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In the wake of a bad game, the mantra is as follows: you have to forget it and move on. No position relies more heavily on this notion than the kicker, the specialized player is often considered a loss if mistakes are made.
Rookie Cleveland Browns, Greg Joseph, in nine career regular season games, plays with that mentality as he tries to consolidate his position in the suddenly rejuvenated Browns.
Now sitting on 11 of the 13 goals scored for the season, Joseph told ESPN that his state of mind was: "Keep the memory short for the next shot, bounce back and move on to the next."
Arrived in September, seemingly out of nowhere, Who now?! & # 39; was the general reaction to Joseph's signature when Zane Gonzalez received the boot after the Brown's 21-18 defeat against the Saints.
Joseph, currently the only player in the league in South Africa to have played in the league, was born in Johannesburg, where he lived until his family moved to the United States in 2001, to the United States. seven years old.
"My whole family is from South Africa, my children will be the first generation not to be born there," he says.
"I went back once, when I was 10 years old, so three years after moving out, but I have not been back since, but I remember where it was." I grew up, from my school, my grandmother, my friends' house, football fields, I played at. "
Like many South Africans, Joseph is a big fan of Manchester United and a big fan of the former defenders of United, Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic, which is why playing at the back was his privileged position until the end of the day. what American football calls.
The former central defender, who still supports the Springbok rugby team, put his love of football on hold as early as teen, while he discovered a talent for local gaming at the American Heritage School in Florida.
"They asked me to go out and try, see if I could kick and that it started from there, my mother did not want me to be assaulted … but I I simply grabbed the opportunity and ran with it, "he adds.
Advancing rapidly until the end of his academic career, Joseph graduated from Florida Atlantic University as an all-time leader for the program's goals. Named in the NFL draft earlier this year, Joseph signed with the Miami Dolphins but was released from the squad after the pre-season.
The 24-year-old continued to work on his craft in anticipation of another opportunity that he duly received when the Cleveland Browns signed it on Sept. 17.
His most memorable moment to date was Week 5, home against the Baltimore Ravens. With two seconds remaining in overtime, Joseph kicked a slightly hesitant 37-yard kick to help the The Browns win their second game of the season.
Now a full-fledged player in the NFL, Joseph's family in America has decided to watch him play in person, but a family member in South Africa is the last on his list to participate in one of his matches.
"My half-sister," said Joseph. "She's still living there, she's a graduate of [the University of Cape Town] and lives there with his mother. She is streaming [the games] and try to do it soon to make it cool. It's the last of the family that is there. "
As the harsh winter of Cleveland sets in and the wind blows from Lake Erie, Joseph will have to score goals at FirstEnergy Stadium, often in the wind. Joseph says, "Just stay anchored, take your foot after the other, not even week after week, and leave from there."
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