Houston: Matt Bryant spent four years waiting for his chance to break into the National Football League. Fifteen years later, the Atlanta Falcons kicker will attempt to cap a career of remarkable longevity with a Super Bowl victory.
It has been a long and winding route to the biggest stage of all for the 41-year-old, who worked in a Texas pawnshop after going undrafted before finally entering the NFL through the back door.
After a brief spell in the wilderness of the indoor Arena Football League for the Iowa Barnstormers, Bryant joined the New York Giants, who promptly farmed him out to NFL Europe’s Berlin Thunder and Frankfurt Galaxy.
He eventually got his chance with the Giants, but was shown the door when Tom Coughlin took over in January 2004. Five years on the NFL carousel included stints with the Dallas Cowboys, Indianapolis Colts, Miami Dolphins and Tampa Bay Buccaneers before he finally landed in Atlanta in 2009.
Throughout it all, the affable Texan has maintained a philosophy rooted in the precarious experiences of his formative years.
“All I’m worried about is doing good today so they let me come back tomorrow,” said Bryant, who described his roundabout road to the Super Bowl as “stepping stones.”
“Coming out of college, it took me four years to get a shot in the NFL. I’ve done my best to get my foot in the door and I want to keep my foot in the door,” he told AFP.
In the 15 years since that break, Bryant has become one of the NFL’s most dependable kickers in a career touched by personal tragedy.
In 2008 his three-month-old son, Tryson, died apparently from sudden infant death syndrome.
A day after his son’s funeral, Bryant returned and kicked three field goals in an emotion-fuelled victory over the Green Bay Packers.
This season, he has enjoyed a stellar ride with 57 extra points and 37 field goals in Atlanta’s dazzling offensive season.
Bryant attributes his durability to his work ethic.
“If I knew the magic answer I could bottle it up and sell it. But I would just say the determination to succeed, and just to do the best I can,” he said.
“You know, my mindset has always been to not be comfortable. And that’s worked for 15 years.”
Tweaks to his training regimen have also helped him endure. “As I’ve gotten older, I’ve tried to tone it down a bit and not overdo it.
“When I was younger, earlier in my career, I tended to lift a whole bunch, but I’m actually kicking stronger and further now at 41 than I was at 26 or 28.”
Has he ever visualised kicking a game-winning field goal in the Super Bowl?
“I can’t say that I ever have. As a kid, I was imagining catching a pass from Joe Montana,” he quipped.
“It could happen on Sunday. And if it does I’m going to step up and do what I’ve always done.”
