An itch began in Billy Bennett’s beard soon after he laid down for the night.
...
“I had these waves of thousands of bugs all over my skin,” he said.
There never were any bugs. No mites, either.
Bennett, the former kicker for the Georgia Bulldogs football team who still holds conference and national records, didn’t have a bug problem.
After months of making excuses to avoid the real cause of his haywire histamine receptors, he called his dad Don and said it out loud.
“I’ve got something I can’t handle,” he said.
....
The camera kept panning to Billy as it became apparent a field goal was going to decide the game.
He kept smiling.
Fourth down came and Bennett, still loose after a Crimson Tide timeout, galloped toward his spot 32 yards away from the goal post, taking one last practice stroke.
Larry Munson always told these moments best. “We’re gonna try to win it right here,” the longtime Bulldogs radio broadcaster said over the airwaves. “We kick it up and it’s looking all right. Yeah I think yes, Billy Bennett stuck it up in there with 38 seconds… We took the lead back 27-25…”
The ball hadn’t crossed the uprights before Billy pointed both fingers toward his teammates. He gave a fist pump and a mob of big, offensive linemen swallowed him up in celebration.
It was the first time Georgia beat ‘Bama in Bryant-Denny Stadium. The Bulldogs were on their way to their first SEC Championship in 20 years.
....
As Billy honed his skills as a producer and sound technician his drinking and partying increased, too.
At 23, Billy smoked pot for the first time.
“I knew if I didn’t have to drink six beers to catch a buzz, that would be great,” he said. “I could just smoke a bowl and get high.”
Bennett helped a band called The Whigs produce their first album in a converted downtown fraternity house. The music caught on and Rolling Stone cited the Athens-based garage rockers as the period’s “best unsigned” band in the country.
The Whigs hit the road to promote their stuff and Billy was along for the ride as tour manager.
“I was really just hanging out,” he said.
His prospects in entertainment expanded when, on the encouragement of his sister and friends, Billy showed up for one last football tryout.
He beat out over 1,000 former players at the casting for “We Are Marshall”, a movie starring Matthew McConaughey, and landed the part as the team’s kicker.
He still gets checks in the mail every six months for about $100.
...
