Off The Wall With... Glenn Pakulak
In our never-ending quest to bring you closer to the Wildcats on and off the
field, TCP presents "Off The Wall With...," a Q&A just a little bit
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off the beaten path.
Today's featured Cat is Glenn Pakulak, a senior punter from
Lapeer, Mich.
TCP: If you were stranded somewhere with only one CD consisting of your
favorite songs, what would be your top three?
GP: The first one would be "With or Without You" by U2. If I'm
stranded on a desert island, I need some reassurance I'm going to be OK with or
without someone. (Laughs) The second would be "Welcome To The Jungle" by Guns
-n- Roses. That song gets me juiced up. And the last one would be "Crazy" by
Seal. (Sings the chorus: "Oh we're never gonna survive, unless, we get a
little... crazy.") If you're stranded along somewhere, you're probably going
to be a little crazy."
TCP: Let's reverse that. What's your all-time most annoying song?
GP: Hmmm. Probably something by Sheryl Crow. That "All I Wanna Do Is
Have Some Fun" song. Man, I got so sick of that. Or that new song by her, "Soak
Up The Sun." She's got to be the queen of overplayed songs. But worse than
either of those is that Celine Dione song from "Titanic," "My Heart Will Go On."
Man, that's awful. I don't ever want to hear that thing again.
TCP: If you could go back and take part in any historical event, what
would you choose?
GP: I'd have to say World War II because my grandfather (Roger Susin)
is a veteran (of the Pacific Campaign). He lost his arm in the war, and he's
told me all kinds of stories from back then. He's got a Purple Heart and all
kinds of medals. I think it would have been interesting to be there side by side
with him just to see what he went through and all the sacrifices those guys made
for us. (Follow-up: Does that make you feel more emotionally attached when
you see movies like "Saving Private Ryan" and "Pearl Harbor?") Yes.
Definitely. My grandfather is the strongest man I've ever met. He was left
laying in a foxhole for four days with all his buddies dead and nobody around. I
just can't imagine what that's like. It brings football into perspective. I'll
never experience anything like that out here."
TCP: What do you look for in someone you'd like to date or marry?
GP: I look for a best friend. I think too many times these days people
look for something sexual first. Of course you've got to be attracted to
someone, but you've got to find someone to be your friend, someone who
understands you, relates to you, and you can trust with anything.
TCP: If you had a sister, which of your teammates would you most like her
to marry?
GP: Aaron Boone was my roommate last year. He's a real good guy, but
he's a bit too stingy. (Laughs) I'd have to go with Winston Gaffron, my new roommate.
He's also a real nice guy, and he's always doing stuff for other people. He's a
real giving person.
TCP: My ideal meal consists of...
GP: (Long pause...) Oh, I thought you were going to tell me
yours. (Laughs) My ideal meal? A tombstone pizza, a bowl of fresh fruit, a glass
of lemonade and some Oreo ice cream for dessert. I'm very easy to please when it
comes to food. My girlfriend's from Peru, and the food's wonderful there, so
she's always cooking me all this amazing food, and tons of it. Don't tell her,
but I'm a lot easier to please than that. (Laughs)
TCP: Who's your favorite non-football athlete?
GP: Gosh, I wish I could say Barry Sanders. He's my all-time favorite.
But non-football would have to be Isaiah Thomas. I was a "Bad Boys" fan, a huge
Pistons fan, growing up in Michigan. Isaiah was awesome. He had so much heart.
He'd play hurt and still score 20 points. He was just unbelievable after coming
from a background of so little. I really admire him. (Follow-up: We'll cut
you some slack for picking a Hoosier in this.) Oh yeah. (Laughs)
That's true. I never thought about that. Well, I like the Pistons part.
TCP: You'll never catch me dead doing...
GP: Swimming out in the middle of the ocean. I think that's just
crazy, all those sharks and stuff out there. No way. I'll swim in Lake Michigan
or something like that, but not way out in the ocean. That scares me.
TCP: What's your biggest pet peeve?
GP: A dirty house. I can't stand when things are messy. I'm like a dad
walking around telling these guys to clean up all the time.
TCP: If you could go anywhere in the world for a week's vacation, where
would you choose?
GP: Rio de Janeiro. I was watching this show on E! Entertainment
lately where they were showing the top 10 beaches in the world. I saw some of
those girls. Man, I gotta go there. (Laughs)
TCP: Which teammate would make the best star of a TV "reality" series?
GP: Aaron Boone. You'd see him buying stuff for $5 and selling it for
$50. (Laughs) (Follow-up: Could you expand on that?) He's buys stuff and
then tries to sell it to you. He bought this old coffee table last year for five
bucks, and he was going to take it with him when he left. I asked him to just
leave it behind and I'd give him 10 bucks for it. He says, no, I'm going to sell
it to someone for 30. I offer him 30, and he's looking for 50. He's always
trying to make some sort of deal. So now I have to do his laundry this semester
so I can keep this stupid coffee table because he doesn't have a washer and dryer."
TCP: If your TV had only one station and showed only one program 24 hours
a day, what would it be?
GP: Oh, that's easy. VH-1 "Behind The Music." I love the 80s bands,
Pat Benatar, Journey, all those groups. That show's great.
TCP: What's your favorite quote or saying?
GP: You only get out of something what you put into it. I've put a lot
of work into punting, and things are starting to fall into place for me.