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this is a discussion within the Saints Community Forum; This could not be real, the eyes must be deceiving here. The guy who leapt to snare a touchdown pass on national television, on Thanksgiving, from a future Hall of Fame quarterback is that Dan Arnold? The Dan Arnold who ...
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11-28-2018, 06:24 AM | #1 |
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This could not be real, the eyes must be deceiving here.
The guy who leapt to snare a touchdown pass on national television, on Thanksgiving, from a future Hall of Fame quarterback is that Dan Arnold? The Dan Arnold who could not crack a varsity football starting lineup until he moved to Fargo, North Dakota, for his senior year of high school? The one who chose to go to a Division III school in tiny Platteville, Wisconsin, and did not contribute in a meaningful way until the final game of his sophomore season? That guy? Dan’s father, Luke Arnold, was watching slack-jawed just like everyone else. He was in a hotel room in Minneapolis, watching the New Orleans Saints play the Falcons that night with Dan’s mother, Trish, and grandmother, Barb. They were in Minnesota visiting Dan’s older brother Nicholas, and retreated to the hotel to watch the game while Nicholas worked a shift at Best Buy. It was a surreal moment — That family gathered in a hotel room a thousand miles away, watching their Dan Arnold make that athletic play they have seen him make so many times, just on a stage that did not always seem to be a realistic possibility. So when he tumbled to the turf with his first NFL touchdown … they lost it. “I think we shook the whole doggone hotel,” Luke Arnold said. The cell phones started lighting up, Luke and Trish hearing from people they have not heard from in a long time, all wanting to reach out and touch those people who know that Dan Arnold. “People coming out of the woodwork,” Luke Arnold said. “’Jeez! Wow! Congrats!’” “(Dan’s) phone had to have just melted.” In a way, it did. Dan returned to the locker room after his career day — four catches, 45 yards and a score, all career highs — picked up his phone and was overwhelmed. Perspective suddenly gripped the Saints’ young tight end as he scrolled through the hundreds of messages. It was Thanksgiving, and Arnold was feeling thankful. “Everybody in my past that has helped me get to this point texted me and congratulated me,” Arnold said. “The biggest thing is, I was so thankful to have that support in my life.” There was a time, long before it became real, when Arnold told his father he was going to be a professional football player. The response from the father was grounded in sobering reality, and it was perhaps foundational to why that Dan Arnold was there catching that touchdown that shook a doggone hotel. If you want to be an NFL football player, Luke Arnold told his son, you are going to have to beat some long odds. Even Dad might not have understood how long those odds would eventually become. But he knows how he beat them. “You don’t dare tell him what he can’t do,” Luke Arnold said. “That is the surefire way for him to prove you wrong.”
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11-28-2018, 01:12 PM | #2 |
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Re: From Fargo to New Orleans, Division III to the NFL, Dan Arnold always believed
He has the athleticism that you want from a tight end and has the potential to contribute enough that we don't have to draft a tight end. Personally, I think he not only looks the part but he's got good body control, runs good routes and apparently has good hands.....yes, he's not perfect and dropped an easy pass but I LIKE HIM!!!
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11-28-2018, 01:17 PM | #3 |
Re: From Fargo to New Orleans, Division III to the NFL, Dan Arnold always believed
Originally Posted by Rugby Saint II
To be fair, he did catch it, but did not follow through to a complete catch, NFL rules style. Under college rules, it's a TD. Still he needs to protect the ball better to prevent these hack-the-ball swipes.
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11-28-2018, 01:19 PM | #4 |
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Re: From Fargo to New Orleans, Division III to the NFL, Dan Arnold always believed
Great read! Love stories like that!!
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11-28-2018, 01:28 PM | #5 |
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Re: From Fargo to New Orleans, Division III to the NFL, Dan Arnold always believed
Good writing in that story.
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11-28-2018, 05:01 PM | #6 |
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Re: From Fargo to New Orleans, Division III to the NFL, Dan Arnold always believed
Great article. Really well done. I knew he went to UW-Platteville but didn’t know he’s from Janesville, WI. That’s about 20 miles away from me. Wonder if he might want to hang with a Saints fan next time he’s home.
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11-28-2018, 05:39 PM | #7 |
In Doh We Trust
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Re: From Fargo to New Orleans, Division III to the NFL, Dan Arnold always believed
I think most people like this type of story. It's all the better when the person in question plays for your team
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11-28-2018, 06:00 PM | #8 |
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Re: From Fargo to New Orleans, Division III to the NFL, Dan Arnold always believed
Still young too. Could very well flourish under Payton.
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