Anonymous and mediocre are monikers that most people do not like.
Having ignored the former and overcome the latter, Patrick Mannelly, the Chicago Bears' long snapper and a 1998 Duke graduate, now stands on the cusp of winning the ultimate prize on the biggest stage in all of sports-a Super Bowl ring.
"[Long snapping's] just our job, and we take pride in it," said Mannelly, whose website www.longsnapper.com teaches students how to, well, long snap. "We say, 'The less you're known, the better you're doing.'"
Should Mannelly hoist the silver Vince Lombardi trophy late Sunday evening, it would bury more than a decade of suffering through a rough college career, bad records and unnoticed accomplishments.
Following his sophomore campaign for the Blue Devils, the Duke coaching staff asked Mannelly to switch trench sides from the defensive line to the offensive line. Already recognized as an accomplished long snapper, Mannelly handled the task with surprising ease, having played some offensive line in high school.
"It wasn't that hard a transition," Mannelly said. "It was a welcome move."
The line change did not get to him, but a major and mysterious injury nearly cost him millions of dollars.
Mannelly sat out his entire senior year with a hip injury that, to this day, no one-not even the Duke medical staff-can explain. Anxiously awaiting the NFL draft, Mannelly knew his injury could put his future as a professional long snapper in serious jeopardy.
"That's the one good thing about going to Duke, is the great medical program," Mannelly said. "It was scary not knowing what the day was going to be like. They exhausted everything they could."
Finally, April 18, 1998 came, and with it the NFL Draft. The first day went by, and no team picked him up. Hour upon hour went by on the second day as Mannelly, along with his future wife and parents, waited in his apartment.
In the 6th round, the Bears took a gamble and selected Mannelly with the 198th pick. Hoping to improve on a 5-28 record over his last three years at Duke, the senior had no illusions about what the Bears drafted him for.
"I knew I was being drafted as a long snapper," Mannelly said. "It was exciting to see my name go across the ticker."
Mannelly's first few years in the NFL looked similar to his Duke career on rewind. Mannelly excelled as the Bears' long snapper, allowing no blocked punts until 2003, which contributed to a record 180 games without a punt blocked. Chicago struggled, however, and, despite a 13-3 record in 2001, went 31-65 over Mannelly's first seven years in the league.
But in 2005, after posting just a .400 winning percentage since his arrival at Duke, Mannelly's teams began the turnaround toward success. Although the Bears lost in the 2006 playoffs to the Carolina Panthers, the stage had been set for the Super Bowl run this year.
The Bears tore through the regular season to a 13-3 record, with Mannelly's snaps leading to kicker Robbie Gould making all 47 of his extra points and 32 of 36 field goals.
Mannelly is signed through 2010 after having played in 125 of a possible 128 games over his career.
"Patrick Mannelly just goes about being the best snapper in the league," Bears head coach Lovie Smith said Dec. 26.
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