NFL superstar's race against time to beat virus lockdown
Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers has made more than a few successful hail Mary passes on the field - but he needed a real life hail Mary to escape from Peru.
As borders around the world began to suddenly close due to the global outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19) Rodgers found himself caught in Peru, inside a packed and panicked airport with authorities ready to halt travel.
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Speaking on Pat McAfee’s podcast, Rodgers said the mood at the airport was tense when he and two friends managed to secure a flight out on his private plane just 15 minutes before Peru closed their borders.
“When we rolled up to the airport at like seven in the morning, it was wall-to-wall people and you couldn’t move,” Rodgers said.
“I was thinking, ‘This isn’t very safe.’ Not many masks on, and there was definitely a panic in the air.
“But somehow we made it down and then they shut the airport down because it was really bad weather.
“They had a drop-dead time where they were going to shut the entire airport down. We made it by about 15 minutes.”
Rodgers went on to compare his escape from Peru to the movie Argo, but admitted that ‘thankfully, nobody was chasing us’.
The superstar quarterback has returned to his home in California.
Australian punter’s NFL dream on hold
In a perfect world, Melbourne man Dane Roy would be making the 14,500 kilometre flight on Sunday in pursuit of his NFL dream.
But the global coronavirus outbreak has forced the record-breaking University of Houston punter's plans into a holding pattern.
The NCAA Division I college's Pro Day talent showcase - which would have attracted scouts from all 32 NFL franchises next week ahead of the April 23-25 Draft - has been cancelled.
And so Roy's fate lies in the hands of his American agent as the 31-year-old seeks to maintain his form and fitness on the other side of the world while monitoring Government travel and health advice.
The imposing 200cm, 102kg figure trains at his local park in Prahran with volunteers willing to sit under the sky-high right-foot bombs that saw Roy named one of US college football's top three punters last year.
"I think I've got enough on video, stats-wise and size to get me into at least a tryout ... but I definitely want more than that," Roy told AAP this week.
"You might only have three punts and then if you're not too good they'll say sorry and bring in the next guy.
"That's the type of environment it is. It's very cutthroat and if you can't do the job they'll find someone else who can."
With AAP
