Tim Mazzetti Timothy Alan Mazzetti ( born February 1 , 1956 in Old Greenwich , CT ) is a former National Football League placekicker from 1978 - 1980 ) for the Atlanta Falcons . He later played with the Boston / New Orleans / Portland Breakers of the United States Football League . Early years . Tim Mazzetti was at first glance an unlikely candidate to be a professional football player . His upbringing was a learned one in São Paulo , Brazil . Mazzetti moved to São Paulo when he was 2 years old and lived there until he was 17 before leaving for the University of Pennsylvania , when he was accepted to the prestigious Wharton School of Business in Philadelphia , PA . While in Brazil , Mazzetti played soccer . During the summer before his sophomore year at Penn , a fellow ATO fraternity brother , Jim Roussos , introduced him to the football team . Mazzetti ended up sharing the kicking duties his sophomore year and then taking on the duties for the Penn Quakers full - time in his junior year . During his junior and senior years , Mazzetti set several school records , including for longest FG ( 54 yards , twice ) , as well as kicking several game - winning FGs . Mazzetti also was an All - Ivy League player for Penn ' s soccer team , but decided to leave the team in his senior year to concentrate full - time on kicking footballs . Professional career . As a result of his achievements on the gridiron at Penn , Mazzetti received an invitation to try - out for the New England Patriots in training camp in the summer of 1977 after his senior year , but after failing the physical as a result of a hernia , he lost the opportunity to play during the 1977 NFL season . After the successful hernia operation in November 1977 , Mazzetti got back in shape by returning to São Paulo , Brazil and working out with a semi - professional soccer team in the winter of 1977 - 78 and returned to Philadelphia in time to attend the open tryouts for the Philadelphia Eagles and the New York Jets . He was invited to go to training camps for both teams , and decided on the Eagles . Mazzetti made it through the entire training camp that summer of 1978 , but was released in the last cut when head coach Dick Vermeil decided to go with his veteran , Nick Mike - Mayer . Mazzetti then was invited to single - day tryouts once the 1978 season began for the Dallas Cowboys but lost out to Rafael Septien and the New Orleans Saints . Still unsigned , Mazzetti settled for a $ 50 a night job as a bartender at Smokey Joe ' s near the University of Pennsylvania campus . Six games into the season , Mazzetti signed with the Atlanta Falcons . Mazzetti had a cinderella season that first year with Atlanta , making 13 of 16 FGs , including a team record 11 in a row , as well as kicking 4 game - winning FGs . In a memorable Monday - night game against the division leading Los Angeles Rams on October 30 , 1978 , Tim Mazzetti went 5 - for - 5 and the Falcons won 15 - 7 . During the game , Howard Cosell exclaimed , " This Philadelphia bartender won ' t need to mix scotch - and - waters any longer . " As a result of Mazzetti ' s heroics , the Falcons made it into the playoffs for the first time ever in the franchise ' s history as a wild - card , and in their first - ever post - season game against the Philadelphia Eagles , Mazzetti ' s former employer , he provided the point differential in a 14 - 13 game . Mazzetti remained with the Falcons through the 1980 season , but was cut by the team near the end of its 1981 training camp . When Mazzetti decided not to play for the Cleveland Brown s after they picked him up off the waiver wire in 1981 , he joined the ABC television affiliate WSB - TV in Atlanta as the sports reporter through 1982 , when he decided to come out of " retirement " and signed on as a free agent with the Boston Breakers in 1983 . Mazzetti played all three seasons with the Breakers , where he was selected to the All - USFL team his first year and also became the subject of a pro football trivia question in the process - the first player to score a point in the USFL , on a 30 - yard field goal in the Breakers inaugural game against the Tampa Bay Bandits . Mazzetti moved along with the Breakers to New Orleans , then to Portland , wrapping up his football days there in 1985 . Personal Life . Learning the business during off - seasons beginning in 1984 , Mazzetti ' s interests eventually evolved into commercial real estate finance , joining Midland Loan Services in Kansas City , MO in 1994 and eventually becoming its Executive Vice President . There Mazzetti was instrumental in growing Midland into a major player in the industry . Then in September , 2006 Mazzetti joined Cohen Financial as a partner and Executive Vice President . Cohen Financial is a leading capital services provider to the commercial real estate finance industry based in Chicago .