In the lobby of the ultra-plush Four Seasons in Fort Lauderdale last Saturday night, Charlie Smyth wrapped Tadhg Leader in a hug and then the pair of them looked around and laughed. The cheapest rooms in the joint go for around a grand a night and this was where the New Orleans Saints were staying in advance of their game against the Miami Dolphins the following day. We’re not in Mayobridge any more, Toto.
“Tadhg, this is f**king mad. This is class.”
“It is, Charlie. It absolutely is.”
Leader was exhausted and he was starving. He’d basically been travelling non-stop since Smyth’s phone call 24 hours earlier telling him he’d be kicking for the Saints on Sunday. Smyth wouldn’t see him stuck – Ireland’s newest NFL player raided the team room, bringing down pizza and pasta for the man who had started him along the road.
They met for the first time 2½ years ago. Leader Kicking, the programme run by Leader to help young athletes gain scholarships to US colleges and play American sports, had only been up and running a few months and Tadhg was in Dublin running trials for GAA players to see if they could be converted into American Football kickers. Smyth turned up late at Suttonians rugby club that first night – he’d mixed up his days and gone to the wrong venue.
They were in the right place now, all right.
“We sat there in the lobby for the guts of two hours,” says Leader. “And actually, it was my favourite memory from the whole weekend, I think.
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