Davie, Fla. • Miami Dolphins 14th-year veteran John Denney first saw his future career path in eighth grade, when he bent over and looked between his legs.
"Whoever was interested lined up and started snapping the ball at a tire hanging from the uprights," Denney said. "Beginner's luck, I hit the chain holding the tire and it knocked the tire off the chain. At that age, that got everybody in a frenzy."
Those cheers might still be the loudest Denney ever received for doing his job. All long snappers toil in anonymity — unless they make a mistake, and Denney doesn't.