chiefs coach Herm Edwards made a difference with a personal intervention on Allen's behalf.
Edwards, who won't discuss his involvement, said Allen has taken major steps toward turning his life around.
"I've seen a lot of changes,'' Edwards said. "He's growing up.
"Now, does that mean he'll be perfect? No. His personality won't let him be perfect, and that's OK. But he also understands there are things he can't do because he's being looked at with a fine eye. I think the commissioner felt that because of how he's improved as a citizen, he earned a break.''
Allen knows he's on probation — both in the Kansas legal system and in the eyes of the NFL. He believes he's ready for the scrutiny.
"I still have fun, I still go out,'' he admitted. "But now when people offer to buy me a drink, I tell them I'm fine with water. People didn't believe it at first, but now they're very supportive.
"The fact is, I'm having just as much fun sober as I ever did when drinking. It wasn't like I ever needed alcohol, but it came with the scene.''
Still to be resolved, too, is Allen's future with the Chiefs.
Upset that he wasn't offered an extended contract upon becoming a restricted free agent in March, Allen initially vowed not to play for the Chiefs after 2007. He later cooled down, signed a tender offer that pays him $3 million for 2007 and was a regular participant in the team's spring drills.
"I was hurt and upset by everything going on around me when I spoke out,'' Allen said. "But then I figured there were two ways to approach things. I could bitch and moan about what I wasn't getting, or I could turn that frustration into motivation. So, I shut up and starting training, hit the gym, dropped some weight and came into camp stronger, faster and with more energy. Now I'm just going to play ball and let the chips fall where they will.''
If they fall where Allen wants them to, he'll be in for a big payday next year, either from the Chiefs or another NFL team looking for a proven edge rusher. Indianapolis end Dwight Freeney just received $30 million in guaranteed money in a new deal. Julius Peppers reportedly is close to an equally lucrative deal.
But even as recently as this week, Chiefs president Carl Peterson referred to Allen as a "player at risk.''
"I want to see how he performs on and off the field this year, and I think the NFL wants to see that also,'' Peterson said. "But I would never exclude the possibility of him getting a multi-year contract.''
Right now, though, Allen's new lease on life is good enough.
http://www.cjonline.com/stories/073107/chi_188000192.shtml
Allen: Clean and sober
After two DUI arrests and a suspension, Chiefs end Allen is done with alcohol
By Rick Dean
The Capital-Journal
Published Tuesday, July 31, 2007
RIVER FALLS, Wis. — It's formal name is the Festival of San Fermin, which sounds benign enough. But this is no mere fiesta. Every July, thousands of people with an appetite for adventure and a disregard for their safety flock to Pamplona, Spain, for the week-long running of the bulls through the city's narrow streets. And, of course, for the raucous parties that follow.
Jared Allen, who was a teenage steer wrestler long before he became a present-day party animal, always dreamed of running with the bulls. It was one of two goals — skydiving being the other — he set after acquiring the wealth that enables a young man to live his dreams, however wild and crazy they might seem.
Kansas City's Jared Allen said he's cleaned up his act after two DUI arrests in 10 months. He was originally suspended for four games, but the NFL cut the suspension down to two games.
Within the past couple months, just before beginning his fourth season with the Kansas City Chiefs, Allen lived his dreams. Skydiving came first, Pamplona followed. Both were every bit as thrilling as he had envisioned.
"It was the scariest thing I've ever done in my life, and I doubt that I'll ever do it again," Allen said of running side-by-side with a bull. "But it was a tremendous rush."
But there was one aspect of the experience Allen hadn't thought possible.
"I ran with the bulls cold sober — maybe the only one who did,'' he said proudly.
That's a significant statement, for it's only in the last year that Allen could utter the words.
But after his party-hearty lifestyle began to affect his day job — after two DUI arrests in a year caused the NFL to suspend him for four games, effectively cutting his gross annual income by 25 percent — Allen knew some major changes had better be forthcoming.
The first change was obvious.
"I haven't had a drink in 10 months, and that's all by personal choice,'' Allen said with a touch of pride. "I looked at all the things happening to me, things I'd done to myself, and saw the common denominator. It was time to grow up.''
Especially after the 25-year-old California native spent much of his life on the wild side. As a teen he wrestled cattle on his father's ranch for fun, long before he got into rodeo.
