American football A map of the United States full of needles tells the confusing truth about the future of 18-year-old Olaus Alinen

Pori

From Pori Olaus Alisen the old room of the childhood home is largely emptied of goods, but something really special can be found there.

It’s a map of the United States with several pin pins inserted into it – east, west, south, and north.

“They’re offers,” Alinen says, looking at the map.

The word in this case means a scholarship offer. Alinen has received them from universities in California, New York and Texas, for example.

“Although this map was last updated in the summer, there have been nine more offers since then,” Alinen says.

For example, the state of Florida is missing two pin pins, as Alinen received a scholarship offer not only to the University of Florida but also to the University of Miami after the summer.

“At least Maryland, Stanford, Ohio and Alabama are missing, too,” Alinen lists from external memory.

There where an ordinary high school student from Pori is currently preparing for the spring student exams to get the best possible starting point for the summer entrance exams, Olaus Alinen, the top promise of American football, will choose one of his pins and walk into the university of his choice in the United States.

Alinen would like to make his decision in the summer in order to concentrate in peace on sports and study in the fall.

In any case, the agreement will not be signed until mid-December. That’s when the annual National Signing Day, a big and televised spectacle in Texas, is held for U.S. college athletes.

After that, Alinen starts preparing for her university studies, which she would like to start in January next year.

All the engine is a dream that one day Alinen will be able to play American football in the NFL – perhaps the first Finn ever.

The NFL dream also determines which university Alinen chooses, as different universities offer different frameworks for a sports career. However, it is not just about sports but also about life after that.

“I’ve been thinking about the retail industry – some kind of financial hassle and maybe real estate brokerage at the same time,” Alinen ponders in the living room of her home.

If Olaus ends up in the trade, he will follow his father too Klaus Alisen in the footsteps.

Klaus Alinen had a contract with the NFL club Atlanta Falcons fifteen years ago, but he never got to play in that league. He has worked for years as a sales director for a company that sells label printers around the world.

It is with the product of this particular company that Klaus has also printed stickers from various universities on the Olaus scholarship offer map.

“I have to tune the printer back in order to get the map up to date,” Klaus says.

Map may receive additional replenishment spring during. Olaus says some U.S. promises may receive scholarship offers from as many as 50 to 60 universities.

“Of course, that doesn’t happen very often, but in Texas, for example, there are friends who are offered first scholarships sometimes as 7th-8th graders. That’s where they can accumulate over the years. ”

What happens to Olaus Alinen is even rarer, as no Finnish athlete has received as many scholarship offers to US universities – not even a basketball star. Lauri Markkanen.

That is why the 34 scholarship offers are an incomprehensibly hard number, which has completely exceeded the expectations of 18-year-old Alinen.

“The parents were not surprised. Yes, we knew, ”Klaus throws.

Olaus in turn, know at least that there are three universities that are currently rising above the others. In any case, it’s a good idea to limit your options to five, as Alinen’s entire family will be invited to visit five universities in the United States next summer.

“They introduce their own universities and give Olaus sales talks about why he should choose them,” Klaus says.

Universities are introduced also virtually. Olaus tweeted last week how grateful he was that Stanford University introduced his football team to the entire Alinen family online.

Although the options seem to be the darkest in the clouds, Olaus Alinen’s head stays cold.

“Yes, the so-called best options can be narrowed down already at this point when you know what you are looking for,” he says.

“But you still have to think about, for example, whether you want to live in a small or big city, what kind of coaches the university team has and what kind of weather conditions there are.”

Alinen admits that he would love to live in a warm place. These are currently available in, for example, Florida, California and Texas.

However, the weather alone does not determine everything, because it is not a trip to the sun.

“It has to be the kind of place where you know you’ll enjoy it during the four years of studying there. It also affects the kind of people you can work with there. ”

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“You should also get ‘Beer’ shirts here sometimes.”

Weight there is also how good an American football team can be found in college.

Although the university also offers lunch for future working life, the focus is primarily on sports. Yes, Alinen knows which universities are in the playoffs each year and which produce the most athletes for the NFL.

Life revolves around American football in general. In the home of the subjects, it has always been present.

One concrete example of this is the storage room of a detached house in Ruosniemi, Pori, which has been turned into a video game and television room, the so-called male cave.

On the wall is a jersey with Alinen on the back. However, the shirt is not from Olaus, as all the props in the room are from Klaus’s playing years.

“At least for now. You should also get ‘Beer’ shirts here sometimes, ”says Klaus.

The room is important, as Dad and Son have spent many Sundays there with the NFL. The hobby has been united since he was a child, although Olaus only started following the sport more closely when he was in high school.

Super Bowlin Alinen, however, watched with her father at primary school and got off school for that, as the match is played on the night between Sunday and Monday.

“The teacher was very compassionate and understood,” Klaus says. He himself coveted a spot as an inside winger in the Atlanta lineup before the 2006 NFL season.

However, like last year, the father and son of the next Super Bowl are watching at different addresses. Olaus, who spent his Christmas holiday in Pori, has already returned to the Loomis Chaffee school campus in the city of Windsor in the United States and will return to Finland next time in July.

The Super Bowl is played in February and is a highlight for every sport person. However, the subordinates have never visited the game on the spot.

“But I hope the fairy and mom get to see me in the Super Bowl someday,” Olaus says.

“Sounds like a good deal,” Klaus comments.