What's more exciting than record-breaking games and giant championship rings? Obviously it's when fans surprise everybody by winning game-break contests that pay out thousands of dollars. You could just be a regular guy at a Knicks game one minute, and an Internet sensation the next.
During the Indianapolis Colts 37-5 win over the Buffalo Bills, as part of the NFL's Crucial Catch partnership with the American Cancer Society, one longtime Colts fan was given the chance to kick field goals and raise $70,000 for the cause. What happened next surprised everybody, and what the old man did at the end of his display was even more shocking.
The Crucial Catch fundraiser supports the American Cancer Society's Community Health Advocates implementing Nationwide Grants for Empowerment and Equity (CHANGE) program, and it has raised more than $18 million for education and awareness into focusing on early detection and prevention of cancer.
The Colts invited Jackson, a man who has been a fan of the team since "the Mayflower came from Baltimore," to kick for the cause. After ditching his cane and missing badly on his first attempt, he stepped up to nail three field goals and donate $70,000 to Crucial Catch.
The mystery man with the golden toe had another surprise in store for Colts fans on Sunday, though.
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For any Colts fan to actually make three field goals is exciting, but for Jackson to reveal himself as legendary Colts punter Pat McAfee? That made this display that much more exciting.
Over eight seasons from 2009 to 2016, only one man punted the ball wearing the blue and white for the Indianapolis Colts, and that was Pat McAfee. Hailing from Plum, Pennsylvania and kicking for the West Virginia Mountaineers in college, McAfee was selected in seventh round, 222nd overall back in the 2009 NFL Draft.
After bombing 575 career punts that averaged 46.4 yards per punt — twice being named to the Pro Bowl and being selected First-Team All-Pro in 2014 alongside kicker Adam Vinatieri — McAfee left the NFL and has become a sports media icon. Previously working for Barstool Sports before launching The Pat McAfee Show 2.0, the outspoken and hilarious former professional athlete is a podcast star who draws national attention around the country.
Seeing Jackson the old man kick field goals is great fun. Realizing it was Pat McAfee in an old-man mask making his return to Lucas Oil Stadium makes this donation to cancer research infinitely better.
