Choice Words

There’s less than two minutes left in the game. You’re down by one. It’s fourth and goal from the two. The country is watching. The kicker is waiting. The long snapper swings his arm back. And now all you have to do is catch and plant the same football you’ve spent your whole life holding. And then…

Remember the Choose Your Own Adventure books? If this were one of them, the options could read something like this:

If you choose to fumble the snap and come up two yards short of the end zone after trying to scramble for a score, turn to page 2007, your season is over.

If you choose to correctly place the ball laces out as a swift kick knocks it from underneath your fingers through the uprights for three points, return home a conquering hero, you’ve helped your team win the Super Bowl.

During last season’s Wild Card weekend, Tony Romo infamously found himself turning the page on 2006 after costing the Dallas Cowboys a chance to advance in the playoffs. Six years earlier, former Ravens punter, and place-kick holder, Kyle Richardson was worried he might suffer a similar fate on the grandest stage in sports. “I was more nervous about holding than punting,” said Richardson on his feelings before Super Bowl XXXV. “They [the media] said it was going to come down to a field goal and be on the foot of Stover, which meant it was going to be on the hands of me.”

Fortunately for all of Ravens Nation, Richardson chose a more prosperous path than Romo and returned home to Baltimore a World Champion. Richardson would spend one more season with the Ravens, followed by a year with the Minnesota Vikings, before rejoining the AFC North as a member of the Cincinnati Bengals in 2003. “I got back to the black and blue division,” Richardson recalled after receiving a call from a familiar voice. “Marvin [Lewis] called me at my house and said ‘I want you to come play for me’ and I enjoyed watching him bring that team along.”

Unfortunately for Kyle, all he could do was watch in 2004 as he was forced to sit out the entire year due to a torn bicep injury suffered in the pre-season. Now how in the world does a punter end up tearing a muscle in his arm? “On a return the Red Sea parts and I’m the last line of defense.” Richardson said of the fateful play in Tampa Bay. “He hit me going 100 miles per hour and I’m at ground zero. I stick out my arm and the guy took my left arm about 10 yards with him.”

Richardson’s road back required a lot of hard work and rehab, however, the time spent on the sidelines served him well and would eventually lead him back to Baltimore once again. “It was a whole new environment for me.” Said Richardson on not playing the game he grew up with. “I got to sit back and watch some of the other sides of football. Some of the inner workings. I was able to look and watch how coaches coach and how organizations are run.”

Not only did Kyle get to see what it was like behind the scenes of the NFL, he began learning more about what it was like behind the media microscope. While recovering, he became friendly with some of the members of the media in Cincinnati and for the first time was exposed to the world in which they operate. Of course he wasn’t sold on a career switch just yet. “I wanted to be out there on the field. You lose control of a career when those kinds of things happen.”

Kyle finally found his way back on to the field the following year, still in the AFC North, but this time in Cleveland for what would be his last year of action. And although he has hung up the pads for the time being, he hasn’t strayed to far from the gridiron. In 2006, Kyle returned to The Charm City and saddled up behind the microphone as a frequent studio guest on the Anita Marks Show on ESPN Radio. “I got my toe wet in the market,” said Richardson. “Trial by fire. But I really enjoyed it.”

Making the transition from punter to pundit seemed to go smoothly for Kyle, although there were some aspects of the job that caught him by surprise, “Just talking the talk. Filling up some time and getting across what you really want to say, but not just saying it in two words. It was three-hour blocks of conversation.”

Earlier this year, Richardson chose to continue down the press path and will have another half hour each week to find the right words as co-host of a new television show airing on MASN this season called Purple Passion, a roundtable discussion with former Ravens and Baltimore Colts. “I’m looking forward to getting better at whatever this craft is.” Said Richardson on his emerging career behind the camera. “I consider myself an entrepreneur. I’m not a cubicle kind of guy.” As a result, Kyle has chosen the confines of the studio for his next adventure. And judging by his previous performances under pressure, it’s safe to assume that this move will prove to be the right choice once again.

This article was a part of a series highlighting Baltimore football alumni for BaltimoreRavens.com