Thread: 'Mountain' of 'Game of Thrones' once drew interest from the Colts

'Mountain' of 'Game of Thrones' once drew interest from the Colts

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The Mountain and Cersei.

If you're up on "Game of Thrones," you know of the Mountain, a gargantuan beast of a man who (spoilers redacted). And if you're here, you probably saw the Mountain and thought, "Sweet heaven! We could use that guy to protect our quarterback! Can he bring the sword on the field? Is that allowed?"


Well, the Indianapolis Colts were ahead of you by at least a year, and no, they weren't scouting universities in Westeros. (King's Landing is scared to play 'Bama, you know.) The Mountain is really a gentleman from Iceland by the name of Hafthor Bjornsson. And that's not CGI; he really is 6-foot-9 and weighs more than 400 pounds. He's placed near the top of the World's Strongest Man competition in each of the last three years. That was enough to draw the interest of Colts owner Jim Irsay last year:

Jim Irsay ✔ @JimIrsay Follow

Off/Def Lineman,so many 6-3 to 6-7..320-365 lbs/Big,Physical and Nasty! Speaking of size/strength..GM Grig's just might sign "The Icelander"

As Larry Brown Sports notes, Bjornsson squat-lifted nearly 800 pounds and benched more than 500. And he's only half a Thor! Imagine what a full Thor would do! (Sorry. So very, very sorry. I'll go watch old Jaguars games as punishment.)


Anyway, it never worked out, because Bjornsson has never played football, and while mountains are indeed fearsome, they don't have the mobility you'd like to see in a lineman. He seems like he's doing just fine regardless ... at least until (spoiler).


Now, this is really the space where we ought to compare various NFL players to various "Game of Thrones" characters, but that bit is the sportswriting equivalent of "how about that airline food, am I right?" Besides, we all know Roger Goodell holds the Iron Throne.