How does it feel to stand there, shouldering it all? Your career, your livelihood, the happiness of your family, all at stake beneath a fluorescent glare? This kick can be glory for you, and it can be insufferable pain. “And then you feel like not only is it you and your family and your career, but you have the careers of all your teammates, if you’re going to make the playoffs, the coaches, the city,” says David Binn, the Chargers’ long-time long snapper. “You feel like the whole world is watching.”
When he lies awake at night, Ryan Longwell, ex-Packers and Vikings kicker, can still see the scene: the way the blades of grass looked before him, how the ball wrapped around his right foot at impact.