I don’t know much about quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick other than that he is one smart guy and he never takes off his wedding ring, even during games. He also is a graduate of prestigious Harvard and he certainly has displayed it. Fitzpatrick made history when he recorded a reported 48 on the Wonderlic test in just nine minutes, which turned out to be the highest score in the history of the NFL.
It is widely known that Dwight Howard is quite the prankster. He also believes he is good at impersonations as the evidence in the video below shows. Not to mention, his “This is SportsCenter” commercial in which he is Superman and a nerdy mild-mannered version of himself is all that anyone needs to know about him.
Like Fitzpatrick, boxer Wladimir Klitschko is one intelligent dude. Not only is he an Olympic gold medalist, but he also enjoys chess and doing charitable work. Did I mention he also has a PhD in Sports Science and can speak five languages? As if his life couldn’t get any better, he is engaged to marry gorgeous actress Hayden Panettiere.
Rajon Rondo makes the list due to his love for fashion. In fact, he has even admitted that the clothes he wears now are the same style of clothes he would have made fun of years ago. There is nothing wrong with being a fashion geek and Rondo knows it. That’s why he recently sat down and made a video for NBA.com in which he discusses why he enjoys fashion so much. Just to ensure that Rondo is a certified geek, he also has a passion for roller skating.
"I zone out when I'm skating and it's like I'm in my own world," Rondo told NBA.com. "I probably go every Friday and Sunday when I'm back home."
Looking at JaVale McGee, one would never consider him to be a geek. However, following McGee on Twitter would change all of that. Like several athletes, he tweets nonstop. He tweets about SpongeBob Squarepants, Frosted Flakes and Scrooge McDuck. He also has an alter-ego cartoon named Pierre, which isn’t weird at all. Come to think of it, of all the dorky things McGee does it is Twitter that is the reason why he is considered to be a geek.
Cris Collinsworth may not suit up on the gridiron these days but that doesn’t mean he isn’t eligible for this list. Anyone that tunes into Sunday Night Football on NBC knows that Collinsworth is a huge football geek. Just the way he talks about the game makes one wonder how much time he actually spends away from dissecting game film. He looks at parts of the game that no one else cares to and gets overjoyed when a long snapper spirals it perfectly into the hands of the punter.
Pitcher Craig Breslow is widely considered to be the smartest man in sports. He is a graduate of Yale where he earned degrees in biochemistry and biophysics, two incredibly important areas of study going forward. He decided to postpone his acceptance to the NYU School of Medicine in order to pursue his passion for baseball. Obviously, it worked out pretty well, especially since he just won a World Series with the Boston Red Sox.
Tight end Vernon Davis is a dominant football player who also has a huge interest in art. In fact, he is a very talented artist who has used his skill to help other artists find their way. Davis founded Modern Class Design, which is a fine arts and interior design company. He also started Gallery 85, which is an art gallery that allows upcoming artists to showcase their work.
Running back Maurice Jones-Drew is crazy into fantasy sports. He joins numerous leagues each season and makes countless teams. I wonder if he ever drafts himself, especially in recent seasons.
Former Red Sox great Curt Schilling is a huge fan of board games that turned into a passion for video games. He is obsessed with the board game Advanced Squad Leader so much that he started The ASL Open, which is a tournament that he financed personally. Schilling has also been known to play online computer games Everquest and World of Warcraft. In fact, his love for gaming was the inspiration behind 38 Studios. Unfortunately, Schilling’s lack of business knowledge is one reason the gaming company went under just last year.
Georges St. Pierre is a lethal fighter in the octagon. However, when he isn’t tearing opponents apart he is as far away from sports as possible.
"I don’t really watch sports," St. Pierre told ESPN.com. "I watch the Canadian version of the Discovery Channel. Ask me a question about the Jurassic period or the Cretaceous period and I probably could answer it… Seriously, I’m into paleontology. That’s the study of prehistoric life. I’m into philosophy. And psychology too. You know that the Tyrannosaurus Rex was found with feathers? Yes, feathers!"
I mean, what more is there to really say?
Lance Briggs is a ferocious linebacker on game day, but when he has time off he likes to dive into a nice comic book. Briggs enjoys comics so much that he has stated that he would like to open up a store when his playing days are over. Hopefully, it will be an online store because I’m not so sure how walk-in comic book stores fare these days.
Duncan is one of the biggest geeks in all of sports and he isn’t shy about it either, just ask his Merlin the Magician tattoo. One of the greatest players in NBA history also just so happens to be a huge Dungeons & Dragons fan. In fact, any game, board or video, will pretty much do. Also, make sure to look out for Duncan at the next San Antonio Renaissance fair because there is a good chance he will be there.
Pitcher Ross Ohlendorf is one of the smartest athletes in professional sports. He attended Princeton where he studied operations research and financial engineering. As much as he enjoys baseball, he loves finances that much more. The fact that he got just one answer wrong on the math portion of the SAT just proves his intelligence. To put into perspective how nerdy Ohlendorf really is, he spent the 2006 offseason as an intern in the System’s Office of Finance at the University of Texas. Three years later, he was an intern for the Department of Agriculture.
There is no question Kluwe is the biggest geek in sports, even if he technically doesn’t have a NFL team to play for at the moment. Kluwe was hugely obsessed with World of Warcraft and isn’t shy about it either. He also has immersed himself in other games including Guitar Hero, League of Legends and several fantasy board games. The fact that Kluwe is currently unemployed makes me wonder if World of Warcraft has become an integral part of his life again.
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