SALT LAKE CITY — Some things age well. Others don’t.
If you’ve ever wondered where Andy Reid’s throwing ability falls on that scale, you’re in luck. If you start running away from the Kansas City Chiefs’ coach in hopes that he’ll toss you the football 40 yards downfield, you might not be in luck.
Old footage of the BYU alumnus participating in a punt, pass and kick competition in 1971 has surfaced, and the former football player used to be able to throw the ball a decent distance as a big kid.
New footage of the Chiefs coach tossing a challenge flag onto the field has surfaced, and the 61-year-old clearly isn’t worried about form or distance.
The comments on the hilarious @SharpFootball tweet were as humorous as you’d expect. Many jokes revolved around the former lineman’s enormous size in comparison to his fellow (and younger) competitors.
Reid was compared to the likes of Big Hero 6 and Andre the Giant.
“Which clip is he 61 in?”
“I feel like they did this as a prank back then and no one has been able to prove it. Andre the giant wasn’t that big at 13.”
“Does that child have a full beard?”
Sports Illustrated wrote about the story behind the old video clip and that year’s competition. One fun revelation: The organizers gave the boys youth-sized Los Angeles Rams jerseys to wear during the event, which took place at halftime of the Redskins-Rams game at the L.A. Coliseum, but they couldn’t find one that fit Reid. He was reportedly 6-foot-2, 220 pounds as a 13-year-old. Eventually, Reid had to squeeze into the actual jersey of Rams starting running back Les Josephson, who was 6-1, 207.
TOUCHING MOMENT
Well-respected sports journalist Holly Rowe, a University of Utah alum, was touched during a heartwarming moment at the Baylor basketball game when players and media members held signs of support as a tribute on Coaches vs. Cancer night.
Rowe has had multiple surgeries to fight cancer since being diagnosed with a rare skin cancer called desmoplastic melanoma in 2015. The ESPN reporter has inspired many with her will to survive and drive to continue working through the rough process.
AND FINALLY ...
Donovan Mitchell led the Jazz to a 118-88 rout of Indiana on Monday night, and one fun subplot was his one-on-one against the Pacers’ Aaron Holiday. (Our Sarah Todd wrote a fun piece on this.)
Here are a few of the buckets Mitchell scored against Holiday in his fourth-quarter explosion.