Super Bowl Is Packer’s Watershed Moment

For a guy who wasn’t drafted by the NFL out of Oregon and who later was cut by a Cincinnati Bengal team that was 3-13, Jeff Thomason considers himself fairly fortunate these days.

After all, he will be playing Sunday in his second consecutive Super Bowl with the Green Bay Packers.

Just three years ago, he was out of pro football and selling water purifiers in Boulder, Colo.

“I didn’t do very well at it either,� Thomason said. “I was on commission, and I wasn’t making much money.�

Thomason was driving back to California--he played high school football and was an outstanding swimmer at Corona del Mar-- when he stopped off at a friend’s house in Colorado. He ended up taking the part-time sales job there while his NFL career was in limbo.

“It turned out to be sort of a slap in the face for me,� he said. “It made me realize how tough it is in the real world. And it definitely made me realize that I wanted to be back in pro football.�

After Thomason was cut by the Bengals after two seasons, he was claimed on waivers by Green Bay. The Packers didn’t keep him around for the 1994 season, but Thomason was told he would get a good look in training camp the next summer.

“But you never know on promises like that,� Thomason said.

The Packers, however, kept this one, and Thomason won a spot on the roster as a backup tight end and special teams player the following season. He played in all 16 regular-season games in 1995, primarily on special teams.

“I’ve played on both the kick coverage and return teams for the last three seasons, and it’s something I really enjoy,� Thomason said. “It’s a different mentality on the special teams. It’s 10 to 15 seconds of everyone going crazy. It’s fun. I do know one thing: It’s kept me in the league.�

As a special teams player, Thomason is assured of being in the game on the Super Bowl’s opening kickoff, either on the return or the coverage team.

“That first play in an atmosphere like that is really something,� he said. “I remember how it was last year. And it’s going to feel even bigger to me this year with the game being in California.�

Thomason, 6 feet 5 and 250 pounds, has recovered two on-side kicks this season, including one against San Francisco in the NFC title game.

He hasn’t had much playing time lately at tight end behind Mark Chmura, but he did play there early in the season when Chmura was injured. He caught nine passes in the first three games. He also comes in occasionally on offense when the Packers use two tight ends for blocking purposes.

Thomason is playing this season as an unrestricted free agent. “I’d like to be back next season with the Packers because it’s a great organization, but we’ll just have to see,� he said. “I do feel I can play tight end in this league given the opportunity. It will be interesting to see what happens in the off-season.�

With Thomason, you never can be sure.

Before he graduated from Corona del Mar in 1988, there were those who thought his future would be in swimming, including his high school swimming coach, Mike Starkweather. Thomason won consecutive Southern Section Division 4-A titles in the 50- and 100-yard freestyle events in addition to playing tight end and linebacker in football.

Thomason chose football instead of swimming and signed with Oregon. It was the only football scholarship offer he had.

“I liked swimming,� Thomason said. “But I wasn’t sure I liked it enough to spend five or six hours a day in the water.�

Thomason, with one Super Bowl ring and a chance to pick up another Sunday, is even more convinced at this point that he made the right decision.

“I guess you can say I’ve been pretty lucky,� he said.