Arian Foster holds entire press conference in 'passable' English accent

  • Texans player signs off with a ‘cheerio’
  • Could probably get away with ordering pint in pub
Arian Foster
Arian Foster discusses the latest episode of Downton Abbey. Photograph: Matthew Emmons/USA Today Sports

The UK’s chances of getting a player to the Pro Bowl this year increased when Arian Foster, stopping just short of wearing a bowler hat and munching on some fish and chips while complaining about the weather, adopted a British accent for his entire press conference.

Foster announced that he would be taking questions from the media but would be using his “best English accent”. Foster stayed in character throughout the interview even criticising a journalist who interrupted his flow, saying “I’m going for England here, bro”.

Foster played it safe though. Rather than going for a tricky regional accent he opted for a generic cockney which ended up sounding like another great comic character, Nigel Tufnel.

“It’s passable. He could probably just about get away with ordering a pint in a London pub if he spoke very quickly and mumbled a lot,” was the verdict of one English journalist in the Guardian US offices. Foster does, however, let himself down by signing off with a “cheerio”, something no English person has actually said in 43 years.

The Houston Texans running back has a history of unconventional behaviour. He was a vegan for some time, once answered “I’m just trying to be the best teammate I can” 11 times in a 90 second interview and angered cat owners across the world by saying their pets do not really love them.

Foster’s views on an NFL franchise in his native London remain unclear.