Arian Foster piece in ESPN the Mag

[Tailgate]

Good stuff....

This story appears in the March 7, 2011 issue of ESPN The Magazine.

Arian Foster just wants to get back to the main course.

On a January evening in Houston, a few days before his first Pro Bowl, the Texans running back pulls his chair closer to his private table at Del Frisco's steak house. On the plate in front of him is a $90 porterhouse that's roughly the size of a tennis racket, prompting Foster to wonder aloud, as he searches for his steak knife, "How big was the cow, man?" But his attempts to dig in are thwarted, time and again, by inquiries from the writer next to him about his journey from undrafted rookie free agent in 2009 to rushing champ in 2010.

Foster finally exhales, puts down his knife and grabs his iPhone. A philosophy major at Tennessee, he frequently taps bits of wisdom, poetry and lyrics into his phone, including the lines he thinks best sum up his current path. "The rain is unbiased," says the 24-year-old Foster, reading from the screen. "And the recipient of this downfall has the option to either accept this or yell at the clouds his whole life."

Foster sets the phone down and continues: "I'm a firm believer in Karma. I believe life always works itself out in funny, mysterious, unbelievable ways."

He should know. Foster's life journey -- from prep upstart to supposed college basket case to Pro Bowler -- is full of so many bizarre twists that it defies belief. Read his story and see for yourself. For each of 11 *different unusual moments in his life, we present his true history and a fake alternate path. Your challenge is to separate fact from fiction.

Born Aug. 24, 1986, Foster was given his *unusual name by his father, Carl, a hotel manager and a former wide receiver at New Mexico. The name comes from ...

http://espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=6168079

[GP]

Soon after the draft, Foster's phone started ringing with inquiries from the Saints, Giants, Jets and Buccaneers. But after thinking it through, he signed with the Texans, for two main reasons: They were offering a two-year deal, and they had the weakest depth chart according to Internet research conducted by Arian's girlfriend.

LOL. Smart kid.

[Schaub2Dre]

Anyone else noticed in the beginning of the video, Arian dubbed himself as "The Prince of Houston"? lol, as long as Andre Johnson is king or until if the Texans draft Prince Nakamura.

[False Start]

I saw this. The pic of him sitting on top of Reliant is frickin sweet!

[nero THE zero]

Anyone else finding the whole philosophy angle tired? I mean, it's not like anything he says is terribly profound -- it is all sophomoric for the most part. And, it was interesting at first; the whole, counterintuitive, philosophizing-jock.

But, he's won a rushing title. The cute side stories aren't really necessary anymore.

[Dutchrudder]

Originally Posted by False Start

I saw this. The pic of him sitting on top of Reliant is frickin sweet!

Yeah, that is pretty awesome Hooray for ESPN the mag digital copy! But it kinda looks like he's taking a dump in Reliant....

[The Pencil Neck]

Originally Posted by nero THE zero

Anyone else finding the whole philosophy angle tired? I mean, it's not like anything he says is terribly profound -- it is all sophomoric for the most part. And, it was interesting at first; the whole, counterintuitive, philosophizing-jock.

But, he's won a rushing title. The cute side stories aren't really necessary anymore.

It's his schtick. He doesn't drop his schtick just because he had a good year.

[False Start]

Originally Posted by Dutchrudder

Yeah, that is pretty awesome Hooray for ESPN the mag digital copy! But it kinda looks like he's taking a dump in Reliant....

Now that you mention it, it does!

[JB]

Originally Posted by False Start

Now that you mention it, it does!

[brakos82]

Him and AJ are about the only ones that didn't this season.

[Dutchrudder]

Originally Posted by False Start

Now that you mention it, it does!

I'm glad you mentioned that pic, I forgot about it. I thumbed through the issue when I first got it and thought that was funny. Anyways, if you need a pic from that mag in the future, just go to ESPN insider's website and lookup the digital copy of the magazine. I screen capped the pic, which is pretty high rez, and trimmed it down to just the pic. Not too shabby for a screen grab

[False Start]

Originally Posted by JB

Originally Posted by Dutchrudder

I'm glad you mentioned that pic, I forgot about it. I thumbed through the issue when I first got it and thought that was funny. Anyways, if you need a pic from that mag in the future, just go to ESPN insider's website and lookup the digital copy of the magazine. I screen capped the pic, which is pretty high rez, and trimmed it down to just the pic. Not too shabby for a screen grab

Thanks man, I did not know that. There were some pics of Kevin Harvick that was in the Speed Issue that I wanted, and I found them.

Very good res for a screen grab!

[Txn_in_Oki]

Originally Posted by nero THE zero

Anyone else finding the whole philosophy angle tired? I mean, it's not like anything he says is terribly profound -- it is all sophomoric for the most part. And, it was interesting at first; the whole, counterintuitive, philosophizing-jock.

But, he's won a rushing title. The cute side stories aren't really necessary anymore.

Not any more tired than all the negativity that flows through this board. Just cause the guy won the rushing title he should change who he is? I'd rather him be a philosophizing jock than in the club making it rain or attempting to rape some female in a bathroom stall somewhere.