Investigation: Did This Big-Bellied Saints Fan Cause Their Kicker To Miss The Game-Winner?

In the end, Zach Hocker’s missed 30-yard field goal didn’t matter. The Saints overcame the doinked kick to win on the second play of overtime, an 80-yard C.J. Spiller touchdown. It was the shortest OT in regular season history and it gave New Orleans its first win of the season, Drew Brees his 400th career touchdown, and kept the Cowboys from claiming first place in the NFC East.

But at the time of the shanked chip shot, none of that other stuff had played out yet. All we knew is the Saints had just blown certain victory. On the surface, it looked like Hocker just missed the kick, pure and simple, as many kickers have done this season. But upon further inspection, it appears there was a greater force at play here.

Here’s our pre-snap look; everything appears hunky-dory:

Good snap, good hold, the kick is away:

And then — DOINK — it’s off the left upright:

So there you have it, just your run of the mill missed kick. BUT WAIT. Let’s pull up another angle of the attempt, which reveals a massive distraction in Hocker’s field of vision — a large, shirtless Saints fan slapping his belly with a towel. Here he is as the kick is in the air:

And here he is as the kick hits the upright:

Now then, two things. 1) We cannot know for certain that this man was engaging in this behavior prior to the kick as Hocker was lining it up; 2) But if we assume he was, and we will for this exercise, this could very well have caught the kicker’s eye just long enough for him to think what in the f*ck?

But Chris, you’re asking, isn’t this a pro athlete who shouldn’t be distracted so easily? Well, friend, take a look at Belly Man in action and you be the one to cast the first stone:

In conclusion, is it unlikely Saints Belly Man is what caused Hocker to miss a game-winning kick from a distance that should be automatic for a professional kicker? Yes. But is it impossible? No. No it is not.