It was a late July night (or lunch break?) in 1986 when Tim McAfee acted as a smooth operator as I’m sure many McAfee’s have done before him– enabling him to hook up with such a classy smoke show like his gal Sally.

Little did they know, they created something magical on that fateful night (or lunch break?) — and roughly 280 days later on May 2nd, 1987, out pops the legend himself—Patrick Justin McAfee.

The Michael Jordan of Kickers? Probably not, but what he has done for “The Brand” of all Kickers is similar to what MJ did for the NBA, what Eddie Murphy did for black leather pants, what Billy Ray did for Mullets and what Chris Farley did for fatness– He made something cool. That something was being a kicker.

McAfee still continues his works of genius via his commentary from the comfort of his own home and on his own Podcast, “The Pat McAfee Show”. He has and continues to bring attention to such an unglorified but VERY meaningful position.

McAfee was a Kicker in college at West Virginia University where he played all four of his eligible collegiate seasons before being drafted in the 7th round by the Indianapolis Colts where he would play for the rest of his career as a Punter, kickoff specialist, and a holder for future HOF place kicker, Adam Vinatieri.

During his 8-year career with the Colts, he averaged 46.4 yards per punt (575 total attempts) with his last year in 2016 being his best at 49.3 yards per punt, leading the entire NFL. Talk about going out on top. He was also named as a First-Team All-Pro in 2014 as well as selected to play in 2 Pro Bowls during his professional tenure.

Pat is a true scholar and ambassador for a position (Kicker) that rightfully deserves the respect it should already be getting.

Rarely, when a football team loses by a last second botched field goal does the headline “not” read something about the kicker screwing the pooch. That’s fair, right? Because in order for a kicker to do his job, so many other things have to go right. First, the offense has to get within range, second there has to be a good snap, then a good hold, then the O-Line has to do their part– all in order to simply get the kick off.

Not saying a kicker can’t offer up their part in a loss, but if your blaming a game on a few plays or even just one, I’m sure there were a few more situations we could probably point fingers at as well?

Don’t take my word for it, take Pat’s…

But, my brother.. All of us pro ball kickers LOVE old men who get on TV & act like douchebags while wearing makeup.. Let's hug it out. https://t.co/4pe9AUMs7U

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) October 24, 2016

However, this isn’t just about “kickers”, it’s about Pat. Not only does he pound footballs with precision– consistently pinning teams within their own 10 yard line– helping his team win ball games, he wins off the field as well.

He’s tangled webs with Allison Biehle (2010’s Miss Indiana USA), turned a PR nightmare in 2010 where he was arrested for “Allegedly” being publicly intoxicated while swimming in a city canal into cash money, is a world record holder of kicking a 40 yard FG… Blind, is a successful stand-up comedian, and is generally, just a “human” you’d always want to be around.

What is “cooler” than all of the aforementioned accolades and hilarity previously acted out by Pat? His start. In High School, Pat took $100, snuck into an underground poker club and turned it into a quick $1,400, which was enough money to fly to Miami from Pittsburgh, PA for a National Kicking competition in which he crushed and led to his offer at West Virginia– Only Pat McAfee.

The Man. The Myth. The Legend. Pat McAfee.