Georgia Tech

A glimpse inside the life of Harrison Butker, butt kicker

Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker greets fans following an NFL football game in Kansas City, Mo., Monday, Oct. 2, 2017. Butker kicked the go-ahead field goal as the Kansas City Chiefs won 29-20. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)
Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker greets fans following an NFL football game in Kansas City, Mo., Monday, Oct. 2, 2017. Butker kicked the go-ahead field goal as the Kansas City Chiefs won 29-20. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)
Oct 12, 2017

This is Harrison Butker’s life in his first year out of college, having made a game-winning kick for the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday Night Football on his first day on the job – a ride with Uber or Lyft is an experience few have ever lived.

“It’s kind of funny because everybody here is a big Chiefs fan,” Butker said in a phone interview Tuesday. “We’ll be talking, ‘Did you see the game last night?’ ‘Yeah, I did.’ ‘Were you at the game?’ I’m, like, ‘Yeah.’ ‘Oh, I wasn’t able to make it, but I heard it was awesome.’ Then they’ll be, like, ‘The kicker was great, the rookie kicker.’ I’ll have to say who I am. ‘You’re Harrison Butker?’ ”

He is indeed Harrison Butker, Georgia Tech’s all-time leading scorer and perhaps the most impactful industrial-engineering degree holder in the AFC West. Life has rushed at him at a dizzying pace, but, he said, “I’m loving every moment of it.”

About the Author

Ken Sugiura is a sports columnist at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Formerly the Georgia Tech beat reporter, Sugiura started at the AJC in 1998 and has covered a variety of beats, mostly within sports.

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