Brazilian Footvolley champ
A Brazilian Border Collie named Floki has gone viral for his incredible athletic skills while playing footvolley, which is part soccer, part volleyball. Floki has attracted crowds in Brazil where he tirelessly plays the sport, chasing after the ball and hitting it over the net for hours. Gustavo Rodrigues, who is Floki’s owner, happens to be a footvolley coach. Rodrigues noticed the border collie’s energy — and potential for footvolley — when he chased and leaped after balloons at only two months. Floki then participated in an “altinha,” where a soccer ball is kept in the air between those in the circle. Now 3 years old, the pup has taken over the internet as a footvolley star.
The skill lends itself well to the hybrid sport, which involves the same rules as beach volleyball but uses a shorter net. It also takes from soccer where players cannot use their hands and arms. On any typical weekend, Floki and Rodrigues can participate in beach matches — with crowds of people watching. “It generates talk, and people make fun,” Rodrigues told the AP of Floki’s skills. “No one likes to lose a point to him, so people play their hearts out against us.” Floki’s focus, speed and dexterity are important skills on the footvolley court. According to the American Kennel Club, Border Collies are extremely smart and the breed has broken records for intelligence and other skills, so it’s no surprise how Floki picked up the game. The border collie also seems to have some strategy down. “He does things that even some professionals don’t — like positioning on the court,” Rodrigues also explained. “Sometimes the ball goes from one side (of the court) to the other, and he doesn’t keep his back turned to it. He turns toward the ball to always hit it straight on. ”When Floki and Rodrigues play footvolley together the dog barks at his owner to pass the ball. When they score a point, Floki sometimes leaps into Rodrigues’ arms. Other times, he gets a high-five.
As of publishing, Floki has over 415,000 followers on Instagram — and its clear why he has such a large fandom. As Floki’s follower count has grown, partnerships and endorsement deals have come rolling in. Rodrigues and Floki live in the inland capital Brasilia, but often travel to Rio — footvolley’s mecca — and other Brazilian states to show off his skills, do marketing appearances and create monetized social media content. Then Floki was on Instagram hyping a brand of dog popsicles, gnawing a banana-flavored one himself, and giving an altinha demonstration to mall shoppers. They win about one in every three matches and their opponents are always desperate to avoid being beaten by a dog. “It generates talk, and people make fun,” he said. Floki is not the only volleyball dog as you can see in the video below.
Volleyball bounces
The German women’s beach volleyball team plays against the Brazilian women’s beach volleyball team. Who wins?
The audience.
Hey, did you guys know South America is getting overpopulated?
Yea, there’s like a Brazilian people there.
What does a Brazilian do after winning the World Cup?
Turns off his Playstation.
Most people don’t realize that the actor from the volleyball scene in “Top Gun: Maverick”…
is the same actor who played Wilson in the 2000 movie “Castaway.”
September 11th Birthdays
1988 – Elizabeth Hentstridge, 1980 – Araiana Richards, 1967 – Maria Bartiromo, 1961 – Virginia Madsen
1885 – D. H. Lawrence, 1977 – Ludacris, 1967 – Harry Connick Jr, 1924 – Tom Landry