Not sure if kickers have more fun and John Carney, who was inducted into the Chargers Hall of Fame on Sunday, would know.
But blonds?
Junior Seau had that answer.
“To Junior’s credit he paid the bet by dying his hair blond,” Carney said. “And it’s hard to dye a Samoan guy’s hair blond.”
A wager is a wager and Carney and Seau, two of the Chargers’ all-time greats, shook hands for a game each year: USC (Seau)-Notre Dame (Carney).
One season, the loser had to mimic the winner’s locks.
“Junior was only a blond for about 24 hours” said Carney, a longtime North County resident. “One year I had black hair, but it wasn’t as drastic as Junior doing it.”
Carney always did it and that’s why he was enshrined on Sunday. That the ceremony, emceed by San Diego Chargers icon Dan Fouts, came in Inglewood and not San Diego doesn’t diminish the undrafted Carney’s amazing accomplishments.
“I feel very fortunate and blessed to spend 11 seasons with the Chargers,” said Carney, the team’s all-time leading scorer. “I just loved representing our city and the organization.”
But only after getting cut by the Chargers, something eight other clubs did too in his remarkable 23-year career.
The halftime spotlight found Carney and fellow honoree, former wide receiver Anthony Miller, at SoFi. Many times, the back slaps were few for the kicker.
Yet the driven Carney never snagged a white towel. His mind was set, after numerous setbacks, that he was the guy others could rely on.
His reliable right leg was among his tools.
“It was what he had between his ears,” said punter Darren Bennett, Carney’s holder for most of his Chargers kicks. “He’ll tell you straight away that he’s not the strongest kicker or the most powerful guy. But he’s the most mentally strong person I have ever met.”
This year’s Chargers have lost their first eight, and here comes another Carney tale.
His 2000 Bolts burped up their first 11 outings. No NFL team, yet, had gone 0-16.
“That became national news,” Carney, 62, said. “That was unwelcome.”
Carney was summoned for a 52-yard field goal in the waning minutes of Game 12 against the Kansas City Chiefs. The All-Pro kicker who led the NFL in points during the Chargers’ 1994 Super Bowl run, delivered for a 17-16 victory.
But the boot came with super jitters.
“No one wants 0-16 on their resume,” Carney said. “When the kick went through against K.C., it was one giant gorilla off everyone’s back. The celebration looked like it did when we won the AFC title. Guys were laughing, crying, cheering and lighting cigars.”
It wasn’t smoke-and-mirrors with Team Carney. Without long-snapper David Binn, and Bennett, Carney isn’t nestled among the Chargers’ legends.
“David was hands down the best, most pure, skillful snapper I ever played with,” Carney said. “Darren worked his tail off, coming over from Australia, to become a great, dependable holder.”
Binn is appreciative, but boomerangs praise to Carney.
“My rookie year after meetings he said, ‘Let’s go watch film,’” Binn said. “I was thinking, what is a kicker watching film for? He was studying the wind patterns at away stadiums based on kicks and where the home kicker and punter liked to go.”
The undersized Binn embraced Rubio’s, like Carney wrapped his arms around preparation. The taco shop was the crew’s go-to spot, where Binn gained pounds as Carney erased tabs for his field goal amigos.
“Taking care of them and building camaraderie,” Binn said. “Like a quarterback takes care of his offensive line.”
Carney, the guardian of numerous Chargers wins, turned to mentoring at his Carlsbad facility after retiring in 2010. Next month is the Alpha Camp, where hopeful kickers and punters can register at carneycoaching.com and compete to determine who’s best.
It was the best of times, for the Chargers, when Carney’s right foot met the football. It was also a horse of a different color whenever Seau’s Trojans fell to Carney’s Fighting Irish.
“One year Junior was interviewed after the game and people thought their TV color was off, looking at his blond hair,” Carney said. “He ended it by saying, ‘I love you, John Carney!’”
Speaking for thousands of appreciative Chargers fans, we’ll do the same.
Contact Jay Paris at [email protected]. Follow him @jparis_sports.
