by Max Strauss

Pat Angerer played college football at the University of Iowa. He totaled 242 tackles, 2 sacks, and 6 interceptions during his junior and senior seasons. He entered the 2010 NFL Draft, and was drafted in the 2nd round by the Indianapolis Colts. I had a chance to meet him back in 2010 after his first NFL start against the Washington Redskins. He started every game in 2011 for the Colts and finished 4th in the league with 148 tackles. Check out our interview that was conducted in the spring of 2011.

I had the opportunity to briefly meet Pat Angerer after the Colts-Redskins game. Click this link here to the read that article about the experience that we shared together.

Download the audio with Pat Angerer, click here.

Announcement : My name is Max Strauss with http://prointerviews.org/, http://facebook.com/ProInterviews/ and http://twitter.com/ProInterviews/. I’d like to welcome you to the interview with Pat Angerer. Pat attended the University of Iowa and was a starter there for his junior and senior seasons. He was drafted in the second round, 63rd overall in the 2010 NFL Draft by the Indianapolis Colts. He started eleven games this past year, and I had the chance to meet him after his first NFL start [https://prointerviews.org/events/third/]. He totaled 88 tackles on the season. Here is the interview with Pat Angerer, I hope you enjoy the collages also.

Strauss : How do you connect with your fans?

Angerer : Well, I don’t have a twitter. I don’t have Facebook. I’m not really into seeing how many followers I could get. If somebody sends me something to sign it, I’ll send it back. I definitely love the support. I think anytime that you get people who support you and have your back, it’s great! I go back home all the time and have autograph signings, and go up town and meet people. It’s pretty cool the people that you meet and people who really support and care about you.

Strauss : Have you ever considered making a Twitter or Facebook to connect with more fans online?

Angerer : No. I kind of think twitter is kind of an arrogant type deal, kind of selfish, not really selfish… I don’t know. It’s kind of arrogant I guess to see how many people follow me, I don’t think I’m cool enough for people to care about what I’m doing. I feel it’s kind of like a privacy thing. I’d rather have people not know where I’m at, every second of the day. I don’t know. I’m just not really a big fan of the whole twitter thing. I think it’s stupid (laughs). I think people are most of the time arrogant and just want people to kiss their butt, and I don’t want people kissing my butt all day. I’m not a big fan of that. Obviously, it is also a cool way to reach out to your fans and stuff like that. I love all my fans. I think they know that, and if they support, I think it’s pretty cool.

Strauss : If you could meet anyone, who would it be and why?

Angerer : Oh man!! There are so many people. Can I have more than one? Give me three.

Strauss : Alright, three.

Angerer : This is not family members in the past. It’s Pat Tillman, who’s freaking badass, probably one of the greatest Americans to ever live. Wild Bill Hickok, I would love hanging out with him and have a couple drinks and have a good time. Kid Rock, I think that would be good, get us all together, and we would have a good time.

Strauss : If you weren’t playing in the NFL right now, what would you want to do?

Angerer : I have a pretty big love for this country. I respect every man and woman who fought for this country and are fighting for this country. I would probably be in the military, because those are the people who fight for our freedom. I think it’d be cool to be a part of it. Also, a big fan of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) and I think it’d be cool to at least train or to do something with that. I don’t think I’d be any good, but I think it’d be fun to be a part of something like that.

Strauss : What was your high school football experience like?

Angerer : It was cool. I went up to Varsity the end of my sophomore year. I played Defensive End, and I was 160 pounds. My junior year, I was not going to start. My buddy was starting in front of me at middle linebacker, and he decided to move down to defensive linemen because we didn’t have anybody else. And, I started. I ended up having around 200 tackles. I got a bunch of scholarship offers, and my senior year, we won states, so it was pretty awesome!

Strauss : What was the transition like for you between high school and going to Iowa?

