After Football, Jets TE Dustin Keller Loves Ping-Pong
By RYAN WILSON
Updated 1:10 PM EST, Sat, Nov 29, 2008
Ping-Pong has long been a staple of kids' summer camps and fraternity houses, but never garnered the wide-reaching acclaim of, say, billiards or Foosball. That's changing, apparently. A game once reserved for preteens and beer-guzzling college students is now gaining an underground audience.
In addition to a following by the famous (Susan Sarandon, Ed Norton), Joe Six-Pack (or, if you prefer, the Plumber) has also become part of the subculture. I suppose the Jets' Dustin Keller falls somewhere in the middle on the celebrity scale, but he's also very serious about table tennis.
The New York Times' Greg Bishop has a wide-ranging feature on the rookie tight end that begins with his exploits on the Ping-Pong table.
"Keller turned to table tennis as a hobby back in grade school because he found that dominating basketball games at the local Y.M.C.A. in Lafayette, Ind., came too easily.
Reminding himself of Forrest Gump, Keller beat his brothers at table tennis until they refused to play him. While in college at Purdue, he bought a table for his apartment. He told his coach he might go pro after he destroyed teammates so badly they broke his paddles.
'Ping-Pong is like most games,” Keller said. 'People just don’t want to play me anymore.'"
The Ping-Pong world isn't the only outlet for Keller's talents. Quarterback Brett Favre admits that "I wish I had him when I was younger ... He’s going to have a lot of 100-yard days, a lot of big plays. He has no idea how good he can be.” Through 11 games, Keller has 33 receptions for 383 yards, and three touchdowns, and after a slow start, he's been one of Favre's favorite targets in recent weeks. And if the Jets are to continue their march to the postseason, Keller will undoubtedly play a big part in that. Favre will see to it.
Copyright NBC Local Media / NBC New York
First Published: Nov 29, 2008 10:55 AM EST
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