*This post contains spoilers for season five of Game of Thrones*
NFL players don’t have as much free time as the average Joe. Even though they have a week in between games and a rather long offseason, they have to work year-round keeping up their strength and conditioning and learning the playbook. Because of this, not every NFL player is able to keep up on the world of modern television, specifically the HBO hit show Game of Thrones.
As one NFL player put it to the Wall Street Journal:
“If you don’t know that Jon Snow died, if you don’t know what the White Walkers are, that’s not my problem,” said Washington Redskins tight end Niles Paul, referencing a character who appeared to die in the last episode and a new breed of villains that were a focal point of the most recent season. “It means you aren’t a fan and you don’t watch the show.”
Harsh. To avoid players like Paul spoiling major plot-points from the show, players are being forced to try and binge-watch Game of Thrones in between practices. Washington Redskins running back Silas Redd watched “four or five episodes” the first night of Redskins training camp, while Cleveland Browns tight end Gary Barnidge was seen “covering his ears or head out the other way” when talk of Stannis burning his children at the stake, or Sansa and Reek running away from Ramsay together, came up in between two-a-days.
One can only imagine what other shows NFL players risk getting spoiled at training camp. Is Peyton Manning itching to discuss with his Broncos teammates how Mad Men ended? Is J.J. Watt dying to theorize what’s going on with The Wolves on The Walking Dead with the Texans front seven? What a tough life.
(Via The Wall Street Journal)
