Off night just as sweet to Barnhardt
By MARTIN FENNELLY/Tampa Tribune Columnist
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That wasn't a football game at Houlihan's Stadium last Sunday night. It was a parade. And Tommy Barnhardt might as well have been sweeping confetti.
It can be that way when you make a living - albeit a good one - the way Tommy Barnhardt does. Ever see a Super Bowl punter say he was going to Disney World?
Still, being a Bucs punter was always steady work. Sweatshop work even. You jumped in with both feet. But then came last Sunday, and there was Tommy Barnhardt, a fine punter, approaching Trent Dilfer on the sideline in the closing minutes of the Bucs' fourth consecutive win.
``Trent ...'' Barnhardt began.
``Don't say it!'' Dilfer yelled. ``You'll jinx us!''
Both men laughed.
Then Dilfer went back to work.
Then Barnhardt didn't.
Zero is a first
Zero. That's how many times Barnhardt (cap value: $433,300) punted last Sunday. Zero. That's how many games that had happened to him since he started kicking two dozen years ago. But his unemployment has stirred Bucs fans everywhere. Three cheers for the Nowhere Man.
The Bucs didn't need to punt to the Dolphins. The only other time that happened in team history was 1981. Reagan was president. The Berlin Wall was standing. Marv Albert was in a training bra. Tommy Barnhardt, the oldest Buc, watched last Sunday.
His ballclub, this purring pewter machine, had its Maytag repairman.
Barnhardt's teammates were still kidding him Wednesday morning, telling the 34-year-old they almost voted him a game ball. Barnhardt laughed with them. E. Rhett, take notes.
``It's fun around here, and that's the bottom line,'' Barnhardt said. ``From a team standpoint, I don't want people screwing up so I can play. I've never really had a problem with it.''
In truth, Barnhardt worked some last Sunday, holding for Michael Husted's field goal and four extra points. If you don't think that's important, you didn't see the last two Monday night games, both lost on botched snaps and holds. If you don't think Tommy Barnhardt's important, you weren't watching the Bucs last season, when he was a Pro Bowl alternate. He punted 10 times in one game.
``He's a big part of it,'' Dilfer said.
Always involved in game
He's also a good story. In an 11- year career, Barnhardt has been kicked around (the Bucs were the first team to waive him, in 1986) and kick back. He's averaged 42.7 yards over 635 kicks. That's 27,085 yards, no thanks to Sunday.
Barnhardt always stays in the game, at least mentally. He talks defense with Hardy Nickerson. In practice, to help out, he throws long post passes to receivers. Few know that Barnhardt was a high school quarterback in China Grove, N.C. Fewer know he has an off-season conditioning program that would tame a linebacker.
But when Tommy Ray Barnhardt was 8, his father taught him to punt. J.T. Barnhardt once punted some himself. His son has been a Pro Bowl alternate three times. Too bad, because Tommy's always wanted to take his parents to Hawaii. The Barnhardts come to Tampa for most Bucs games, except last Sunday. Their son attended in their place.
``It's not that big a deal,'' Tommy Barnhardt said. ``If we win the next four games and I don't punt, that's fine.
Don't say it! - you'll jinx them.