CNN – That Sunday, Zane Gonzalez was a hero.
The 29-year-old doinked in the game-winning field goal as time expired to send his Washington Commanders past the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and into the divisional round of the 2024 NFL playoffs. [The following weekend, Gonzalez kicked one field goal and six extra points in his team’s upset victory over the Detroit Lions.]
But after the game, some of the attention was diverted from Gonzalez’s late-game heroics after TV cameras showed his pre-kick preparations.
Hope renewed has come to the Washington Commanders and their fanbase.
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Gonzalez was shown repeatedly adjusting both his socks and shoes before finally getting them on. Then, as he walked onto the field at Raymond James Stadium, Gonzalez brushed his hair numerous times before putting his helmet on his head, taking it off and repeating the process before finally getting suited up.
Gonzalez was the subject of some ribbing on social media for his pre-kick routine. But what he does before every kick attempt is his own way of dealing with his obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
The former Arizona State star has been open about his journey with OCD and how it affects his life on a day-to-day basis.
“It makes you a perfectionist and more detail oriented,” Gonzalez told ESPN in 2017. “Off the field, it’s a pain in the butt.”
Gonzalez’s wife Lizzy hit back at people making fun of his OCD’s tics in the Commanders’ wild-card round victory over the Buccaneers on TikTok, posting a video of the moment with audio over it saying: “Scram, leave her alone, she doesn’t want to talk to you” …
