Veteran kicker Gould on big game: ‘Enjoy it’
MIAMI — Thirteen years later, former Bears kicker Robbie Gould is back at the Super Bowl.
And it’s in Miami Gardens, just like the Bears’ game against the Colts in Super Bowl XLI.
To get ready, Gould — now with the 49ers — went back and watched the Bears-Colts game. He was scouting former Bears special-teams coach Dave Toub, who now oversees specialists for the Chiefs.
‘‘It’s funny,’’ Gould said Monday at Super Bowl media night at Marlins Park. ‘‘Because it was so long ago, the film’s grainy.’’
There are similarities between this 49ers team and that Bears team, Gould said. Both play stout defense. He compared the 49ers’ three running backs — Raheem Mostert, Matt Breida and
Tevin Coleman — to former Bears Cedric Benson and
Thomas Jones.
‘‘I was just telling the young guys, I went [to the Super Bowl] my first full year with the Bears, and all I remember was: ‘This is nothing; I’m going to be back,’ ’’ he said. ‘‘And now, 13 years later, you’re back in the Super Bowl.
‘‘You never know what you’re going to do. You never know how it’s going to happen. You never know when it’s going to happen. Some of it is luck, some of it is just being on the right team. I don’t believe you can chase a Super Bowl, to go from team to team trying to win it. The biggest thing, for the young guys, is to tell them: ‘Hey, enjoy it.’ ’’
Gould has thrived in these playoffs. He has made all five of his field-goal tries, including a 54-yarder against the Packers, and all seven of his extra points.
He said he doesn’t get nervous before big games. He told his teammates to treat Sunday as though it’s just a normal game.
‘‘Everyone has to understand that we’re not down here to win the Super Bowl,’’ he said. ‘‘We’re down here to beat the Chiefs.’’
Tickets bought
Nick Allegretti and his parents have planned for two years to attend this Super Bowl. It would be the year after he graduated from Illinois, and he figured — whether he was a pro or not — the game would make for a fun family vacation.
When Allegretti, a rookie offensive lineman and specialteams player from Lincoln-Way East, and the Chiefs won the AFC last week, his parents didn’t need tickets; they already had them.
Allegretti made sure more loved ones will attend the big event. He’ll have a former college teammate, friends and even his wrestling coaches from sixth, seventh and eighth grade there.
‘‘It’s my event, you could say, but it’s not,’’ he said. ‘‘I didn’t get here without them. Everything I’ve done in my life has been influenced by them. It’s a moment I want to share with my family.’’