December 31st, 2008 
Matt Loede 
Posted in 
From: Pioneer Press
At age 34, a kicker isn’t supposed to get stronger or more accurate. But the Vikings’ Ryan Longwell is enjoying one of his best seasons. There’s more than one reason, but who could have expected Tiger Woods to play a role? Longwell lives in the same community as Woods near Orlando, Fla. They sometimes work out in the same gym, and Longwell was inspired by Woods. “He’s already the best in the world, but he’s trying to get better, so I kind of looked at that,” Longwell said.
“On top of that, because we are around each other, I get to see how hard he works.” Working out next to Woods tends to rub off, in a good way. “People don’t realize that he goes out and runs three or four miles on a Tuesday of a tournament week, before his knee injury. I watched him, and I realize I can get better at what I do. Just because I’ve done it for 10 years doesn’t mean you don’t want to change because it’s worked. I took that approach, and it can either work or it doesn’t, and luckily it has.”
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