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Saturday, 07/05/2008
Daunte Culpepper Gets Drafted br>By Daily Diary - The Sporting News Editor's Note: We put this on our website because we like Daunte as our starter and wanted people to always remember what he was like when he first came into the league. This was originally published by the Sporting News in May or June 1999, right after the Vikes picked Daunte.
I was kind of almost praying that I'd get picked (by the Vikings), because I kind of figured this would be a great situation to fall into. I felt like the luckiest person in the world to get picked to come here. I couldn't have fallen into a better position. I was hoping they would take me the whole time. There wouldn't have been a better situation for me than to go there and learn underneath Randall Cunningham. To go to a team that's winning is great. They've got everybody coming back and the starter is a great guy to learn from and you know he's not going to be there for a long, long period of time. There just couldn't have been a better situation. When I was in Little League, I wore No. 12 just because of (Cunningham). He was my boyhood idol. Learning underneath Randall Cunningham and Jeff George is the ideal situation for any quarterback coming out. I don't mind being on the back burner for a while. I'm that type of guy anyway. I'm not a real flashy guy. I don't like to be on the scene all the time. I really feel like I was meant to play in the NFL, and now I really feel I was meant to be here (in Minnesota). I had to be, because the chances of me coming here were pretty slim to begin with. I had heard that other teams ahead of the Vikings were very interested in me, so I wasn't expecting to be here. I've worked very hard to get here. All I've been thinking is Vikings ever since they called my name. If it happens for me sometime this year or if it happens two years from now, I'm going to be ready for it. I can't sit and say I want to set a time frame to start. I'm just going to go out and work hard and learn and be the best player I can be. I can't really imagine waiting two years and not playing. I've never done that before. It's tough, but it's something I'll have to deal with if it does happen. Playing behind Randall Cunningham will make it easier, though. It makes the situation a little better. I'm going to be so excited just to be playing with him. The Vikings are getting a guy that every single opportunity he gets in football and in life, he's going to try and be the best at it. A guy who will take care of business when business needs taking care of. A guy who likes to have fun. I'm serious, but I like to have fun, too. A guy who hopefully everybody likes to be around and everybody likes. As far as my game goes, I think physically I'm ready to compete. But the recognition of defenses and coverages is going to be real important to my success. Physically I'm ready to throw any route or do any type of running that I have to do. I'm just ready to get out there in the heat of battle. I respect everyone but I fear no one. Intimidation won't be a factor. Some people ask me if I mind the constant attention that came with being one of the first-round quarterbacks drafted this year. It doesn't bother me because I like people. I really like people. Some guys don't. But it's always been nice for me because I like being with people. That's all a part of the deal. People say you're a role model as an athlete, and I don't mind being an role model. But being an athlete alone doesn't make you a good role model. You have to be a good person first to be a role model.
I try never to forget where I came from. I came from not a whole lot of money. I've been there and I know what it's like to be the person who doesn't have a lot. That keeps me striving to keep up with what I'm doing. I get a lot of praise and everything, but hopefully it's not just because of my athletic ability. I want people to like me as a person, too. That's more important to me than anything.
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