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February 1, 2004
Still a Lot of Fun
Kicker John Kasay is the last of the original Panthers, and he welcomes the opportunity to play in Super Bowl
By John Delong | JOURNAL REPORTER
After all this, he's still kicking. John Kasay has been a member of the Carolina Panthers since their inaugural season in 1995, and that makes him both a warrior and a survivor in the truest sense.
He has experienced a little bit of everything in these past 10 years, triumphs and tragedies both on the field and off.
There have been three-hour bus rides to Clemson, and nine-hour flights to the Pro Bowl. There have been winning field goals, and missed extra points. There have been 1-15 seasons, and championship marches, and a whole lot of mediocrity in between.
He has been carried off the field on teammates' shoulders, and taken off on a stretcher. He has torn up his knee, and ripped out his insides. He has come back, and then come back again. He has seen teammates come and go, and some even pass away.
Today, the journey continues with a trip to professional football's ultimate game, the Super Bowl.
And if the Panthers can find a way to beat the favored New England Patriots, Kasay will walk out of Reliant Stadium with the ultimate reward, a Super Bowl championship.
But Kasay has always strived to keep his life and his profession in perspective. So, instead of romanticizing his first trip to the Super Bowl or hyping the enormity of the moment or philosophizing about persistence and perseverance, he has maintained an even keel throughout the week.
"Some people see this as the pinnacle of my career, the biggest game of my life," he said. "But I don't. I view this more as a great opportunity to do something that I've done since I was a small child. It's always been a lot of fun for me. It's a way to use the talents that God has given me to glorify him.
"That's why I do this, and that's why I'm still doing it, and when it's over with I'll look back and say that's why I did it."
It's certainly consistent with the way he has reacted throughout this season - when he was kicking winning field goals in overtime against Tampa Bay, Indianapolis, New Orleans and Arizona, and when he missed three field goal attempts and an extra point in a nine-point loss to Philadelphia.
"I have always said that you go out and do your best, and you accept the results," he said. "There have been times when I've kicked well and missed. There have been times when I have kicked poorly and made the kick anyway. I'm going to go out and do my best (today). But it's not any different than if we were scrimmaging another team in training camp. You always want to do well. You always want to do your part to contribute."
When he trots onto the turf today, though, he will feel grateful.
He was entering his fifth year in the NFL when he left Seattle and joined the Panthers as a free agent in 1995, and 10 years later, he says that there are special feelings about being the last original Panther left.
"With all the turnover in this league, to have the opportunity to stay in one place, especially with some of the ups and downs I have had physically, is a real blessing," he said. "It has been a good experience, and it is fun for me to see all the guys on this team come in, do well, and have this opportunity."
He could have been out of football long ago. He suffered a torn ACL late in the 1999 season that threatened his career, and then he broke his kneecap while trying to come back the next summer and was forced to miss the 2000 season.
Then, a hernia shelved him for the final 14 games of the 2002 season, and jeopardized his career again. He had to win a head-to-head duel with Shayne Graham this preseason in order to stay with the Panthers and be a part of all this.
"There were a number of times where I was saying that I didn't know if I could do this anymore," he said. "Some of the pain, the problems physically that I went through, it was like I didn't know if I could keep doing this. I would kick and kick and kick and it was like someone was ramming a knife in my knee.
"But the Panthers were always very patient with me. There was a lot of suffering along the way, but they have been very gracious, very kind, and very patient with me, and I am extremely appreciative."
And, of course, the fact remains that Kasay and everyone else in the organization have endured hard times. The 1-15 season in 2001 was the low point on the field itself, but there were embarrassments and even tragedies off the field.
"One of the things that has been special for me is seeing the faces of the fans that have been there since the beginning, that have endured during some of the years in the middle, and that have really enjoyed the last six weeks," he said. "The send-off we got when we came out here was special. I have been in the city long enough to have established relationships with a lot of people, and it's gratifying to see them enjoying this."
Kasay is prepared to wind up in the spotlight again today.
He predicts that the game will be decided in the closing minutes, probably by either him or New England's Adam Vinatieri.
"The game should be a pretty close game," he said. "I really believe it will come down to which team has the ball last."
If that's the case, he'll cherish that opportunity, too.