Great piece on David Akers

TripTango · Jan 13, 2012

Kickers are often footnotes (ha!) in the NFL, but this guy has had a pretty exceptional year. I didn't realize HOW amazing it was until I read this story.

http://espn.go.com/espn/story/_/id/7446366/rick-reilly-david-akers-amazing-year

Yes, Akers, 37, had the finest kicking season in NFL history this year, but that's just the riding-off-into-the-sunset part.

The crying-in-the-shower part was exactly a year ago last week -- wild-card weekend -- when his Philadelphia Eagles were about to host the Green Bay Packers. The day before the game, doctors found a tumor on the ovary of Akers' 6-year-old daughter, Halley.

They were still trying to figure out what to do with it Sunday morning when a distraught Akers had to drive to the game to kick inflated pigskins through bars of steel.

Just to add a pint or two of sweat to the gallons Akers was already spilling, there was this: The year before, Akers found out he'd been swindled out of most of his life savings in a Ponzi scheme by Texas investor Kurt Barton, who ended up getting 17 years in prison for it. Akers had to testify against him.

His $3.7 million was gone, though, which meant this playoff game was crucial to the Akers family's future.

No wonder his brain was a bowl of Jell-O that day.
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Great piece on David Akers

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Great piece on David Akers

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