It would not surprise this writer one bit if Matt Bryant kicks the game winning field goal for the Atlanta Falcons at Super 51 in Houston Sunday.
Admittedly I haven’t followed other kickers careers the way I’ve followed the Bridge City grad, but like his age, I would think his story would be near the top when it comes to interesting careers.
After a stellar baseball and football career at BC, he was one of those rare athletes that was able to play both sports in college. But Bryant did it with a twist.
“I kicked for Trinity Valley but they didn’t have a baseball team. So they let me go to Panola to play baseball and then I went back to TV in the fall to play football because Panola didn’t have a football team,” he said from his home in Atlanta. I doubt seriously that could happen today.
He transferred to Oregon State where he thought he would play both sports but the cold weather saw him transfer to Baylor where he ranked as the 7th leading scorer in school history following the 1997-98 seasons.
After not being drafted in 1999 he bounced around the arena league and NFL Europe and in his down time he worked at a pawn shop in Orange which would become a well known chapter in the Bryant story after he landed a job with the Giants in 2002.
Two years with the Giants he was cut by Tom Coughlin. He spent most of the 2004 season without a team. He had short stints with the Colts and Dolphins and even had a tryout with the Cowboys.
In 2005 he was signed by Tampa Bay with John Gruden as his coach, and despite a few injuries, he began to establish himself as a consistent kicker. He made 84 percent of his kicks and only missed two extra points in his four seasons.
In 2006 he kicked a 62 yard game winner to beat Philadelphia, which at the time was the second longest field goal ever.
Another chapter in the Bryant story came in 2008. Just days following the loss of his 3 month old son to SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) he went 3 for 3, including the game winner.
Dealing with a nagging hamstring injury, Bryant was released before the 2009 season. So goes the life of a kicker.
But Bryant’s story, full of peaks and valley’s, started climbing back up after he healed and was signed late in the 2009 season by the Atlanta Falcons.
Starting in 2010 at age 35, Bryant became one of the best kickers in the league. For the next five years he would average close to 90 percent made field goals and he didn’t miss a PAT.
As his popularity grew for being “Money Matt Bryant” people wanted to learn more about him. They learned he drinks a chocolate milkshake before each game and he stuffs his kicking foot into a shoe a size smaller. He also learned how to make the mating call of an alligator by watching National Geographic and sometimes shows off the skill during golf outings.
If you see pictures of Bryant on TV or the internet you rarely see a smile. But that’s just Bryant in his game face. “I have to have my head in the game and be ready when called upon,” he said. “I’m pretty intense. Instead of being a kicker I consider myself a football player who just happens to kick.” Many in Bridge City who watched Bryant can attest to his ability on the defensive side of the ball.
Bryant got involved in the community. He’s involved with several organizations including those associated with the March of Dimes. “I had to do some community things when I was a rookie,” Bryant said. “And as I became more successful I knew I wanted to give back because I was so fortunate to do what I do for a living.” Bryant is a two time representative of the Falcons for the Walter Payton Man of the Year.
In 2015, Bryant started off the season well, but an injury in November sidelined him for the rest of the season. He was 40 years old. And on top of that the Falcons brought in a young kicker before the 2016 season to challenge him. Bryant said he wasn’t through.
“Being a good kicker is having a good leg and the mentality to be a kicker,” he said. A healthy Bryant accepted the challenge and was named the starting kicker at the beginning of the season and he has gone on to have one of his best seasons ever.
He became the all time leading scorer in Falcons history, passing the great Morten Anderson. He kicked a 59 yard FG to tie the record for the longest field goal in team history, and he lead the league in scoring. All of that earned him his first Pro Bowl selection. There’s one problem though. He’s playing in the Super Bowl.
“Yeah I know, right? How about that? I hate to miss the game but to miss it for the Super Bowl is okay with me. As long as I get a Pro Bowl jersey with my name on it.” Bryant said although selected he doesn’t believe he’ll get the Pro Bowl check because he wasn’t on the sidelines. But the check would’ve helped as he’s building a new home on the beach in Alabama that features a 1200 gallon aquarium. They’re building the house around the aquarium.
The beach house in Alabama is where Bryant plans to go after retirement. Which is when? “I don’t know,” he said. “As long as I’m productive I’d like to kick. I guess people keep asking because I’m 41.”
Asked if he does anything different now than when he was younger, he said “I can’t say I do anything different than any other kicker. In fact I probably do less now. I ride a bike and walk the sand dunes sometimes.” But Bryant believes a new addition may in fact be helping him stay productive. “I bought a hyperbaric chamber and started spending time in it and I think it works. It makes you feel like you’re under water.” The device, which is portable, uses higher than usual amounts of oxygen as a decompression therapy.
Bryant and the Falcons arrived in Houston Sunday night and he says despite the distractions, the team will try to do their weekly preparation as they would before any game.
Bryant will enter the game as the third oldest player to play in a Super Bowl. He is the third player from BC to play in the big game (Shane Dronett, Jason Mathews) and if they upset the New England Patriots he would be the first Cardinal to win a ring.
With all the chapters in Bryant’s book, the best one may be written this weekend.
-Gary Stelly, KOGT-
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