Long snapper’s sleight of hand keeps his teammates amused
PHILADELPHIA >> So Jon Dorenbos is the Eagles’ longest-tenured player, and recognized annually as one of the funniest of locker room characters. That’s not bad for somebody who wouldn’t be an NFL player if not for an amazingly quick hand and his magical ability to overcome childhood tragedy.
What made Dorenbos one of the fastest and most accurate long snappers in the league for so many years has also long assisted him in amazing his family and friends with his penchant for magical tricks of illusion and card sharkiness.
Anyway, Dorenbos, 36, has a lot going on as training camp kicks off, the start of what he hopes will be his 14th NFL season. He’s often talked about and even displayed his talents in magic around the Eagles, but this summer is showing his gifts on the television show “America’s Got Talent.”
With a mind-blowing illusion on Wednesday’s program, Dorenbos advanced to the semifinals, thanks to a guest judge by the name of Ne-Yo, who gifted him with something called the golden buzzer ... ?
Sorry, never saw the thing before.
Anyway, Dorenbos has made the semifinal round because of whatever happened and ... Heidi Klum said she loved him on the show, so how bad is that?
What’s more, Dorenbos was able to introduce his girlfriend Annalise Dale and his aunt, Susan Hindman, whom he refers to as his mother. She is actually the younger sister of Dorenbos’ mother Kathy, who was killed by her husband Alan, Jon’s father, in a crime of passion at their suburban Seattle home in 1992.
Years of a protracted adoption battle won by Susan followed, as did years of therapy for Jon and his sister. But as he put it, “magic saved my life.”
As a child, he said, it was the only thing that he could lose himself in. Dorenbos showed his practiced skills on the show, which was taped in Los Angeles Tuesday night. Watching the show the next night back at NovaCare were Dorenbos’ teammates.
“They were kind of rallying for me,” Dorenbos said Thursday, “and that’s a really cool feeling.”
So what lies immediately ahead for Dorenbos in the next round?
“It’s going to be a secret because it’s a secret to me, because I don’t really know yet,” he said. “I’ve been doing this a long time. I’m excited. I’m going through all the material I’ve done over the years. Now it’s about finding what’s the great pick for my style. What separates me, I think, is my presentation and my style. So I have something picked out.
“I’m going to do it, though I’ve never done it on TV before. So that’s cool and you’re going to have to wait to find out what it is.”