Seahawks
Hawks punter Rouen roots for Olympic friends

By Greg Bishop
Seattle Times staff reporter

GEORGE BRIDGES / KNIGHT RIDDER, 2003 Tom Rouen is married to a former Olympian and is friends with two current ones.

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CHENEY — They cruised through postcards on those snowmobiles, slicing through pristine white Colorado snow, slipping around scenery so picturesque it deserved a snapshot, a cheesy heading and a 23-cent stamp.

They forged an unlikely friendship out there on those snowmobiles — the NFL punter and the Olympian Greco-Roman wrestler, buddies since meeting at a charity skeet shooting event, bonded by a mutual love for the outdoors.

That's what Tom Rouen flashed back to when he heard the news that made his heart sink, then lift not more than a few months later.

Those snowmobiles.

Rescue workers found Rulon Gardner — a gold medalist, an Olympian again in training, a man Rouen calls "one of my really close friends" — after a snowmobile accident in February 2002. Gardner had spent a night in temperatures 25 degrees below zero. His body temperature dipped below 90 degrees.

Doctors removed the middle toe on his right foot and contemplated amputating both of Gardner's feet, a move that would have ended his career and crushed any dreams of Athens and repeated Olympic glory.

"And then he made his way back to the Olympics," Rouen said the other day, beaming at the end of another two-a-day practice. "I'd sure love to see him win another gold. That would go down as one of the greatest stories of all time."

Every four years, the greatest spectacle in sports humbles and inspires Rouen, putting his day job — punting footballs — in perspective. The Olympics mean more to him than most because of a slew of connections, his Olympic "friends and family plan."

Rouen was engaged to swimmer Amy Van Dyken between the 1996 Games in Atlanta and the 2000 Games in Sydney. When they were living in Colorado, he saw her rise at 4:30 a.m. to drive to Colorado Springs for workouts. He watched the laps, the sit-ups, the workouts that never seemed to end — all for one Olympic week ... and the four gold medals Van Dyken won in two Olympics.

Training camp two-a-days didn't seem so difficult anymore. The two Super Bowl rings Rouen won with the Denver Broncos didn't seem as important in the married couple's family trophy case.

And then there's Gardner, and his comeback story filled with inspiration. Doctors wondered if he would walk again. Now, he's hoping to walk home with another gold medal draped around his neck.

"For four years, they lay everything on the line, to train for events that only last a week," Rouen said. "Or one race. And there's no tomorrow for them. It's humbling to see people work so hard for something that they have one shot at. For the first Olympics, Amy trained for 1,000 days. Think about that.

"One thousand days of training. That's like training 1,000 days for one game — the Super Bowl."

Knowing that, Rouen still wasn't surprised at the message on his cell phone in early 2002.

"I'm thinking about doing something," Van Dyken said. "Call me back."

Rouen knew exactly what she meant — thinking about a comeback, another round of workouts and early risers, another chance to feel the same way Gardner felt atop the podium.

By the time Rouen called his wife back, she had changed her mind. And then Gardner got in an accident on the very vehicle that forged their friendship. It looked like Rouen would lose two Olympians in one year.

But not so fast. That Olympic spirit conquers more than most think possible.

"I would just love to see him conquer the quest that he's started again," Rouen said. "You're talking about one of the greatest stories of all time."

Rouen won't be able to catch much of the Olympics on TV. He is, after all, locked in another training-camp battle in his 12th season.

Last season, he finished fifth in the NFL with a 39.1 net punting average and third in the league with a career-high 29 punts inside the 20-yard-line. Yet the Seahawks used a seventh-round draft choice on LSU punter Donnie Jones, a youngster with a booming leg but no consistency.

"(Rouen) has helped me out tremendously," Jones said. "I'd be crazy not to learn everything I can from him."

Asked how many punters he has beaten out over the years, Rouen paused for a quick count.

"Probably 12," he said.

"It took me a couple of years (to catch on)," Rouen added. "Then when I broke in with Denver, I finished second in the NFL. So by then I had kind of figured it out. It took me going through the World League and going through that whole thing. That's the price young guys have to pay to make it in the league."

Nothing like the price Van Dyken made for four gold medals. Or Gardner made en route back to the Olympics.

So, between practices next week, Rouen will try to catch his friend on TV in Athens. He'll watch another friend, weightlifter Shane Hamman, and see if 1,000 days equates to a gold medal. He'll view his wife doing analysis of the Games for KPNX in Phoenix.

And he'll get caught up, like much of the country, in the Olympic ideal.

"You look at what the Olympians go through," Rouen said. "It's tough. I know I'll be watching."

Greg Bishop: 206-464-3191 or gbishop@seattletimes.com

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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