Jared Allen's curling Olympic dream within reach after NFL career

NFL

By Christian Arnold

What started as a bet has turned into a passion for former NFL defensive end Jared Allen. 

And it now has him attempting to make the Olympics as a curler, eight years after he retired from the NFL. 

His pursuit had started as a wager with a friend about qualifying for a PGA Tour event.

However, after seeing the story of Eddie the Eagle, an unlikely Olympic ski jumper from England, Allen set his sights on trying to qualify for an even bigger stage. 

Allen first looked at giving badminton a shot, but after doing some research the 41-year-old realized that was “way too much movement for me at this age.” 

Then the one-time pass rusher came across curling. 

“I read the rules of curling, it was like the winners have to buy the losers beer. Most people start in their 40s, I was like, ‘Right up my alley,’ ” Allen recently told The Post. 

Five years since that bet, Allen is still pursuing his goal of making the Olympics.

He had been scheduled to compete in New Jersey this week at the curling U.S. National Championships at The Rink at American Dream from Jan. 29-Feb. 4, but withdrew from the event due to personal reasons. 

Allen said his skills have improved leaps and bounds since he started, but realized just how great the challenge would be when John Shuster and the U.S. won gold in curling at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. 

“At that point, I was already too far down the rabbit hole, so then I look like a jerk talking about how I’m going to try to make the Olympics in curling when we just won a gold medal at,” he said with a laugh. “Took a bet and now five years later I refuse to welch on the bet.” 

Over that time, Allen has gone from competing with former NFLers Marc Bulger, Keith Bulluck and Michael Roos to working with former Olympian Jason Smith, whom Allen said he’s competed with off and on for over five years. 

Allen spent 12 years in the NFL and is 12th on the league’s all-time sacks list.

Curling, though, represented a massive change from anything he had ever done before. 

“You look at it and people go, oh it’s like shuffleboard on ice,” the longtime Viking said. “I think for me, the strategic part was something that was very interesting. Obviously the physical side, I can learn physical things. 

“But the dynamic of how to determine how hard to throw, tracking ice conditions, paying attention to all those little things … all the minute angles that go into it, that’s where I think the sport is really fun, and that’s where I think you see the best teams are the most consistent teams. 

“They’re not always the most talented teams, but the most consistent, because ice conditions can change in a heartbeat. If you don’t pick up on it or don’t respond well to it then you’re going to get blown out of the water. The nuances of curling make it a much more difficult game than what you see when you’re watching the Olympics.” 

The U.S. National Championships are taking place right next door to MetLife Stadium — a venue Allen knows from his NFL days.

He hopes the proximity to New York City will draw more people to this year’s event and help grow the sport, even though he won’t be there.. 

This year marks the first time that an elite-level curling event has been held in the region, as teams compete to move closer to representing the United States at the 2026 Winter Olympics.