Up until Sunday 19 October, everything seemed to be going perfectly for novice NFL kicker Jude McAtamney.
The 25-year-old former underage Derry Gaelic footballer was in his second year with the New York Giants as their designated international player, which enables teams to retain personnel as part of a wider training group and play up to three times per season.
He had made his debut in November 2024, kicking a field goal and extra point (touchdown conversion) against the Washington Commanders, but the real opportunity came just over six weeks ago, when starting kicker Graham Gano was injured.
The Giants signed eight-season veteran Younghoe Koo as cover but opted to promote McAtamney to the main roster instead.
The Swatragh man's first two games were flawless - he kicked two field-goals and an extra point in the win over the LA Chargers, and two extra points in the defeat to New Orleans. He did miss one extra point (of five) against reigning Super Bowl champions Philadelphia but that was scarcely noticed in a 34-17 win.
The disaster came nine days later against the Broncos, when McAtamney missed two extra points, which have a 96% average success rate in the NFL. The second, 37 seconds from the end, was particularly costly, as it allowed the Broncos to seal a stunning 33-32 comeback with a last-gasp field-goal rather than forcing overtime.
McAtamney's team-mates had coughed up a 19-point lead heading into the fourth quarter, but he became a lightning rod for media criticism and extreme abuse on social media, which, he told RTÉ Radio 1's Inside Sport, included messages encouraging suicide.
"The social media aspect of it blew up, there was no blocking it out," he admits.
"[But] I felt like, if I was able to read messages about people that were messaging me to go kill myself, and not let it bother me, in a weird way, I was like 'What's the worst they can throw at me then?
"That was nearly my way of dealing with it, was looking at the stuff and being like 'Look, this doesn't actually affect me. It doesn't bother me because I don't feel these things about myself and I know what I can bring to the table.
"I would say, I think I took it better than what people maybe thought. I think it caught some people by surprise. But as a professional, you've just got to accept that. That's part of the bargain. If you're willing to accept the good days and all the benefits that come with professional sport, I think when the bad days come around and the negative things happen, you can't really complain about it because that's part and parcel of the job.
Listen to the interview in full:
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"When you cross the white lines and you're playing on the field, that's the kind of price you pay for being out there. You're either going to be the hero, you're either going to be the villain, or you're going to be somewhere in between.
"The game went the way it did. Obviously, the hate and stuff after that… The support I've got from home has been great. It's always been good. I think my family were more worried for where my mindset was, and they were just making sure that I wasn't reading into it too much. I suppose they were shocked just at how much abuse I got too.
"It was definitely a shock to the system at the start, but it's one of those things you just have to do your best to get on with it and lean on your support of your family, your friends, my girlfriend. Leaning on the people that helped to get you here when things go bad, leaning on those people to bring you back up again if you need to. That's the way to go.
"Obviously, it's one of those learning curves. I think if this moment happens again in my career, I'll be more equipped to deal with it down the line."
McAtamney was cut from the main roster three days later, but subsequently re-signed to the practice squad, something he says was always planned as Gano had recovered from injury, but was unfortunate given his most recent performance.
"Obviously, our game against Denver didn't go the way as a team we had planned," he says. "Obviously, my individual performance wasn't up to my standard or the team's standard.
"It was just one of those days, and I think everyone at home or whatever got to see an insight into the consequences of taking the risk of playing professional sports, especially in a different country. I think it was an eye-opener for myself and a lot of people. It's been a chaotic few weeks for sure.
"In soccer, you have teams in different countries, the fan bases are much more spread out. Whereas the NFL, everyone in the world is supporting 32 teams. In my position, there's 32 jobs. You have to perform at a high level. That's just the expectation you carry with it.
"There's a lot of benefits with playing the sport. During your career, you can make a lot of money and you can have opportunities and have a lot of success, but that's always not guaranteed. Just because you are on the team or you are playing football doesn't mean it's going to go well. I think that's the cut-throat aspect of this business."
"That one game, it hasn't defined me"
Gano, who this week revealed he has also received social media abuse, including death threats, is again battling an injury but Koo looks set to replace him this time, rather than McAtamney. However, the one-time Derry U-20 remains determined to succeed in the NFL.
"This isn't just a very exciting holiday," he says. "It's my job. It's my career. It's how I pay to feed myself.
"If you put your job at risk by not performing well, it has more of a mental effect on you. But I think ultimately it comes down to the same thing, it's just about resetting.
"Obviously, I had doubts after that game, like 'am I good enough?' or whatever, but the biggest thing was my last two to three weeks of training have been very, very good and very positive.
"That one game, it hasn't defined me, and I believe that game will stand to me in my career and the future.
"I dream of playing for as long as I can, whether it be five years, ten years, that is the ultimate goal. I believe the journey is only starting for me, and I'll just continue to get better as time goes on."
McAtamney was a late adaptor to American football, taking up kicking alone during the first months of the Covid-19 pandemic, before winning scholarships to playing college football with Chowan (2021), and later Rutgers (2022-23), universities.
He, somewhat refreshingly, admits that the potential financial rewards of being a professional were a big motivator, and says that he expects more to try and make the move from amateur Gaelic games, which he believes demand even more from their top-level players than pro sports.
"One of my drives to start this journey was the potential to earn money that I couldn't earn at home.
"People say, don't get motivated by money or whatever, but I feel like that is a good motivation because it can potentially set you up for life. I'm still chasing that. I'm not set up for life by any means, but I think this is an opportunity to have the chance to get ahead in life a little bit.
"It's something that people at home deserve and have the ability to do so because, I'll be honest, if I can do it and Charlie [Smyth, of the New Orleans Saints] can do it, anyone else growing up in Ireland can do it too. If they have the dedication and the drive to do so, you can get there. You'd be surprised at yourself how far you can go if you just believe in yourself.
"I think people at home would be surprised that professional athletes in different sports aren't doing anything extra than what we are doing.
"I honestly believe people playing county sports in Ireland are maybe more committed than people playing professional sports, because they're spending more time trying to make themselves better as well as trying to balance a day job.
"Athletes in Ireland playing GAA, whether it be football, hurling, or camogie, they have their daytime jobs, and then they're trying to catch up in the evening times and the weekends on extra work, whereas as a professional, you have all week to do so. It's just a numbers game in that aspect.
"My two years so far being in a professional sport, my respect for people at home has just grown because you see the amount of sacrifice and effort they put in. The output they get back is obviously less than the output we get.
"The longer time I spend here, the more respect I have for athletes at home."
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