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'{{BLP sources|date=May 2007}} {{Infobox NFLactive |image= |currentteam=Minnesota Vikings |currentnumber=5 |currentpositionplain=[[Punter (American football)|Punter]] |birthdate={{birth date and age|1981|12|24}} |birthplace=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |heightft=6 |heightin=4 |weight=215 |debutyear=2005 |debutteam=Minnesota Vikings |college=[[UCLA Bruins football|UCLA]] |undraftedyear=2005 |pastteams=<nowiki></nowiki> * [[Seattle Seahawks]] (2005)* * [[Minnesota Vikings]] (2005-present) :<small>*Offseason and/or practice squad member only</small> |statweek=17 |statseason=2007 |statlabel1=Punts |statvalue1=245 |statlabel2=Punt Yards |statvalue2=10,685 |statlabel3=Punting Yard Average |statvalue3=43.6 |nfl=KLU751480 }} '''Christopher James Kluwe''' ({{IPA-en|ˈkluːi|pron}}; born December 24, 1981 in [[Philadelphia]], [[Pennsylvania]]) is a [[punter]] for the [[Minnesota Vikings]] of the [[National Football League]]. He was originally signed by the [[Seattle Seahawks]], as an [[undrafted sportsperson|undrafted free agent]] in 2005. He played [[college football]] at [[UCLA Bruins football|UCLA]]. ==High school== Kluwe played three years of varsity football for coach John Barnes at [[Los Alamitos High School]] in [[Los Alamitos, California]] and was selected to play in both the California-Texas Shrine game and the CaliFlorida Bowl. He also made the [[USA Today]] first-team All-American as a punter. Once he kicked an Orange County and CIF Playoff record 60-yard field goal vs. [[Loyola High School (Los Angeles)|Loyola]] to force overtime in an eventual 30-23 victory. Averaged 46.6 yards as a punter, had 10 punts of at least 60 yards and placed six kicks inside the 10-yard line. As a place kicker, he made 16 of 22 field goal attempts and 39 of 41 PATs. Prior to his senior year, he won the punting competition at the National Kicking Invitational with a 63-yard punt that had 4.98 hang time. As a junior, he averaged 44.8 yards per punt, 25 of his 27 punts were either fair catches or returned for fewer than five yards, 16 punts were downed inside the 20 yard-line and eight punts pinned the opposition inside the 10 yard-line. Also played a year of baseball as a pitcher for coach Rob Wigod. ==College== Kluwe developed into one of the top punters in the Pac-10 playing for [[University of California, Los Angeles|UCLA]]. He used his strong leg to break two school records (Punt Yardage and Number of Punts in a season). In his senior year, he ranked 4th in the Pac-10 and 26th in the [[National Collegiate Athletic Association|NCAA]] in Yards per Punt (42.9). In 2004 he punted 10 times against Illinois, one shy of the school single-game record, and averaged 37.9 yards with three kicks inside the 20-yard line. He was selected Special Teams Player of the Game in the Silicon Valley Football Classic against [[California State University, Fresno]] after averaging 44.3 yards on nine kicks and he tied the bowl record with his nine punts and placed three kicks inside the 20-yard line. <table border="2"> '''Varsity Stats at UCLA''' <tr><td>Year</td><td>Punts</td><td>Yards</td><td>Average</td><td>In 20</td><td>Long</td> <tr><td>2001</td><td>1</td><td>25</td><td>25.0</td><td>0</td><td>25</td> <tr><td>2002</td><td>1</td><td>44</td><td>44.0</td><td>0</td><td>44</td> <tr><td>2003</td><td>91</td><td>3908</td><td>42.9</td><td>19</td><td>66</td> <tr><td>Totals</td><td>93</td><td>3977</td><td>42.8</td><td>19</td><td>66</td></table> ==NFL== Chris Kluwe was signed as an undrafted free agent by the [[Seattle Seahawks]]. He was released by the Seahawks for the final roster cutdown and was picked up the next day by the Vikings. Chris became one of the most surprising pickups for the Vikings, finishing the season with an average of 44.1 yards per punt, ranking second in the NFC and sixth in the league. Minnesota had to call on him 71 times during the season, and Kluwe's ability