forbes a james

mat mcbriar grew up in melbourne, australia. very few people in australia knew anything about gridiron and mat never played the game growing up. but somehow mat went on to be named as the best punter in the history of the dallas cowboys in 2010. how is that possible? this book is an adventure story about what can happen if you follow your passion rather than do what others say you're supposed to do. In mat's case his passion from childhood was to kick a ball as far as he could - but your passion could be music or art or science. mat followed his passion to another country even though his prospects of success were remote. way out of his comfort zone he had to deal with moments of public humiliation and rejection before success eventually came his way. while this book traces his sporting achievements, the story is really about what can be achieved with perseverance, a dose of good fortune - and the willingness to ignore people telling you it can't be done. the book also explores the history of the fans' apathy towards punters. punters aren't even thought of as real sportsmen by many fans. the book traces the history of the role of punting and puts the case for why punters probably deserve a bit more love.