BeerleaderS: First of all, thank you that you take your time for us. When you decided to come to Vienna and play for the Vikings, what where your reasons to come here?
Luke Atwood: My high school coach was Tom Smythe. So he kind of just said, come over, the Vikings will pay for the flight. A free trip to Europe. I wasn’t really expected to play when I came over, I was supposed to be a backup, because I play quarterback and runningback and receiver, I could fill in in all these positions that were filled by American guys. The first game I was here Cameron Frickey got hurt, so I got to play in the next game and I have been playing since.
BeerleaderS. Did you ever regret the decision to come to Vienna?
Luke Atwood: No, no, absolutely not. I had a great education in University and the last five years had been equally as great an education over here, learning by a different culture, learning how different people on the other side of the world live.
BeerleaderS: We spoke about the past, and now about the future: What are your goals for the future?
Luke Atwood: Ahm, someday I’d like to have family, I’d like to relieve my father of his duties with the family-business like he did for his father, down the road, not right now, but someday I’d like to do that.
BeerleaderS: And what’s that?
Luke Atwood: After WWII my grandpa moved from Arkansas to Oregon and started a business called Atwood and Sons it’s involved in lots of different kinds of businesses, like leather gloves, raingear and lot of other stuff, doesn’t really matter too much what it is, but there are a few businesses and I’d like to help the family with that if I could.
BeerleaderS: And for playing?
Luke Atwood: Well, I’m in the last year of my contract this year, and when the season is over Shawn Olson, Chris Calaycay, Karl and I will figure out next year.
BeerleaderS: What are you going to do when your contract is not extended? Do you think about playing in another team or take a coach position or something like that?
Luke Atwood: I don’t think I’d like to coach as long as I can still play… I’d like to play. I’d like to play for the Vikings.
BeerleaderS: How long do you still want to play do you already know that, or do you just say: I’m not injured too much, nothing hurts at the moment so I can still play.
Luke Atwood: Football is a funny sport, where I could be one play away from never being able to play again, we have to see when the season finishes… hopefully I can still play.
BeerleaderS: We would like to see you again next year.
Luke Atwood: I can’t think anywhere else I’d rather be.
BeerleaderS: The next question is about Eurobowl: Are you looking forward to play against the Paris team: Flash?
Luke Atwood: Yeah, for sure. One, because I’ve never played against them and I’ve never really spent much time around French people… so I kind of get to see what they are like and playing in that kind of atmosphere at the Hohe Warte, in front of all those fans, it’s a different kind of game when you’re out there, it’s a different kind of feel, it’s just something you can’t put words to, but it ‘s something you never forget when you’re there, you always keep it with you.
BeerleaderS: Do you think the Vikings are going to win?
Luke Atwood: Yes.
BeerleaderS: We only saw Flash playing against the raiders, but I can’t tell anything.
Luke Atwood: They are very good. We are the two best teams in Europe, without a doubt.
BeerleaderS: Is there a special reason why you play with the number 18?
Luke Atwood: My first year with the Vikings I was Number 17, and when I came back the next year, there were 3 of us on the team who had our jerseys stolen in the off season and something, so myself and Mario Floredo and Pasha Asiladab, all switched numbers that year, I just, since I was 17 the year before I just took 18, and now you look at the NFL there’s all kind of guys with number 18, so I guess I kind of got lucky like that.
BeerleaderS: That’s true. What about your hat?
Luke Atwood: Oh, the cowboy hat (laughing)
BeerleaderS: Is there a special reason, or is there a story about it?
Luke Atwood: I like the hat, my grandpa was really into western films, that’s all he’d watch, and in all those western films the good guys always wear white hats. So when I saw that hat, I had to have it, because it’s so cool, the good guys wear white hats, it’s always that way. My mom’s side of the family were among those who settled the west & are in the long lineage of cowboys, it’s kind of fun to wear.
BeerleaderS: The next question is about your family: What were your feelings when your mother was at “Heilige Warte”?
Luke Atwood: Oh, it’s great. She’s been there before. And it’s just fun to be out there and after the game to be able see them, see how proud they are, watching me play football and doing well and just the best part is when I see the look in their face, from my father too, he’s there also so, it’s always very special when they are around.
BeerleaderS: And did they like the gameday, the feeling around and the hole thing?
Luke Atwood: Yeah, they love it, my mom, not sure if she like’s visiting Vienna and other parts of Europe more or watching me play football more, it’s kind of good both ways she gets to see the world and see her baby-boy play football (big smile in his face) too.
BeerleaderS: How do you like Vienna and Austria?
Luke Atwood: I love Vienna and Austria, outside of Vienna it looks a lot like Oregon, it’s very green, mountains aren’t as quite as tall in Oregon, but I like Vienna now that I know my way around the city and I can speak “ein bisschen Deutsch”, it’s just keeps getting better for me.
BeerleaderS: But I think many Austrians speak English, so that shouldn’t be a problem.