Angerer : I think it was rough at the beginning. It’s a big transition with big responsibilities. You wake up at 6, then you workout, and then go to class all day, and then you have practice, then you got to study. You get done at like 9-10 o’clock at night and you got to wake up and do it all over again. It was definitely tough, but it taught me how to manage time, and it taught me to work hard. And, actually like learning football, in high school, you could just play and get away with it. In college, you have to run plays, and make checks. That was probably the biggest difference.

Strauss : Did you have a best friend at Iowa?

Angerer : I was pretty good buddies with a guy named Ryan Bain and Alex Kanellis. Alex had a difficult time playing football because he got a concussion. He had a bunch of concussions. I don’t know how many, but he had a lot. He had to quit playing going into my sophomore year. My other buddy Ryan actually had to transfer, and had to play at another school, so it was tough. That’s pretty much what happened. I ended up moving in with a guy named Troy Johnson, and we became pretty good buddies. I didn’t have many friends, but I liked everybody.

Strauss : What was your relationship like with Shonn Greene?

Angerer : I was always pretty good friends with Shonn Greene. He’s a great player. I loved watching him play, and I liked playing with him rather than against him. He’s one of the most humble guys ever. He’s one of the toughest guys too.

Strauss : Do you have a favorite memory from Iowa?

Angerer : I think my whole senior was pretty awesome. I’ll never forget that. We had more wins than anybody in Iowa history. It was just an unbelievable year. Going into the locker room after we had won the Orange Bowl, it gives me chills right now just thinking about it. We accomplished so much and we worked so hard, and to see our hard work pay off, it was definitely awesome.

Strauss : Your senior year you were also a Nagurski Award Finalist, do you have any thoughts on why you would be a finalist?

Angerer : It was a big honor obviously to be in a category with a lot of great players, but a lot of those awards are politics. If our team wasn’t doing well, I probably wouldn’t have been on that award list. But, it was an honor, and it was very, very cool to be down there in Charlotte. I met a lot of great people while I was there. I was able to spend some time with the hospitals down there, and meet some really, really cool people. That was a really fun experience, and one that I was never expecting. My senior year, I was just expecting to go and play and to be a finalist, it was a big honor.

Strauss : What was your draft day experience like?

Angerer : I wasn’t really expecting to be drafted that high. My agent did such a good job. He has you expect the worst. He has you hoping for the best, but expecting the worst, so you’re not let down which is a good thing. People’s agents tell them that they’re going to go real high and they don’t. Mine did such a good job of that. I was just relaxing and hanging out, and didn’t really even watch it to be honest with you. I got a call from an Indianapolis number and I thought somebody was messing with me. It was pretty awesome and a dream come true. It was unbelievable and my whole family was over, it was awesome.

Strauss : When did you think you were going to be drafted?

Angerer : I don’t know. I really didn’t know. I didn’t really care if I got drafted or not. I just wanted to be on a team. I was very, very fortunate to land where I did. I love it at here in Indiana. It’s freaking cool as hell, and the people here are awesome. Not to mention, the Colts are right up there and a damn good organization.

Strauss : What was the most important thing you learned at Iowa that helped you this past season?

Angerer : I think you learn how to be accountable not only for yourself, but for your teammates and for your coaches. It’s what I learned. I definitely learned to work really hard, and doing the little things right and good things will happen, and I think it showed this year.

Strauss : What’s your favorite feeling on the field?

Angerer : Honestly, I think the best feeling on the field is when you’re walking off the field knowing that you did all you could to help your team win. You put everything on the line. You did what you had to do so that your team could win. I think that’s the best feeling.

Strauss : Do you have a nickname?

Angerer : No.

Strauss : I remember when you drafted, people were saying, there couldn’t be a better name for a linebacker with the last namer, Angerer. Do you have thoughts on your last name and how you can relate that to your style of play?

Angerer : I don’t know. I always thought my last name was normal and once I started playing football, everybody was like, ‘Oh Angerer!’ They made a big deal about it. Obviously, you have to play with a little bit of aggression, little bit of anger, I think. I don’t play mad. I like to go out there and have fun and joke around. I also play hard though. I think if you can mesh all that in there, being aggressive but having fun, you can be successful.

