Let the record reflect that it has been just as hard for New Orleans Saints kicker Charlie Smyth to rummage through and decipher the accents he has encountered as it has been for the rest of us to understand his Northern Irish tongue.
"It's interesting, because you get a real deep South accent — I find it hard," Smyth said, smiling. "The priest that says mass, he's explaining the homily and he's going over the gospel or whatever he's saying, and I'm like, 'I'm finding it hard to understand.'"
And vice versa.
"It's not so much his accent. It's that he mumbles and jumbles all of his words together," said a chuckling Saints long snapper Zach Wood, who has likely interacted with Smyth the most among Saints players. "And then when you say, 'What?', because you didn't hear what he said... he doesn't change his tone at all. He just says it the same exact way, and maybe even a little quieter. That's why he's frustrating to try to listen to."
"I know they all struggle with me," Smyth said. "Even my teammates in the locker room just — sometimes, you get frustrated having to repeat yourself over and over. But it's just part of it. The boys have been great. I love my teammates, they seem to have taken to me, so I really appreciate it. Everybody has always got positive things to say."
Why wouldn't they?
Smyth took over at kicker for the Saints prior to last week's 21-17 road loss to Miami. He and the Saints (2-10) face the Buccaneers (7-5) on Sunday at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla. Against Miami, Smyth made his first career field goal attempt, a 56-yarder, to pull New Orleans to within 19-11 in the fourth quarter, and executed a perfect onside kick that receiver Devaughn Vele recovered with the Saints trailing 21-17.
But there's also his magnetizing backstory: Gaelic football goalkeeper who dreamed of playing in the NFL and saw a possible route to the NFL via the NFL's International Player Pathway program, pounced on it in 2024, showed up with a bionic leg and not one rep in an NFL practice and signed a three-year contract with the Saints. He participated in two offseason programs and two training camps, cut each time but signed to the practice squad, then spent 28 games on the practice squad before winning a kicking competition in practice and making his NFL debut on Nov. 30 against the Dolphins.
"I remember the first time I watched Charlie kick. I would have thought that he had been kicking for a long time," Wood said. "He has a strong leg. It's fun to watch him kick, he gets super jacked about it. I haven't really met a guy that's more passionate about kicking and the sport in general. Charlie loves football.
"I knew once I first saw him kick that he was going to be something special. He had a lot of raw talent. I'm excited for him. This is a great opportunity for him and he freakin' killed it. I was so pumped for him. Everybody was."
NEED TO KNOW BASIS
Turns out, Charlie Smyth had a secret.
The Gaelic goalie had gone to a kicking tryout because he wasn't ready to give up on his dream of playing in the NFL. But mum was the word.
"We didn't know for two to four weeks," said Leo Smyth, Charlie's father. "But our initial reaction was just, why not? Why not let him give it a go and see how it goes. We were fully aware he had a good kick, but we never thought it would come to this, if you want to be truthful."
"I remember telling my mom about it and she was like, 'Charlie, what?' It was a fun conversation to have with her," Charlie said. "I think she gradually understood in time that there was a chance to make it to the NFL. You're nearly scared to whisper those words because people are like, 'Don't bother.' Like, a you'll-never-make-it type deal. But I believed in myself, my coach from home (Tadgh Leader) believed in me."
It didn't take long to win his parents over. "Once they found out it was legit, my parents really got on board and they've been great with the support. I shared a car with my mom and she always gave to me selflessly — just little things like that. Anything I needed, they were there for me and I had a couple of people at home who were very, very supportive of what I was doing."
Fast forward past training through the International Player Pathway program, working out at the NFL Combine (12 of 16 on field goal attempts) and a Pro Day (8 of 10 field goals), and Smyth became the first Gaelic player to sign an NFL contract, courtesy of a three-year deal with the Saints in March 2024.
At least paused, if not left behind, in the city of Mayobridge, Newry, was his other career (he was completing a master's degree in physical education and had trained as a primary school teacher with Irish language, and was preparing to teach). But ahead was New Orleans, and this was for Smyth to tackle solo.
"When you find out you have a chance to go to the NFL if you're good enough, those are all things that you prepare for in your mind," Smyth said. "I was prepared that I was going to be lonely for a while. I was prepared that it was going to take a while to get driving, social security number, debit card. Still struggle getting a credit card. Just a lot of those types of things, getting set up with banks and stuff.
