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It’s no secret that Harry Kane is a massive fan of the NFL.
Kane’s beloved New England Patriots won their sixth championship in February when they defeated the Los Angeles Rams 13-3 in Super Bowl LIII. Harry was injured at the time and was able to travel to Atlanta to attend the game. He even got to meet Tom Brady, one of his sporting idols, after the game.
It’s also no secret that Kane is one of the best soccer players in the world, but that hasn’t stopped him from setting his sights on a career in the NFL someday.
In a lengthy interview with ESPNFC, Kane spoke about his desire to be a professional American football player too.
“That’s real,” he insists. “Something that in 10 or 12 years I definitely want to try. It goes back to that drive to be the best. Even if I download a game on my phone, can I be the best in the world? If you play in the Premier League and the World Cup and you then play in the NFL, would you then be considered one of the greatest sportsmen ever?”
Kane’s determination is part of what makes him such a great player, so it may be unwise to bet against him eventually finding a spot in the NFL as a placekicker.
It wouldn’t be unheard of. Plenty of NFL kickers played soccer in their youths, and there are a few different instances where professional or collegiate soccer players have exchanged their shin guards for a helmet and tried to make it professionally by kicking at uprights instead of at nets.
Jacksonville Jaguars kicker Josh Lambo was selected 8th overall by FC Dallas in the 2008 MLS Superdraft. He was a goalkeeper, and a pretty good one at that. Lambo even made a couple appearances for the United States U17 and U20 national teams. He eventually gave up his soccer career to enroll at Texas A&M University, where he joined the football team, and the rest is history.
In 2017, Kane practiced field goals at the New York Giants training facility when Tottenham were touring the United States during their preseason. His skills were impressive as he made a 50-yard field goal at one point.
As the article mentions, former Spurs’ striker Clive Allen played for a bit in NFL Europe during the late 1990’s after his soccer career.
It seems part of Kane’s inspiration to be the best in all he does comes from watching Brady.
“We’ve had a similar path being doubted when we were younger. Maybe not being the best athletes as kids. It was quite a big inspiration. Not many people thought he’d become that good, or even play in the NFL, and he went on to become the best ever. At the time, it gave me a real boost to say, look, anything is possible. If you have that self-belief and that drive and that hunger, you can do it.”
Not many athletes of any kind can say they were as dominant in their sport as TB12 has been in his. Brady has six titles, three MVP awards, 14 Pro Bowl selections, and countless other records, and he’s still going strong at the age of 41.
If Kane does make the switch to play across the pond, it wouldn’t be anytime soon. Harry will turn 26 this summer and still has much of his prime ahead of him. He’ll want to win many trophies with Spurs before trying to win a Super Bowl.
The interview also touches on Kane’s feelings about the current situation at Tottenham. His words are similar to what we’ve heard from him in the past about the project and upward momentum happening at the club.
“Of course we want to go on to the next level and win the Premier League, and win trophies. But to consistently outperform these teams that have always been above us, it shows that we’re in a good place ... I’ve always said as long as the club is moving in the right direction and showing the right ambition, I want to be part of the journey.”
Hopefully Spurs can continue to improve and continue to match the ambition of Kane and some of their other key players.
Again, check out the full interview on ESPNFC to hear all of Kane’s thoughts about the NFL and about his current career in English football.