What Scares NFL Players Off the Field

Everyone gets scared, and some enjoy it, as shown through the hundreds of millions of dollars grossed by movies like It. Shows like The Walking Dead and Stranger Things have cult followings of tens of millions of viewers. Bleacher Reporter asked some NFL players what scary movies and shows they like, as well as what actually scares them in real life.

Chris McCain, DE, of the Los Angeles Chargers, said that he liked The Walking Dead but the show lost him after four seasons because it dragged on too long. But if he had to survive a zombie apocalypse, he said he would break into a gun store, get guns and ammo, and make sure that he doesn’t come back a zombie.

But Gerald McCoy, DE, of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, said that he watches The Walking Dead by himself on his phone because his wife doesn’t love the show. Same with Russell Okung, OT, of the Los Angeles Chargers. McCoy would probably find a “like-minded” group of people if the zombies really do come.

As for the other popular, but freaky, show out there, Stranger Things, players seem to like it. Martellus Bennett, TE, of the Green Bay Packers, Tarik Cohen, RB, of the Chicago Bears, and Okung, all watch and like the show.

“I never thought I’d be afraid of watching children. That was the biggest surprise. My prediction is everybody gets stuck there at Upside Down,” said Okung, according to Bleacher Report.

As for real-life paranormal activity? Bennett and Okung said they believe in the supernatural, but Donovan Smith, OT, of the Tampa Bay Buccanneers, said he doesn’t believe in any of it.

Neither Acho nor Cohen is a fan of clowns, and Kyle Long, OG, of the Chicago Bears, thinks they’re “more weird than scare.” McCoy meanwhile, said he’d “slap the taste out of clown’s mouth. I ain’t scared of no clown.”

Long said he is afraid of the ocean, “things we don’t know about,” and a nuclear attack. McCoy hates rodents. Smith is terrified of moths, and Mark Sanchez, QB, Chicago Bears, is afraid of Kyle Long.