Will Ferrell crashes Seattle Seahawks video meeting, pretends to be new player
Don't expect him to be on special teams, but he's already drawing up his own NFL plays.
Comedian Will Ferrell has played quite a few athletes in his time -- just watch the 2008 film Semi-Pro, 2007's Blades of Glory, or the classic 2006 sports comedy Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. But on Thursday, he played a new Seattle Seahawks player, showing up at the NFL franchise's virtual meeting and surprising the team.
Coach Pete Carroll said he wanted to introduce the team to its new player, pretending the player was newly acquired tight end Greg Olsen, and then the familiar face of Ferrell showed up, clad in a Seahawks No. 12 jersey.
"Greg Olsen looks a little different here," the team's official Twitter account announced when sharing the video. "Special guest Will Ferrell crashed today's virtual team meeting."
Naturally, the comic stayed in character, Ferrell-style, announcing he'd drawn up a new play called "90-G9-Flywheel-Kanye-Starburst" and pulling up his shirt to show off his not-exactly-toned belly. He gave his age as 36 (he's 52), and declared he was never going to play on special teams, "not ever, even if all 52 guys are hurt."
Coach Carroll later thanked the actor for brightening up the get-together. "Thanks to Will Ferrell aka the Big G.O. for zoombombing our team meeting today!" Carroll tweeted.
And Olsen himself played along, tweeting, "What a warm welcome!"
Carroll and Ferrell have a friendship that goes back years. Carroll coached at Ferrell's alma mater, USC, before joining the Seahawks.