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+---- Thread: *From fishes to footballs: Get to know Norwegian QB Erik Gaare (/showthread.php?tid=29233)
*From fishes to footballs: Get to know Norwegian QB Erik Gaare - maupassant - 01-17-2021
ready for grading, 2x - new user
The DSFL draft is fast approaching and with it, we will get to know many amazing life stories from all the prospects. Few of the players drafted next Wednesday, however, have such unique beginnings as prospect QB from the University of Colorado, Erik Gaare.
Erik Okeli Gaare was born on October 28, 2020 in Alesund, Norway to Ernst Jonas Gaare, a Norwegian fisherman and Amaka Ndulu, a Nigerian immigrant. He has two younger brothers, Tony and Obike. His father descended from a traditional fishing family and growing up that was the expectation for Erik’s future as well. When he was 6 years old, however, Erik’s quiet life turned upside down when he and his family were forced to move away from Norway as his father got in undisclosed legal problems with the authorities.
The family decided to move to the USA, hoping to provide opportunities for their three kids and hoping to find a community they could call home. They eventually settled in Boulder, CO as the family began a new chapter in their life.
Erik recalls that the first year of living in a new country and barely speaking the language was very hard on him. “I was used with a very quiet life in a small Norwegian town. Going to what I considered a big city in Boulder was such a shift, it really changed my perspective of what the world was really all about”. But Erik quickly started to feel at home. By age 9 he was already a kid with many friends and started playing all the American sports that he quicky fell in love with: Baseball, Basketball and of course, Football.
“My family couldn’t really understand how I became such a sports aficionado so quickly. They could not care less about American sports and didn’t really even try to make me like them, so it was a love that grew very spontaneously on me with the help from my friends”. Erik says, however, his family not being too familiar with football was possibly the only thing that made them allow him to even play it in the first place. “I am sure if they knew the danger the sport has, they would never even allow me to be close to a field (laughs)".
The next years were of great success from Erik on the field as he eventually became the starting QB, CB and K of his high school in boulder as a sophomore and became a 3-star rated prospect and the top dual threat QB in the state. That eventually led to a few college offers, but only one that ever made sense to him.
“To be able to play college football and stay home was a dream come true. The University of Colorado offered me that opportunity and I took it in a heartbeat. My family is a very close bunch, and it would cause some suffering for my parents to see me go to somewhere so far away. Sometimes people forget that the USA is a very large country with very distant cities. That is not common in Europe”.
Erik would not see the field as a fourth string freshman and saw limited playing time during his sophomore season, years he described as “very tough mentally”.
“People don’t really expect to be starters as a freshman, so I wouldn’t say that was what really caught me off guard. The coach change between my freshman and sophomore season was what really made me worried as the new coach wouldn’t commit to giving me any playing time as a QB and that really started to frustrate me”.
The offseason after his sophomore season was a very contemplative for Erik, as the possibility of transferring could not be overlooked if he truly wanted to see the field during his college career. He decided to stay put at CU and be near his family, as well as prove his worth as a QB for the new coach.
He started second on the depth chart in his junior season, but after a lackluster 1-3 start to the season, the coach decided it was time to give him a try as the starting QB. What followed was something even Erik could not expect. A 7-1 record and a number of highlight-worthy plays took the University of Colorado and the city of boulder by storm. A marquee bowl win where he was named MVP made the expectations for his senior year to go through the roof.
“That was definitely my greatest memory as an athlete. Winning the bowl game against Oklahoma State and seeing the joy in the face of my teammates was what made me realize I want to do this for the rest of my life; I realized I truly wanted to be a professional athlete”.
With new goals in mind, Erik had an offseason of very hard work and preparation. The expectation for the Colorado Buffaloes was to have an even better season in his senior year, and his expectations was to put on a string of good games to get the attention of the DSFL scouts.
But that was not really the case. The season ended in a disappointing fashion at 6-6 and Erik had decent, but not truly the passing numbers he expected. Many questions arose about his true ability to play QB in the next level, and even though the athletic potential was evidently there, a position switch could be in play for him to find a home in the pros.
“I love the position of Quarterback; I love being a leader on the field and off the field; I love the pressure of having to make the play at the end of the game, and having the ball in my hand when it matters the most; but most of all I love the sport and the feeling that comes with it, that is why I wouldn’t lose the chance of becoming a professional player just because I could not become a professional quarterback”.
A different strategy than most quarterbacks, Erik decided to declare his willingness in changing positions, if no team truly believes in him as a QB, and hopes this is the move that gives him the best chance of making it as a pro. We must wait until Wednesday and see when his name gets called to see if this is a strategy that works.
But no matter how and where he ends up, Erik Gaare knows he has a lot to be proud of. From a future as a fisherman to a future ISFL player, he knows his wild ride is different from most players in the league, but he says he would not change it for a thing in the world.
“Being who I am, having the family that I have, that is what got me here. I feel very blessed and proud to have so many amazing and supportive people in my life, and I hope I can make Norway and the city of Boulder proud”.