Strauss : Have you ever considered starting a foundation or is there a charity that you support?

Angerer : Yeah, I am kind of thinking about starting a foundation. I’m still not so sure. I want to make sure it’s something that I really really love. Supporting our troops is what I would like to do something like we talked about before. We did just start a little foundation for my niece. She was diagnosed with Leukemia right after the season got over. We have been doing a bunch of auctions and benefits for her. People have been really, really generous and we have raised a lot of money. I told my brother, and she is doing really good right now. She just had a bone marrow transplant. Now, she’s definitely a soldier. It’s one of the most motivating things to see how tough she has been throughout this whole deal. To see what she had to go through, and she is tough as hell.

Strauss : What’s an experience that changed your life?

Angerer : Whew… man! My sophomore year I was like fourth or fifth string linebacker. Going into my junior year, I was second string. I had a lot of injuries, just little injuries. I was going out partying, staying up late, doing a lot of stupid stuff, being really immature. I was like finally, I have one shot at this, I need to work my ass off. I need to do everything I can in order to play, and I just wanted to play. I really changed my life then. I didn’t drink. I went to bed at 8 or 9 o’clock. I ate healthy. I did everything I could in order to get out on the field. Luckily, the guy in front of me got hurt, and I started the third game of the season my junior year, and I did good enough and they still kept me on the field. It all worked out and I took advantage of the opportunities.

Strauss : How much impact has Bill Polian had on your career already?

Angerer : Just knowing that he wanted to take a chance on me. That’s so motivating, and just so awesome. I work hard everyday because I don’t want to let him down. That guy took a big chance on me, and changed my life and my family. He made a big impact. I just don’t want to let him down. I’m very grateful for him.

Strauss : If you could describe yourself as any ice cream flavor, what would you be and why?

Angerer : Uhh… Vanilla. Because I’m just boring and simple. Was that good?

Strauss : For someone who wants to play football in the NFL, what’s the best advice you can give?

Angerer : Just do everything that you could do. Don’t do what everybody else is doing, work harder. I mean, everyone talks about how they want to be great, but nobody wants to put in the work. Just put in the work, that’s all you got to do. Just work your ass off, it’ll work out for you.

Strauss : Is there anything you want to tell Indianapolis fans or your fans from Iowa that we really haven’t talked about?

Angerer : Just that I’m grateful and blessed for your support. I try to play hard for them. Hopefully, I get better.

Strauss : Thank you so much for your time Pat. I really appreciate it.

Angerer : Alright brother, thank you. Good luck with everything. Stay out of trouble. Don’t get kicked out of school.

Announcement : Thank you for listening to the interview with Pat Angerer. I hope you enjoyed it. I hope you leave your comments below as well! Please check out my website https://prointerviews.org/ for other interviews, “LIKE” the Facebook page at http://facebook.com/ProInterviews/, and follow me on twitter at http://twitter.com/ProInterviews/, subscribe to me on YouTube at http://youtube.com/ProInterviews/ Thanks again for listening! Stay tuned for more, and feel free to contact me!

->Here are the personal questions Pat Angerer answered.<-

Strauss : What is your favorite movie of all time?

Angerer : I am a big Western fan. I like Tim Stone. I like Wyatt Earp. I like Wild Bill. I like a lot of Clint Eastwood movies. I am a big fan of the Boondock Saints, I think those are great movies! I like any Adam Sandler movie. I really don’t have a favorite. I have movies that I like. My wife and I watch a lot of movies. I also like, ‘The Big Lebowski’.

Strauss : Do you have a favorite TV show?

Angerer : I’m a big fan of, ‘The Office.’

Strauss : Do you have a favorite type of pie?

Angerer : To be honest with you, I don’t normally eat pie that much.

Strauss : What would your last meal on Earth be?

Angerer : I’d probably have a good old country breakfast. Bacon, Eggs, Sausages, biscuits, gravy, hash-browns, and coffee. Now, that’s a meal!