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Many New Orleans Saints fans were clamoring for the team to pick a linebacker in the 2020 NFL Draft, and their hopes were fulfilled when the Saints traded up in the third round, targeting Wisconsin prospect Zack Baun.
Baun can play at a very high level. He’s disruptive at the line of scrimmage, and has the skills to make an impact in coverage. Most importantly, he’s the proud father of a very good dog: Chance, a three-year-old golden retriever.
Sidelined during the 2017 season with a torn Lisfranc ligament in his foot, Baun and his girlfriend Ali decided to adopt a dog to help keep his spirits up during recovery.
“When I got injured, I thought it really helped me coming home to a dog everyday,” Baun told SB Nation’s Badgers blog. “It helped my emotional side.”
Baun continued: “Chance, he’s a registered emotional support animal, so he’s just kind of calm and it’s just relaxing to have a dog and a companion that’ll always be there even when things aren’t going so well.”
Named after Chicago-based musician Chance the Rapper — Baun was often listening to his 2016 mixtape “Coloring Book” at the time — the newest addition to their familiar is arguably the most popular. Baun’s girlfriend is a photographer, and their dog is incredibly photogenic, so the logical next step was to create an Instagram account dedicated to him.
Except things got a little out of hand, and now Baun risks getting swarmed by Chance’s fans whenever they visit the local dog park. The account rapidly grew in popularity and now counts more than 3,600 followers.
“Oh my God, it’s ridiculous,” Baun said. “Especially when he was a puppy, not so much now, but nowadays since his Instagram page is getting more popular, people will come up to us and be like,’ Is that Chance the Yapper?’”
So maybe we’ll see Chance — with his family in tow — out and about in New Orleans later this year, once the coronavirus pandemic has subsided and families can start visiting the city’s parks safely again. How’s that for some added star power to the Saints locker room?
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