If his father had had his way, George Karlaftis would never have played football. A stroke of fate led him to end up in the sport after all, and now he’s looking ahead to the first preseason game of his Kansas City Chiefs as a first-round pick.

Munich – Of all things, the worst stroke of fate in his life led him to American football.

George Karlaftis has always been a sporty boy. Swimming, football, tennis, basketball, athletics, judo and water polo – he hardly missed a single sport. He was particularly talented in water polo and became goalkeeper for the Greek national under-16 team.

The only sport he never really wanted to try was American football.

The reason: his father Matt, who was a track and field athlete studying at the University of Miami, had once tried out and suffered a serious head injury. No wonder, then, that he advised his children against this supposedly dangerous sport. “I was scared and never really wanted to play growing up,” George Karlaftis tells “ESPN” in an interview.

Because he didn’t grow up in the US, but his father had returned to Greece and started a family in Athens, that wasn’t a problem. Other sports are more prominent in the southern European country than football.

After the death of his father, he went to the USA

But then came the heavy blow that turned his life upside down: When George Karlaftis was 13 years old, his father died of a heart attack. The young family had to make a completely new start. And they did: in the USA.

With his mother and three siblings, he moved near West Lafayette (Indiana), directly to his mother’s family. Young George not only had to cope with the loss of his father, but also learn a new language and get used to a new environment.

His athletic talent helped him – and led him to the once-feared American football at high school. “That’s life,” Karlaftis says today: “A lot happened when I was twelve, 13 years old. There were big changes in my life. I had to grow up and become a man almost overnight.”

Karlaftis still thinks back fondly to his native Greece: “You experience the best summers ever there. It’s a different atmosphere than anywhere else in the world.” But in the US he found a new calling.

College Football: Already a regular as a Freshman

His impressive performances as a defensive end earned him a football scholarship to Purdue University. He became a starter as a freshman and recorded 7.5 sacks in twelve games. He was even selected to the Big Ten Conference All-Star team after the 2021 season.

Accordingly, Karlaftis looked forward to the 2022 NFL Draft with confidence. “My best football is still ahead of me,” he let it be known: “Without a single doubt in my mind, I know that. In my heart, I believe I should be the No. 1 pick. If teams or Twitter or Instagram or ESPN see it differently, that’s fine. But I feel that way.”

In the end, he was selected as the No. 30 pick by the Kansas City Chiefs. It’s possible another team would have selected him earlier if he hadn’t suffered a serious leg injury during the 2020 season, causing him to miss the majority of playing time.

One of the best run-stoppers in the draft class

The 6’1″, 115-pound edge rusher has long arms and knows how to use his physical strength in the pass rush. At the same time, he is agile enough to get to the quarterback on an outside rush. He also excels against the run and was considered one of the best players in the 2022 NFL Draft, making 39 tackles in the 2021 season alone, ten of which resulted in a loss of space.

Still, Karlaftis knows he has yet to assert himself in the NFL. “I’m going to start at the bottom and work my way up. I’m going to earn my stripes and work as hard as I can,” he announces, “When you find something you love, you have to work as hard as you can at it. It wouldn’t make sense to dedicate almost your whole life to one thing if you don’t give it your all.”

In the preseason game against the Chicago Bears, he will get the chance to show his potential for the first time in a Chiefs jersey.

I wonder what his father would say about that. “He would be so incredibly proud of me, even though I play football,” is his conviction: “I graduated from college in three years and I’m a professional athlete. It would be a dream come true for him. “