What a kick

Norwegian Harvey Rugland, without having played a single football game at any level of the sport, is suddenly pursuing a shot at making it to the NFL. And it’s all because of a YouTube video.

Sound incredible? Well, so are some of the kicks and tricks Rugland, 28, can pull off.

That’s why the video he put together for some friends has turned him into an Internet sensation, with 2 million views and counting. And that’s why the same video turned into an inadvertent auditioning tape — earning him a tryout last month with the New York Jet, who liked him enough to invite Rugland back for a second audition in March.

So what is it about his fourminute video — “Kickalicious” — that has impressed people? Well, the footage of him kicking field goals from 60 yards and soccerstyle volleys through the uprights is the least of it.

His repertoire includes kicking the ball into a basketball hoop — nothing but net — and into the arms of people in moving cars, floating down a lake in a boat, or atop a hill. For his grand finale, he casually punts one football into the air, then kicks a second ball off a tee so it hits the first one in midair.

“I’m probably the most satisfied with the last kick, which is the one I’ve received the most compliments about,” Rugland said. “I needed eight tries before I pulled it off.”