Rodrigo Blankenship explains his friendship with wrestling icon Ric Flair
Rodrigo Blankenship explains his friendship with wrestling icon Ric Flair
What is it with Indianapolis Colts specialists and professional wrestling? First Pat McAfee, now Rodrigo Blankenship? While Blankenship probably won’t be following McAfee’s footsteps from the football field to the squared circle anytime soon, he probably could. He’s got a pretty good in.
During a Zoom conversation with local media on Tuesday, the eclectic Colts rookie kicker nonchalantly referenced his years-long friendship with professional wrestling icon Ric Flair.
Wait. What? The Nature Boy? The stylin’ and profilin’, limousine-ridin’, jet flyin’, kiss-stealin’, wheelin’ n’ dealin’ son of a gun?
Yeah, Blankenship said coolly. He and the retired wrestling superstar keep in touch. You know how it is. You get it. No big deal.
OK, so really what happened is Flair lives in Georgia and is a massive Bulldogs football fan. Blankenship, a cult hero in Athens, Georgia, learned during one of his standout seasons there that he and ex-Bulldogs quarterback Jake Fromm were two of Flair’s favorite players. He learned that because a mutual acquaintance invited the two of them to Flair’s surprise 70th birthday party, where he met a legion of wrestling superstars.
Ever since then, the two of them have been buddies. In fact, Flair was seen wearing a “Hot Rod” T-Shirt recently on Instagram.
Oh that? Blankenship said. Oh, well, he just asked his old pal, Ric Flair, to help him promote his new line of merchandise.
“He’s got a pretty big (social media) following, and I was like, ‘Hey would you mind doing me a favor and helping me promote the merchandise?” Blankenship said. “And he was all for it.”
Obviously.
Blankenship revealed he isn’t the wrestling mega-fan that McAfee is, but feels like he’s being drawn more into that world because of his relationship with Flair and his similar history with Dwayne Johnson, who was a college football star before becoming the worldwide wrestling and cinematic phenomenon known as the “The Rock.”
So it’s safe to assume “The Rock” will soon be spotted on a movie set wearing a #RespectTheSpecs T-Shirt, too?
“Oh I don’t know about that,” Blankenship laughed. “Maybe another step to climb before getting to a guy like him.”
More Colts coverage:
Don’t doubt that Blankenship might get there one day. At this point, it’s become quite clear that he is more than just a kicker. He’s turned himself into a real life version of the Dos Equis character: “The Most Interesting Man in the World.”
Blankenship not only boasts some famous friends, but he’s also spent years gathering a cult following by cultivating his loveable nerd persona. He loves Marvel Comics and plays with Transformers toys. He has the horn-rimmed specs that make him easy to spot from a 100 yards away. It’s as he once said: “Everyone loves a good nerd.”
That’s proving to be quite true.
Oh, and right, the football. Sometimes you get so caught up in the WWE legend, rec-spec, LEGO-set-building of it all, you can forget Blankenship is a pretty darn good kicker of NFL footballs, too.
Through his first nine professional games, Blankenship has drilled 19-of-21 field goals and 23 of his 25 extra points putting him above 90% for both.
If he keeps kicking like that, he’ll fall right in line as the next Colts icon in a town that has a long history of embracing its specialists (McAfee, Adam Vinatieri).
Blankenship looks to be on the road to having that type of staying power. Because while he has been busy building his nerd empire, he’s also been plenty busy building up a wealth of knowledge extracted from the league’s best kickers.
After every game, Blankenship makes it a habit to track his counterparts down and pick their brains. Lately, he’s had chats with two of the greatest of all time in Baltimore’s Justin Tucker and Tennessee’s Stephen Gostkowski as well as a pair of former Pro Bowlers in Minnesota’s Dan Bailey and Detroit’s Matt Prater.
“There have been some really exceptional kickers we’ve played against so far this season,” Blankenship said. “I’m trying to get whatever information I can get from them to help me have the best season I can possibly have and potentially have a long career like they’ve had.”
“It hasn’t been perfect by any means … but I just want to continue getting better. Coach Reich always tells us to be the best at getting better. I’m just trying to be the best I can be my rookie season.”
In so many ways, that’s exactly what Blankenship is doing.
Follow IndyStar Colts Insider Jim Ayello on Twitter: @jimayello.