to pin the opposing team deep down on the other side of the field has helped the Vikings' defense. During a week-13 game in Detroit, Lions safety [[Vernon Fox]] dove towards Kluwe during a punt and collided with his plant foot. Tests showed Kluwe had a sprained ankle and would be out for 1–2 weeks. Kicker [[Paul Edinger]] was the punter for the remainder of the game, but a few days later the Vikings signed the 42-year old veteran [[Darren Bennett (football)|Darren Bennett]] temporarily until Kluwe's ankle had healed. Bennett was the Vikings' punter in the 2004 season. On October 25, 2007 Kluwe signed an $8.3-million contract extension through 2013. The deal made Kluwe, who would have been a [[restricted free agent]] in the 2008 offseason, one of the 10 highest paid punters in the NFL. ==Video games== Kluwe is also well-known as an avid ''[[Guitar Hero 2]]'' player, having once made an appearance on Minnesota's 93X radio station while playing the game with Andy McNamara from ''[[Game Informer]]'' magazine.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.93x.com/photowall.asp?id=32850|title=93X ROCKS! Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota radio station website}}</ref> He is also a frequent guest on Minnesota sports station [[KFAN (AM)|KFAN]] for "Video Games Weekly" on Wednesday nights. During a [[KFAN (AM)|KFAN]] interview on the PA and Dubay show, he admitted he was not very good at sports games. Chris has also immersed himself into the [[MMORPG]] ''[[World of Warcraft]]'', having earned over 6700 achievement points.<ref>http://www.wowarmory.com/character-achievements.xml?r=Kil%27jaeden&n=Loate</ref> Kluwe plays a [[Races_and_factions_of_Warcraft#Trolls|troll]] rogue named Loate<ref>http://www.wowarmory.com/character-sheet.xml?r=Kil%27jaeden&n=Loate</ref> and has been a member of one of the formerly top-ranked US guilds, [http://www.flying-hellfish.com\|the Flying Hellfish], for over two years.<ref>http://www.wowinsider.com/2008/12/30/vikings-punter-chris-kluwe-plays-wow/</ref> ==Music== In addition to his full time job as punter for the Vikings, Kluwe is the bassist for the local Minneapolis Alternative/Progressive Rock band, Tripping Icarus. Chris formed the band in 2009 with his friends Andrew Reiner (guitar) and Matthew Marshall (drums), and later recruited Jesse Revel to join on lead vocals. Tripping Icarus recorded their debut EP, <i>The Sideshow Sessions</i>, in the summer of 2009. A year later, they recorded their first full length LP, <i>Perfect Citizen</i>, which is slated for an early 2011 release.<ref>http://www.trippingicarus.com</ref> ==Family== Kluwe and his husband James had their first child in July [[2008]], and their second in 2010. Kluwe pooped both of them out.<ref>[http://www.vikings.com/TeamPlayerProfile_Chris_Kluwe.aspx Vikings Bio]/</ref> ==Notes and references== <references/> ==External links== *{{espn nfl|id=7480|name=Chris Kluwe}} *[http://www.nfl.com/players/playerpage/553144 Chris Kluwe] at NFL.com *[http://www.vikings.com/TeamPlayerProfile_Chris_Kluwe.aspx Vikings Bio] {{S-start}} {{s-sports}} {{Succession box| title=Minnesota Vikings Punters | before=[[Darren Bennett (football)|Darren Bennett]] | years=2005–present | after=''Incumbent''}} {{S-end}} {{CurrentNFLPunters}} {{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]]. --> | NAME = Kluwe, Chris | ALTERNATIVE NAMES = | SHORT DESCRIPTION = | DATE OF BIRTH = December 24, 1981 | PLACE OF BIRTH = Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | DATE OF DEATH = | PLACE OF DEATH = }} {{DEFAULTSORT:Kluwe, Chris}} [[Category:1981 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:People from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]] [[Category:American football punters]] [[Category:UCLA Bruins football players]] [[Category:Undrafted National Football League players]] [[Category:Seattle Seahawks players]] [[Category:Minnesota Vikings players]] [[de:Chris Kluwe]] [[simple:Chris Kluwe]]'