Hearing Plummer talk now, it sounds like the weight of the world has been lifted off his shoulders since he shockingly walked away from the NFL and $5 million in 2007.
It's an early November day and Jake Plummer(notes) has the itch to play again.
No, he's not pulling a Brett Favre(notes). Plummer is on his way to play handball for the first time in weeks in Sandpoint, Idaho, the resort town of 7,000 people near the Canadian border where Plummer now lives three years after his abrupt retirement.
In fact he's even breaking one of his cardinal rules -- not to be indoors when the weather is nice -- to play despite it being a beautiful fall day.
"I hate to say it, I'm driving in today and it's sunny and 57, but I haven't played since my tournament so I'm kind of jonesin' to go play," Plummer said.
That tournament would be the third annual Jake Plummer Halloween Handball Bash, of course. Yes, Plummer takes this handball stuff pretty seriously. After a 12-year absence from the sport due to football, he has reconnected with the game taught to him and his two brothers by his father. Plummer plays three to four times a week when it's not summertime -- the most his body can handle.
What's the summer entail?
"Outdoor stuff," Plummer said. "Mountain biking, boating, fishing and hiking -- not being indoors in an air-conditioned room playing handball."
It's clear that Plummer is just living the dream these days. He's so active that after less than two years away from the gridiron, he has already dropped 20 pounds. And his handball game has progressed to the point that he won the Idaho State Handball Championship doubles title last April.