His collegiate career at Idaho State was marred by bar fights, one involving a teammate. Uncertainty about his character contributed to him falling into the fourth round of the 2004 draft despite winning the 2003 Buck Buchanan Award as the premier defensive player in Division I-AA.
At the same time, living on the edge contributed to Allen's abilities as a pash-rushing defensive end. In his 2004 rookie campaign he made a run at Derrick Thomas' rookie team record of 10 sacks before falling one short. No other Chiefs defender is remotely close to his 27½ sacks over his three seasons.
On and off the field, Jared Allen became an immediate fan favorite. A carefree player known to wear a Speedo swim suit to Arrowhead practices, he would occasionally don a cream-colored John Travolta "Saturday Night Fever'' suit and head off to the Plaza in a powder-blue 1969 Cadillac that sported a gapping set of bull horns attached above the drill.
It was a car and a lifestyle that attracted attention. Cops, for instance, noticed it immediately.
Allen was the life of the party, and everyone wanted to buy the popular new Chief a drink. It shouldn't have surprised anyone when the flashing red lights of the Overland Park police pulled him over twice in 2005.
The two arrests, the subsequent convictions and scare time in jail proved to be more than embarrassments to Allen and the Chiefs.
"I embarrassed my family's good name,'' he said. "My grandfather, Capt. Ray Allen, was a Marine who fought in three wars. It hurt when he called me. I also knew I'd let down a lot of cousins who look up to me.''
The spring of 2007, while serving his short jail term and awaiting his sentence from the NFL, was a low point in Allen's young life.
"But that's when I realized," he said, "that as bad as things were, there was nothing that couldn't be fixed.
"I'm a firm believer that things happen for a reason. I think now that what happened to me was a blessing in disguise. I didn't think what I was doing off the field was affecting what I did on it, but obviously it did. I mean, If I'm not available to play...
"I've made major changes in my life. I didn't make them with the idea of getting the suspension reduced, but when you start living right, good things happen. I'd like to think the commissioner considered that.''
Neither Allen nor the Chiefs yet know why NFL commissioner Roger Goodell reduced his suspension from four games to two. Some suspect Goodell wanted to send a message, that penitent players who get their act together can be forgiven. Others believe Chiefs coach Herm Edwards made a difference with a personal intervention on Allen's behalf.
Edwards, who won't discuss his involvement, said Allen has taken major steps toward turning his life around.
"I've seen a lot of changes,'' Edwards said. "He's growing up.
"Now, does that mean he'll be perfect? No. His personality won't let him be perfect, and that's OK. But he also understands there are things he can't do because he's being looked at with a fine eye. I think the commissioner felt that because of how he's improved as a citizen, he earned a break.''
Allen knows he's on probation — both in the Kansas legal system and in the eyes of the NFL. He believes he's ready for the scrutiny.
"I still have fun, I still go out,'' he admitted. "But now when people offer to buy me a drink, I tell them I'm fine with water. People didn't believe it at first, but now they're very supportive.
"The fact is, I'm having just as much fun sober as I ever did when drinking. It wasn't like I ever needed alcohol, but it came with the scene.''
Still to be resolved, too, is Allen's future with the Chiefs.
Upset that he wasn't offered an extended contract upon becoming a restricted free agent in March, Allen initially vowed not to play for the Chiefs after 2007. He later cooled down, signed a tender offer that pays him $3 million for 2007 and was a regular participant in the team's spring drills.
"I was hurt and upset by everything going on around me when I spoke out,'' Allen said. "But then I figured there were two ways to approach things. I could bitch and moan about what I wasn't getting, or I could turn that frustration into motivation. So, I shut up and starting training, hit the gym, dropped some weight and came into camp stronger, faster and with more energy. Now I'm just going to play ball and let the chips fall where they will.''
If they fall where Allen wants them to, he'll be in for a big payday next year, either from the Chiefs or another NFL team looking for a proven edge rusher. Indianapolis end Dwight Freeney just received $30 million in guaranteed money in a new deal. Julius Peppers reportedly is close to an equally lucrative deal.
But even as recently as this week, Chiefs president Carl Peterson referred to Allen as a "player at risk.''
"I want to see how he performs on and off the field this year, and I think the NFL wants to see that also,'' Peterson said. "But I would never exclude the possibility of him getting a multi-year contract.''
Right now, though, Allen's new lease on life is good enough.