Chris Kluwe's jersey will never be a bestseller — punters rarely are — but the loquacious Vikings punter has cultivated a passionate following with his accessible online persona. The Cult of Kluwe continues to grow because Chris has endeared himself to football fans across the country by unapologetically embracing his nerdiness.

After a contributor to the Gawker sports blog, Deadspin, dismissed Kluwe's opinions because he was "just a punter," Chris responded with a now legendary NSFW essay that was published on the blog. (In addition to moonlighting as a guest contributor for Deadspin, Chris has also been known to troll the Gawker comments under the alias Loate — the name of his World of Warcraft troll.) If his Twitter handle (@ChrisWarcraft) didn't give it away, Chris is a fan of video games — although he'd rather be playing Warcraft or Guitar Hero than sports video games, which Kluwe has admitted struggling at.

Local music aficionados have probably spotted Kluwe playing bass for his Minneapolis alternative/progressive rock band, Tripping Icarus. Vikings fans will remember that Chris gave his #5 jersey to Donovan McNabb when the QB was traded to Minnesota prior to the 2011 season. In exchange, McNabb promised to donate $5,000 to Kluwe's charity ... and to mention Tripping Icarus in at least five press conferences. Now that's marketing.

We are thrilled to have Chris Kluwe join us in the studio to take over The Current airwaves in this edition of Theft of the Dial.

Playlist

1. Rolling Stones — "Sympathy for the Devil"

2. Beck — "Farewell Ride"

3. Tripping Icarus — "A Mirror Darkly"

4. Aaron Copland — "Hoedown"

5. Johann Sebastian Bach — "Toccata and Fugue in D Minor"

Related

• Twitter Account