Terence Newman, Vikings defense credit red wine for their success
So much for the Purple People Eaters. This Minnesota Vikings defense is the Purple Pinot Partakers.
Yup, the Vikings are crediting their top-10 pass defense to the wonders of a little red wine, Minnesota’s entire secondary told The Wall Street Journal’s Kevin Clark. Earlier this season, 37-year-old Vikings cornerback Terence Newman told the St. Paul Pioneer Press that red wine is “the key” to his longevity. “Get it in your veins, baby,” he said. “Keeps you strong.” And apparently his teammates were listening.
[Yahoo Daily Fantasy: $10 could win you $30K in our $300K contest for Week 15]
The first order of business for safeties Harrison Smith and Robert Blanton, cornerbacks Xavier Rhodes and Captain Munnerlyn and the rest of the Vikings secondary was to buy some wine. That very night, Newman’s phone received a series of photo texts of the bottles his fellow defensive backs bought.
Here’s how Blanton describes to Clark the inductive reasoning that brought them to the bottles.
“Newman is a vet, he’s been in the league so long and young guys are sitting there saying: ‘He’s been in the league this long because of the red wine.’ Now everyone’s drinking it.”
Newman reportedly recommended Meiomi Pinot Noir as a starter kit for his teammates, and that bottle has become a staple of Monday Night Football viewing parties at Smith’s house. Not a bad house wine, if you can afford $20 for your everyday wine. According to The Wall Street Journal, Newman has a more refined palate, buying cases of DuMol Pinot Noir — closer to $70 a bottle, depending on the vintage.
“Physically I’ve been gifted to be able to play this game, I do not know what else to attribute it to. I’d say it’s my love of wine,” Newman told the WSJ. “Whether or not that’s true you’d have to do some studies. But I’m sticking to it and I’ll keep drinking red wine.”
Speaking of vintage, Newman’s 45 tackles, 11 passes defended and three interceptions has him on pace to match the numbers he put up in each of his Pro Bowl seasons for the Dallas Cowboys in 2007 and 2009. As a unit, Minnesota ranks eighth in passing yards allowed this season, and the defense has been one of the biggest reasons the Vikings own the NFC’s sixth seed with three weeks to play in the regular season.
Interestingly, Newman isn’t the only aging defensive back who considers himself a wine connoisseur. Oakland Raiders safety Charles Woodson has been producing Charles Woodson Wines since 2001, and at the ripe old age of 39, he’s among the leading candidates for Defensive Player of the Year. So, maybe there is something to red wine holding the key to NFL longevity. Disagree? Well, now that’s just sour grapes.
PODCAST: Who can stop the Panthers and Patriots?:
Grandstanding: A Yahoo Sports podcast
Subscribe via iTunes or via RSS feed
– – – – – – –
Ben Rohrbach is a contributor for Ball Don’t Lie and Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @brohrbach