Luke Atwood: Honestly, not to make excuses, that’s why it took me so long to get a little bit of language down, because nobody really spoke to me in German.
BeerleaderS: German is not easy.
Luke Atwood: It isn’t, it is not. I took Spanish in highscool and I took a month of“Deutsch-class” here and Spanish is much easier.
BeerleaderS: French is also very difficult too.
Luke Atwood: (laughing) well I will try not talk to much French at the Eurobowl.
BeerleaderS: What was your most beautiful or awesome experience during a game, or here in Vienna?
Luke Atwood: oh man, ahhm, I think like each time after the games, we don’t really do that in America where you applaud to the fans after the games. I like seeing how happy they are after each win and how into the game they are, the fans in Vienna are so different than the fans back home, they get more involved in the game, they are louder, they are rowdier, might have a few more beers than the ones back home (laughing), I’m not sure if that’s all the reason why but maybe, signing autographs for little kids, drinking a beer with the BeerleaderS after the game, just shaking hands with all the Viennese people, going to the Zipfer Zone, as soon as the game is over, that little celebration that lasts for about an hour, an hour and a half after the game, that’s fine and special about Vienna.
BeerleaderS: Would you tell us your most embarrassing experience during a game?
Luke Atwood: ahhm in Vienna?
BeerleaderS: No
Luke Atwood: Ahmm in football most embarrassing moment, just missing a tackle on someone when I was on defense or someone I should have hit and somebody scored. I’m pretty hard on my self, I might be my own worst critic, so it doesn’t take much for me to be truly embarrassed on something that just happens and where I didn’t want it to. Oh yeah, this year I got kicked in my… junk… & vomited when I was in the huddle. But I wasn’t so much embarrassed as much as I thought it was funny… later it was funny of course… not when it was happening. If you can’t laugh at yourself, then you just aren't living right.
BeerleaderS: I don’t know, Shawn told something like playing without mouthgard or things like that …
Luke Atwood: Oh no, not me… I have all my teeth (laughing).
BeerleaderS: What’s your favourite drink?
Luke Atwood: Alcoholic beverage drink?
BeerleaderS: What ever you might tell us now?
Luke Atwood: Bourbon, I like Bourbon straight, and you can’t beat a good cold Ottakringer, that’s for sure.
BeerleaderS: The next question is about us: What do you think about the BeerleaderS?
Luke Atwood: The best thing ever (smiling) I think it’s so much fun, the games wouldn’t be the same without them. You just bring a different environment to the games, what you guys did for Shawn Olson last year, that big number four jersey, that was so classy and you guys have fun at the same time, you’re a classy bunch, you guys get what is all about, you support us and in return you’ve got a lot of fans wearing Vikings helmets out there.
BeerleaderS: That’s good to know, because with the other people it’s not always so easy.
Luke Atwood: You know you can only worry about yourself; you can’t worry too much about other people in this world.
BeerleaderS: Sometimes, I don’t know what they think about us,..
Luke Atwood: I wouldn’t spend to much time worry about other people, you’re a good bunch of people, you have a good time, don’t let anybody tell you any different!
BeerleaderS: And what do you think about Austrian football fans in general?
Luke Atwood: I don’t think any of the other fans are special, I think our fans are special, I don’t know the other fans though.
BeerleaderS: I don’t know what you know about the Vikings fans, or…
Luke Atwood: Well, I know what I hear at the games and I played on the road and I know what I don’t hear when I am playing on the road, so Vienna has the best fans, without a doubt.
BeerleaderS: How important are the fans during the game? For the defense we get loud and all these things around, is it so disturbing for the offence when we are louder, do you hear that at all? What can we do to support the offense more?
Luke Atwood: To support the offence the only thing you can do: say nothing! But it’s not an issue. It’s not that you guys are too loud that we can’t hear, you guys are only too loud when other offense is out there. I became good friends with Sheldon Cross the quarterback of Graz, and he said, you just couldn’t do anything, like he wanted to change the play, tell somebody, just two people over, something, he said it was pointless, you couldn’t do anything, couldn’t hear anything, couldn’t hear himself think, you guys do the right things out there. You know, we are going to be European Champions, make sure you keep being loud!
BeerleaderS: We are! It’s here in Vienna, and you can be sure that we will be very loud. It would not have been so easy in Paris, but here in Vienna.
Luke Atwood: We are fortunate to have the game here, because of you guys!
BeerleaderS: We would have come to Paris as well, but
Luke Atwood: We would have been sure about a thousand fans, 2/3/4 thousand
BeerleaderS: Is there something you want to tell us?
Luke Atwood: Thank you!
BeerleaderS: I don’t have more questions here, so
Luke Atwood: I am fortunate to be able to play for a winning team, but it wouldn’t be as good if it weren’t for fans like the BeerleaderS, for sure.
BeerleaderS: So thank that you took your time for making this interview with us.
Luke Atwood: Thank you, anything I can ever do to help you be sure let me know.