Well even with a broken foot, I played a football game on Saturday, and I have to say it was the funnest game I have ever been a part of. We lost the game 28-27 to the Salt Lake Sting in the UIFL indoor football league at the Olympic Speed Skating Oval. So I was definitely not intending on playing in this game all week last week. I called the quarterback Jeff Wissler to tell him of my injury and that I would not be playing since my foot was so swolen and I didn't want to risk hurting it even more. I had just left him a message as he didn't answer my call. Well, he didn't call me back until 2 hours before the game to see if I was gonna play. I told him "No, my foot is still swollen". He seemed disappointed but understood, since I was injured. So Brittney and I were going to go get some dinner, and as I was getting ready, I took a couple of practice swings in my bedroom and my foot actually felt OK. I'm not sure if having a tighter shoe on helped or what, so I put on my indoor soccer shoes to see how it would feel, and it felt good. I could still tell I was hurt but not enough to keep me from kicking a few extra points-20 yrd field goal. It was 5:45 and the game was at 6:30. So I walked in the living room and told Britt, that I felt really bad missing this game. It was the quarterfinals and they were counting on me, and I didn't want to let them down. So I threw my stuff together as quick as I could & we flew to the game. We didn't get there until 15 min til kickoff. As I walked in the door, I saw Jeff, and he took a big sigh and told me how relieved he was that I was there and how much stress I had taken off of him. That obviously made me feel good, and I didn't want to let them down. They were already so thrilled that I could possibly help them out.
I didn't even really get to warm up. I put the ball on the kickoff tee and kicked 2 balls before the horn blew for the teams to get ready for kickoff. I stretched on the sidelines, and we scored on our first possession. I went out to kick nice and calm, really not worrying about anything. I felt good, my foot and my previously injured groin felt good. The kick was good, and I was excited. Now in this league, if your kickoff makes it through the uprights they give you an extra point. Keep in mind that the field is only 50 yds long plus 8 yd end zones, and the field goals are only 10
ft apart. So this isn't all that easy to make. In total I kicked 2 extra points, 1 field goal, and 3 out of 5 kickoff through. Not bad for a guy with a broken foot and no warmup. But I need to tell you about the end of the game. We were down by 8 points with a minute left. We were stopped for short gains on our first 2 possessions, then on the 3rd our quarterback scrambled backwards trying to avoid 2 guys trying to sack him, and he launched the ball 40 yds in to the endzone and one of our guys slipped right past 3 defenders to catch the ball. Touchdown. That made it 26-28. We were down 2 points. We had a choice, go for a 2 point conversion or chance kicking the extra point and going for the point on kickoff. At this point I had missed only one kickoff. So they asked me what we should do, and I told them it was their choice. So I kicked. I nailed my extra point right down the middle. 27-28. All I had to do was make the kickoff. I set up my ball and was nice and relaxed, confident in my ability to make this kick. It is a 58 yd kick trying for a 10 ft gap, but I was 3-4 for that day. I just take my field goal steps cause distance isn't a problem at that spot, plus I'm kicking off of an elevated tee. I kicked the ball square on and it was heading right down the middle, but it started to hook at the end and missed by 1 foot. Just barely outside the pole. Ah man, that was close. Well the other team got the ball and tried 2 plays, the first a run, and the second a pass. On the last play, the quarterback threw the ball right at his man and it went through the receivers hands and right into our guys hands. Interception. There was 4 seconds left, we are down 27-28. They send me out to attempt a 50 yd field goal. The first game winning field goal I have ever had to attempt. You know I was calm, not nervous. I realized after my Utah career was over that life always goes on after footbal, regardless of the outcome. This was something I never understood while playing college football. Football was my life, my happiness, my sadness. Well this day I told myself not to think twice about it. Brittney was in the stands, and she would love me regardless. My family was still alive and doing well and that is worth more than any football game. So these thoughts helped me in my preparation for the field goal. I lined up, took a deep breath, looked at the field goal poles, and glanced at my holder and told him, "Ready". I wait for movement from the snap and the line to give me the go ahead to approach. I immediately saw that the snap was rolled in stead of thrown, and the holder/quarterback just fell on the ball. So, my first and only opportunity, became the opposite, a lack of an opportunity. Oh well. The coaches on the other team are the coaches of the new Utah Saints Professional Indoor team that will be playing at the Oval. It was a good outing and they asked me if I would come out, and I told them to give me a couple weeks to fully heal, and I would come out and compete with any kicker they currently have. I'm excited to play again. I miss the football camaraderie.
