MEMBERS ON SPORTING STAGE - Melbourne Cricket Club
MEMBERS ON SPORTING STAGE - Melbourne Cricket Club
MEMBERS ON SPORTING STAGE - Melbourne Cricket Club
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
Picture: James D Smith<br />
UNKNOWN AUSSIE<br />
A BIG NAME IN AMERICA<br />
The MCC membership is so large<br />
and diverse that it is understandable<br />
when the feats of individuals<br />
among us are occasionally overlooked.<br />
Such is the case with long-time member<br />
Mat McBriar, who has been busily<br />
making a name for himself as a highly<br />
paid American football punter with the<br />
Dallas Cowboys.<br />
While McBriar may not be quite as well<br />
known as other Australians playing US<br />
professional football, such as former AFL<br />
players Ben Graham, Darren Bennett and<br />
Saverio Rocca, many would argue his<br />
impact on the National Football League<br />
more than matches his compatriots.<br />
Born and raised in <strong>Melbourne</strong> and an<br />
MCC member since 1995, McBriar gained<br />
his college education in America while<br />
punting for the University of Hawaii.<br />
His then head coach, June Jones, told<br />
the Sydney Morning Herald in 2003 that<br />
McBriar was “probably as special as any<br />
(punter) that I’ve ever seen”.<br />
After finishing his three-year scholarship<br />
and breaking all Hawaiian punting<br />
records, McBriar signed with the Denver<br />
Broncos and was later traded to the<br />
Seattle Seahawks. Seattle unexpectedly cut<br />
McBriar only one game into the preseason,<br />
leaving him without a team and<br />
out of football.<br />
A year later, McBriar was picked up by<br />
the Dallas Cowboys and he has been their<br />
star punter for the last five years.<br />
The Victorian was just the fourth<br />
Australian to play in the NFL and only the<br />
second to play for the Cowboys behind<br />
Colin Ridgeway in 1965.<br />
Ridgeway also boasted achievements as<br />
an Olympic high jumper on his sporting<br />
resume.<br />
In 2006, McBriar added another feather<br />
to his cap when he received one of the<br />
highest accolades in American football –<br />
selection in the NFL Pro Bowl. He is the<br />
first MCC member and only the second<br />
Australian to scale such heights after<br />
Darren Bennett, who was selected in 1996<br />
and 2001.<br />
McBriar credits his leap into the<br />
American football big time to Bennett<br />
Picture: James D Smith<br />
who, after seeing McBriar’s impressive<br />
skills in an NFL-run kicking competition<br />
in 1997 at Waverley Park, introduced him<br />
to Jones at the University of Hawaii.<br />
Bennett again lent a helping hand when<br />
he housed McBriar for a year between his<br />
stint at the Seattle Seahawks and his<br />
current contract with Dallas.<br />
Further cementing his place in NFL<br />
history, McBriar recently extended his<br />
contract with the Cowboys for another<br />
five years, and he’s now one of the highest<br />
paid punters in the league.<br />
We were hopeful of speaking to<br />
McBriar prior to deadline but, as<br />
fate would have it, he unfortunately<br />
sustained two hairline fractures to his<br />
foot when his punt was blocked during a<br />
game against Arizona in October.<br />
Fellow teammate, Louis-Philippe<br />
Ladouceur, described McBriar as being<br />
“greatly missed” during his recovery and<br />
while he is unlikely to return to the<br />
Cowboys this season, he will be looking<br />
to make a big comeback in 2009.<br />
We will keep you posted.<br />
DECEMBER 2008 MCC NEWS 15