Candy sales rep enjoys fill-in duty for Panthers

[HEAV]

MacKenzie Hoambrecker lost his real job as a sales representative for the Nestle Co. It was good, he said, selling candy and other products to retail outlets in the Omaha, Neb., area. Then, a little over a week ago, the Carolina Panthers called. Kicker John Kasay had a leg injury, and the team was looking for a fill-in. His agent told him he had a flight at 5:30 p.m, according to the CHARLOTTE OBSERVER.

"I was actually helping a buddy move in Des Moines (Iowa), and yeah, I was a little shocked that they called," Hoambrecker said. "... I drove straight to the airport. I didn't have time to go home and pack my stuff."

He did talk to his boss at Nestle, and the company gave him a week to follow his dream. The week was up Tuesday.

"I don't know if you want to say I was fired; I had to turn my resignation in" Tuesday, Hoambrecker said Wednesday. "It was interesting; I had a job, and I came out here and now I don't have a job back home.

"It was a tough situation. It was a good entry-level job, but an opportunity like this might be once-in-a-lifetime."

The irony is that the Panthers have to view Hoambrecker's stay as a visit, not a prelude to his personal locker at Bank of America Stadium. Kasay resumed kicking Tuesday.

Although nothing has been announced, Kasay could kick in Saturday's exhibition with Buffalo. And the Panthers will not carry two kickers this season.

He wants a chance to make some videotape, build some references, because there's not much to go on. Hoambrecker, 26, played at Northern Iowa. He spent 2003 on the San Diego practice squad, then saw his starting hopes vanish the following year when the Chargers drafted a kicker in the third round.