Money Mac prepares for Super Bowl LVI

FORT PAYNE, Ala. (WAFF) - Five game-winning field goals would be enough for any NFL kicker to get excited about. When you have two cities separated by 410 miles, those game-winners are even more enjoyable.

Fort Payne native and Cincinnati Bengals kicker Evan McPherson’s family going along with the unbelievable ride with the NFL Franchise.

“A complete whirlwind,” Evan’s mother Amber McPherson said. “I mean I can’t explain it.”

“It’s like a snowball rolling downhill,” Evan’s father LaDon McPherson said. “It’s just phenomenal.”

Alex’s love for football began watching his older brother Logan transition from the soccer pitch to the gridiron.

“He went out the first day of practice and said Hey mom I think I found my niche,” Amber said. “And I said, how is one day of football and eight years of soccer and you’ve found your niche. he said I kicked today, I liked it, and I was really good at it. And I was like, ok! So that day Evan went out because big brother was kicking and makeshift him a field goal on a soccer goal so he could start kicking. And Logan begin to work with him and they began to have fun and compete.”

Logan kicked Collegiately for Louisiana Tech, Evan followed in his brother’s college footsteps kicking for the Florida Gators before heading to the National Football League. His last kick heading to Super Bowl LVI, the game-winner in the AFC Championship game against the Kansas City Chiefs.

“We were celebrating for so long we finally decided, hey we need to get down there,” Amber added. “So we ran down all the way to the field and they started yelling his name and they were saying this is his mom, and they started parting the way for me to get down to the field. I think I almost went over. I think LaDon was holding my leg going down on the field with him. but just to hug him and tell him Congratulations and how much we love him, and I just grabbed his face and said we’re going to the Super Bowl! Just a really sweet moment that I will be able to cherish forever and to have the picture of it is pretty cool.”

“To go through that and to see what he’s become,” LaDon said. “He had eight scholarships out of high school, this is really happening, and I be darn, here comes Alex along and does the same process.”

Alex McPherson, the youngest of the McPherson brothers was the nation’s number one High School kicker in the Class of 2022 and will play for Auburn University.

A trio of kickers, a proud family, and an even prouder community. The city of Fort Payne rallying behind their Super Bowler from DeKalb County

“My heart is about to burst,” Amber said. “There’s pictures of him downtown, there’s people bringing him Bengals cookies. they are making signs for people to put in their yards. it’s just incredible how his hometown is behind him, the support has been phenomenal.”

Below are a list of watch party locations in Fort Payne:

• Not Your Mama’s Deli - 203 Gault Avenue S, Fort Payne, AL 35967
• The Vintage 1889 - 151 8th Street NE, Fort Payne, AL 35967
• Jefferson’s - 616 Glenn Boulevard SW, Fort Payne, AL 35967

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