Former Tennessee Titans and current Philadelphia Eagles punter Brett Kern is going to the Super Bowl for the first time in his 15-year career after his team beat the San Francisco 49ers last weekend.
Kern was recently a guest on “3HL” on 104.5 The Zone and talked about making his first trip to the Super Bowl.
“I didn’t sleep much last night,” Kern said on Monday. “My wife brought my kids up, we had a great time celebrating after the game. And after something like that it’s really hard to wind down. I generally have a hard time winding down after games, especially ones that finish later, but when you’re going to the Super Bowl, it’s different.
“So, once the Advil kind of wore off, I was still pretty hyped up, so it’s been a crazy last 24 hours.”
After being cut by the Titans in favor of rookie Ryan Stonehouse, Kern didn’t imagine he’d get an opportunity like the one he has with the Eagles. He also heaped praise on Stonehouse, who he called a “young stud.”
“Honestly, no,” he said about expecting to get an opportunity like the one with the Eagles. “After everything happened in Tennessee… it worked out pretty well for y’all. I mean, you’ve got a young stud that just went out and smashed an NFL record. And I know how hard it is — I was close to getting that in 2017, and with the end-of-the-year weather, it’s so hard.
“For him to be able to crush that record and how he did it, that’s something really special. He’s young, talented, so Titans fans are setup for awhile with some good special teams.”
Kern said he was “obviously surprised” when he was cut, but still felt like he had gas left in the tank to continue playing. He had multiple workouts in his quest to find a new home, including one with the Indianapolis Colts, which Kern said “just didn’t feel right.”
“When everything went down, I was obviously surprised, but I just had multiple conversations with my wife as far as feeling like I was in good shape,” he explained.
“Just working out over at Lipscomb with some snappers and other punters… and just kind of staying patient. Wasn’t really sure what was going to happen. Had a couple of workouts; went up to Indy for a workout, which was really weird, putting on Indy clothes for a workout. It just didn’t feel right.”
“Had a couple more [workouts], and then obviously when Philly called it was an unbelievable opportunity,” he added.
There has been overwhelming support from Titans fans for Kern to win his first Super Bowl, something he has definitely taken notice of and appreciates.
“It’s special,” Kern said. “Just that city that you played for for 13 years. It’s hard when you’re a Titans fan or you’re a certain fan of a team, you necessarily don’t want to root for other teams, right?
“To kind of feel that support, it means a lot, just because I know that from my time in Tennessee I made an impact with people, which is pretty hard to do for the position I do. I’m usually the one where you’re booing the offense because the punt team is coming out, or that’s the perfect time to go grab a beer, right? Like, it’s fourth down, who cares about special teams?” Kern joked.
“So, to feel that love is special and obviously Nashville will always be my home for my family and I, and I’m extremely blessed to be able to be there and to raise my family there. And I’m very thankful for the fanbase, for the love that they’ve shown.”
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