‘NCIS’ star Olsen latched on to Vikings
Actor Eric Christian Olsen grew up on the border between Iowa and Illinois on the Mississippi River. Half of Olsen’s friends were Chicago Bears fans and the other half Green Bay Packers fans. Olsen decided to join his father, who’s a Minnesota native, and root for the Vikings.
Surprisingly, Olsen’s least favorite Viking to root for growing up was Randy Moss. Olsen thought Moss had so much natural talent but didn’t have the commitment and work ethic that someone like counterpart Jerry Rice had.
“He drove me a little bit crazy because he was so cocky, but he was so good, like the years with (Daunte) Culpepper. ... He would throw it up in the air, and Moss would just come down with it,” Olsen told USA TODAY Sports’ For The Win for its Celeb Pick ’Em NFL series.
What might be even more shocking is Olsen’s favorite Viking ever: Brett Favre.
“When he wore a Vikings jersey and everyone in Green Bay was burning his jersey, that was a great year for me,” he said. “That’s my generation of football players. That’s the quarterback I grew up loving. And I think that to this day, no matter how hard he got hit, he got up and he was smiling, and he was in the next play, and he was a stud. Brett Favre is the real deal.”
Today, Olsen admires Vikings wideout Stefon Diggs. Every year, Olsen attends at least one Vikings home game, and he was impressed when he saw Diggs playing catch with kids for an hour during warmups with no cameras surrounding him.
“He’s someone who’s got so much natural talent who came out of nowhere,” Olsen said of Diggs, a fifth-round draft pick in 2015. “He plays the game the way that I love to watch the game. I think from the standpoint of appreciating where he is and celebrating that with his fans, I stand behind that guy 100%. He’s a true talent and gentleman.”
When not cheering the Vikings, Olsen stars on NCIS: Los Angeles, which airs Sundays at 8 p.m. on CBS. Olsen’s brother, a former Navy SEAL, is his stunt double.
“You can always tell when it switches from me because I’m running through and it switches to him, and he’s a little bigger everywhere,” Olsen said. “His biceps are bigger, and then he dives out of the window and things explode.”
To see Olsen’s picks for the wild-card games, go to ftw.usatoday.com.