But Saints Vice President of Player Engagement Freddie McAfee and Senior Manager of Player Engagement and Alumni Relations Evan Meyers have been a new layer od support. "(They) have been awesome dealing with that type of stuff, especially when I first got here. I love it here. It definitely was a challenge but the more that's going on, the more you feel comfortable here."
"I JUST BURST OUT CRYING WITH PRIDE"
Roughly 20 months after signing with the Saints, Smyth became the team's kicker after it parted ways with Blake Grupe, who missed eight of 26 field goal attempts this season. Smyth informed his family on Nov. 28, two days before his debut against Miami. He reached his mother, Julie, before he could tell Leo, who was at work for a plumbing supplies company.
"I was serving a customer at the time when Charlie rang through," Leo said. "I said, 'Charlie, I can't talk. I'll give you a ring back in five minutes.' I went up about a half-mile from where I work and I pulled the car on the side by the church.
"I rang him back and to be honest when he said, 'I'm playing Sunday,' I just burst out crying with pride. I just welled up. It was just an amazing feeling."
After a 23-hour trip that included a snow delay in Chicago, Leo, Julie and their two daughters arrived in Miami (Leo and Julie were seated in row 39, which is Charlie's jersey number), went to their hotel and arrived at the stadium in time for kickoff. They were joined by Charlie's girlfriend and her family, and Leader.
New Orleans trailed 16-0 at halftime and there was concern Charlie wouldn't have an opportunity to attempt a field goal, given that the Saints needed two touchdowns and two two-point conversions to tie. But with 6:13 remaining, the Saints facing fourth-and-7 at the Dolphins 37-yard line and the deficit at 19-8, Coach Kellen Moore sent Charlie out to attempt his first field goal.
Charlie nailed it, on a 56-yard kick that had plenty of leg to spare.
"I actually preferred a longer field goal for him than a (point-after attempt)," Wood said. "Because I know he wants to show off that leg, and I know he's got it. He loves the long ones. When it was a longer field goal, I was like, 'All right, I know Charle's got this one.'
"I was more nervous for myself because it was Charlie's first kick. I was like, 'I cannot screw this snap up and ruin this thing for him.' I put a lot of pressure on myself to do well for Charlie and give him the best opportunity to make his kick, and he drilled it. It was awesome."
Smyth, too, preferred to kick a long one.
"I think trying to help the team in a moment where we needed points, and it ended up being a long field goal, that's kind of a moment like, 'Let's go,'" he said. "This is a chance to help the team."
He said he wasn't nervous.
"Because of the coaches and the front office, what we did throughout the week — the kicking against other guys. You find out a lot about yourself," Smyth said. "You learn to just really focus on yourself. I was like, the work's done, the preparation is done and I felt super excited. Just ready to go for Sunday."
He'll be just as ready this Sunday because in the NFL, today's feel-good story easily can become tomorrow's not-feeling-so-good story.
"You earn your keep in this league by being money 55 (yards) and in, so that's really where the priorities are and that's where most of my practice kicks come," Smyth said. "You can't take any kick for granted, because you're one kick away from hurting the team in a big spot. This league is tough, and it's tough to stay in it. You have to make sure you're money every time you go out there."
In New Orleans, Charlie is money. The well wishes poured in from Ireland, including from other pro athletes, and he became even more recognizable in his new hometown.
"Whenever people are supporting you it's nice, but you can't get too caught up in that," he said. "It's unreal and I'm really grateful for all the support here in New Orleans and at home, but you're one kick away from hurting the team and then you're not as popular. So I just want to make sure that I'm just covering my bases, and the kicking is the No. 1 priority.
"But I love it here, I love the city. It feels like home here in America. It's like, I've got Ireland and I've got New Orleans. Mayobridge and New Orleans. That's the way it feels here. This city has treated me really well. This organization has been great, the head coach (Moore) and (special teams coordinator) Phil (Galiano) allowing me to go get some coaching during the season. Even just seeing me in the first place, when I had no football experience prior. I owe everything to this organization and I just want to make sure this keeps going."
Regardless of accent, everyone clearly understands that.
