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Saints-Chesney
08/11/08 - 09:31 PM
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JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - There may have been a time when country
music star Kenny Chesney never thought - in his wildest dreams -
that he’d be catching passes and punts at an NFL training camp.
But Chesney has demonstrated a willingness to do whatever it
takes to get on the practice field with the New Orleans Saints,
even if it means suffering some minor embarrassment at the hands of
his friend, head coach Sean Payton.
With a concert coming up in New Orleans on Thursday, Chesney
traveled to Jackson on Monday to take part in Saints practice, much
like he did for one day during the 2007 preseason when the Saints
practiced in Cincinnati the day before a game there.
“Not every coach in the NFL would let something like this
happen and it kind of goes to show you how great of a coach Coach
Payton would be to play for,” Chesney said. “He and I have been
friends a long time and for him to let me come out and do this, it
gives me a chance to get away from the bus and get away from the
tour and get away from the generators and the catering and
everything.”
While the Saints did not announce Chesney’s appearance before he
showed up on the field wearing a white game jersey with his name
sewn on the back, the practice was open to the public, putting
Chesney under added pressure not to disappoint fans while running
plays during non-contact drills.
He had his good moments, catching a long pass from quarterback
Drew Brees, but also struggled to cleanly handle booming punts from
Steve Weatherford.
Payton told players they would get this Sunday off if Chesney
caught a punt within two chances. He needed three, but players
still got the day off.
“On the first one, I totally blew it,” said Chesney, who
played receiver in high school in Tennessee. “On the second one,
not only were they offside, but they interfered with me.”
So Chesney was given a third chance, which he bobbled, but did
not drop, sending players into celebration, most noticeably Reggie
Bush, who hurled a water bottle across the field.
“Reggie told me I better not drop the third one because he
didn’t want to practice,” Chesney said.
Afterward, Payton volunteered a story he heard about Chesney
helping Saints cornerback Mike McKenzie undress for a shower last
January while the two were in Birmingham, Ala., to rehabilitate
from surgery.
Both the singer and football player had been operated on by Dr.
James Andrews and were in Andrews’ rehabilitation program -
McKenzie for his knee and Chesney for his shoulder.
“You know, Mike McKenzie and Kenny Chesney are from the
opposite ends of the earth, and yet here they are that one
afternoon and Kenny notices Mike’s wearing the same clothes he’s
been in all day from his rehab ... and I’d love to see this - but
Chesney’s undressing McKenzie,” Payton said.
Chesney sought to clarify the story, noting that he and McKenzie
planned to go out to watch the BCS national championship game
between LSU and Ohio State that night, and that McKenzie’s injury
made him so slow to change that they were going to be late.
“I felt sorry for him because he’d been up there laid up ...
all day with his knee like that and I was all fresh, saying, ‘Let’s
go, let’s go, let’s go,”’ Chesney said. “We were late to watch
LSU and whoever play the national championship game. ... Nobody
remembers who loses right? But anyway, he had no one to help him,
poor kid.”
Chesney then told a story about a concert in Albany, N.Y., six
years ago, when Payton was an assistant with the New York Giants
drawing up plays for then-rookie tight end Jeremy Shockey, who
recently was traded to the Saints.
“Quite a few of the New York Giants came out to our show that
night ... and they had an 11 o’clock curfew,” Chesney recalled.
“Everybody was getting ready to leave except Shockey. All the guys
were trying to get Shockey to come back and he goes, ‘I can afford
the fine.’ He stayed out a long time.”
Payton plans to attend Chesney’s concert Thursday, but Chesney
said he wasn’t sure if he would invite the coach on stage, jokingly
saying he was afraid he’d take the blame if the Saints subsequently
lost a few games.
He did note, however, and Payton confirmed, that there will be
no curfew for Saints players that night.
“We’re all going to have a big time,” Chesney said.

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