azdad1978
Championship!!!!
Paola Boivin
The Arizona Republic
Aug. 9, 2006 12:00 AM
FLAGSTAFF
Where am I?
Seriously. In whose universe other than Jan Stenerud's is a kicker a rock star? This is what I've discovered at Cardinals training camp, where Neil Rackers' popularity is out of proportion for an athlete who completes his on-field responsibility in 1.3 seconds or less.
Even long snapper Nathan Hodel gives me the business when I express my interest in interviewing him about Rackers.
"Oh there's an original idea," Hodel smirked.
Hrmmmph.
Rackers fully understands this popularity is both fleeting and far-fetched. When a fan handed him a Rackers jersey to sign Monday, the kicker feigned, I think, shock.
"You've got one of these? Phew. I thought I was going to have to buy all of them."
This is what happens when one accomplishes the improbable. In 2005, Rackers set an NFL record for field goals in a season, making 40 of 42 attempts, including 31 in a row to start the season.
This led to a wild off-season that included an appearance in the Pro Bowl, a commercial, numerous radio and TV interview requests and his selection as one of 64 contestants for Fox.com's NFL sexiest player poll. After more than 73,000 fans voted, the kicker finished second, sandwiched between two high-profile quarterbacks: Tom Brady and winner Brett Favre.
What the heck?
"As I tell people, there's a lot of women who drink in this country," he said.
The poll was one of the few postseason events he could have done without. "My wife wasn't a big fan," Rackers said, and his teammates still post stories on his locker that make references to the sexiest player competition.
"You've got to give him grief," said Hodel, a teammate of Rackers' at Illinois, "whether he deserves it or not."
The rest has been a fun ride for Rackers, who had an up-close experience with the other side of fame in Cincinnati.
When he was drafted by the Bengals in 2000 to unseat Doug Pelfrey, he was excited but unaware of the fans' veracity there. After Rackers missed an extra point in the fourth quarter of a preseason game, they began chanting, "Pel-frey, Pel-frey."
As the team and Rackers struggled, life in Cincinnati grew increasingly difficult. Rackers could go few places without someone giving him a hard time.
"My family got killed pretty much everywhere we went," he said. " I still remember going into Steak 'n Shake and picking up food and people had negative stuff to say. 'You don't deserve your job,' things like that."
In 2001, Rackers and a man in a North Kentucky sports bar were involved in an altercation after the man had allegedly taunted the player, his mother and wife numerous times. Prosecutors eventually recommended that the fourth-degree assault charges against Rackers be dropped, and a mediation settlement followed.
All that is why the support he has received in Arizona means so much to him, why he is so grateful for the backing of fans.
And the team. After joining the Cardinals in 2003 to replace the injured Bill Gramatica, he made nine of 12 field goal attempts, a performance he calls "very average, if not below."
"Yet they thought enough of me to bring me back the next year and sign me to a two-year deal," he said. "My family and I decided as long as the Cardinals want us, we'll be here."
The team was rewarded, too, by committing to Rackers. In an October 2004 game against Seattle, he earned a spot in the NFL record books by making field goals of 55, 55 and 50 yards. The Pro Football Hall of Fame has the shoes he wore in that game. He also set a Cardinals record by kicking 23 touchbacks.
He credits long snapper Hodel and holder Scott Player for his success. It also helps that he never feels too comfortable in his job, even with the team giving him a four-year contract extension last November.
"It's flattering, but you can never feel too secure," Rackers said Monday, before walking off the field and signing dozens of autographs.
Autographs. Where am I again?
Reach Boivin at [email protected] or (602) 444-8956.
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/columns/articles/0809boivin0809.html
The Arizona Republic
Aug. 9, 2006 12:00 AM
FLAGSTAFF
Where am I?
Seriously. In whose universe other than Jan Stenerud's is a kicker a rock star? This is what I've discovered at Cardinals training camp, where Neil Rackers' popularity is out of proportion for an athlete who completes his on-field responsibility in 1.3 seconds or less.
Even long snapper Nathan Hodel gives me the business when I express my interest in interviewing him about Rackers.
"Oh there's an original idea," Hodel smirked.
Hrmmmph.
Rackers fully understands this popularity is both fleeting and far-fetched. When a fan handed him a Rackers jersey to sign Monday, the kicker feigned, I think, shock.
"You've got one of these? Phew. I thought I was going to have to buy all of them."
This is what happens when one accomplishes the improbable. In 2005, Rackers set an NFL record for field goals in a season, making 40 of 42 attempts, including 31 in a row to start the season.
This led to a wild off-season that included an appearance in the Pro Bowl, a commercial, numerous radio and TV interview requests and his selection as one of 64 contestants for Fox.com's NFL sexiest player poll. After more than 73,000 fans voted, the kicker finished second, sandwiched between two high-profile quarterbacks: Tom Brady and winner Brett Favre.
What the heck?
"As I tell people, there's a lot of women who drink in this country," he said.
The poll was one of the few postseason events he could have done without. "My wife wasn't a big fan," Rackers said, and his teammates still post stories on his locker that make references to the sexiest player competition.
"You've got to give him grief," said Hodel, a teammate of Rackers' at Illinois, "whether he deserves it or not."
The rest has been a fun ride for Rackers, who had an up-close experience with the other side of fame in Cincinnati.
When he was drafted by the Bengals in 2000 to unseat Doug Pelfrey, he was excited but unaware of the fans' veracity there. After Rackers missed an extra point in the fourth quarter of a preseason game, they began chanting, "Pel-frey, Pel-frey."
As the team and Rackers struggled, life in Cincinnati grew increasingly difficult. Rackers could go few places without someone giving him a hard time.
"My family got killed pretty much everywhere we went," he said. " I still remember going into Steak 'n Shake and picking up food and people had negative stuff to say. 'You don't deserve your job,' things like that."
In 2001, Rackers and a man in a North Kentucky sports bar were involved in an altercation after the man had allegedly taunted the player, his mother and wife numerous times. Prosecutors eventually recommended that the fourth-degree assault charges against Rackers be dropped, and a mediation settlement followed.
All that is why the support he has received in Arizona means so much to him, why he is so grateful for the backing of fans.
And the team. After joining the Cardinals in 2003 to replace the injured Bill Gramatica, he made nine of 12 field goal attempts, a performance he calls "very average, if not below."
"Yet they thought enough of me to bring me back the next year and sign me to a two-year deal," he said. "My family and I decided as long as the Cardinals want us, we'll be here."
The team was rewarded, too, by committing to Rackers. In an October 2004 game against Seattle, he earned a spot in the NFL record books by making field goals of 55, 55 and 50 yards. The Pro Football Hall of Fame has the shoes he wore in that game. He also set a Cardinals record by kicking 23 touchbacks.
He credits long snapper Hodel and holder Scott Player for his success. It also helps that he never feels too comfortable in his job, even with the team giving him a four-year contract extension last November.
"It's flattering, but you can never feel too secure," Rackers said Monday, before walking off the field and signing dozens of autographs.
Autographs. Where am I again?
Reach Boivin at [email protected] or (602) 444-8956.
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/columns/articles/0809boivin0809.html
