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ATLANTA (AP) — Matthew Slater is more than halfway to his father’s longevity as an NFL player. He doesn’t plan to equal it.The star special teamer of the New England Patriots just completed his 11th pro season David Long Jersey nfl draft , and he’s at his fifth Super Bowl, with two wins. In his dad Jackie’s 20-season NFL career, he made one Super Bowl — coincidentally, with the Rams in 1980 — and lost to Pittsburgh.“That’s a long time to do anything,” Matthew Slater said Tuesday. As for the New England kick coverage ace lasting so long, he added with a laugh: “Absolutely not.”Of course, when your team becomes a regular visitor to the Super Bowl, it lengthens the season by more than a month. No one in the NFL would want to pass on that, but in reality Slater has played nearly 12 seasons, making All-Pro in 2016 and being voted to seven Pro Bowls.Not bad for someone whose Hall of Fame father didn’t necessarily want Matthew to play football.“He felt that way for two reasons,” Matthew Slater says. “First, he didn’t want me to feel the pressure of living up to his name. He thought the expectations could be unfair.“He also wanted me to avoid injury. He knew the toll it takes on you physically.”Matthew and his brother played plenty of sports, and guess who usually was the coach. Yep, Jackie.“Sports have always been a big part of my life and have so many life lessons from being on a team, and the disciplines of preparing to compete and how you compete, and having teammates around you. I thought they were good lessons to learn,” Jackie Slater said.“I discouraged them to play football. I didn’t think (Matthew) would be big enough to play football. I coached in basketball, soccer, track and field Youth David Long Jersey , even some flag football. I didn’t see football as something that he would excel. But when he played flag, he had good speed and he caught the ball and ran well.”Matthew kept improving in high school and grew, though not to Jackie’s offensive tackle measurements. Because Jackie was unfamiliar with the kind of skills his son possessed, he turned to teammates Ron Brown — a 1984 Olympic champion speedster, who played wideout and returned kicks — and outstanding cornerback LeRoy Irvin. Brown refined Matthew’s technique and speed, and Irvin worked with him on back-pedaling and breaks for receivers.“Things I was not familiar with,” says Jackie, who recalled watching Matthew leave everyone behind in a 100-meter race, only to have Brown say “he did everything wrong.“I knew I needed to get out of the way.”Not really. Matthew, now 33, credits pretty much everything he has achieved in football to his father, who entered the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2001.“He made every effort to be present,” the son says. “That’s what I appreciate the most: He was a father first. So many young kids … many black kids … I see they don’t have a presence like that.“Anytime I have success, certainly my dad is sharing in it. It all goes back to my dad; I wouldn’t be playing this game without him. It’s pretty unique, a son being able to do something his dad did. We are enjoying this ride together.”For sure. But on Sunday, well, Jackie admits to being a bit torn when the Rams — his team — take on the Patriots — Matthew’s team.You see, Jackie Slater still has plenty of millennium blue and new century gold running through his veins.“This is a win-win situation for me,” the elder Slater notes. “If my son loses Womens David Long Jersey , it’s not as if he hasn’t experienced the thrill of victory in a Super Bowl, something I never did. And if he loses, it hurts, but he has a great attitude about it. It helps me live with the defeats he has.“If the Rams win, I will be happy because I have been pulling for this team for more than 40 years. My first hero in the game was Tom Mack, who I actually played with for three years.“You know, he has an unbelievable opportunity to experience things I never did. I don’t know what it is like to win the Super Bowl beyond the joy my son had when he won on two occasions. That’s almost as good as me winning, I felt.” After having the toughest two weeks of his firefighting career, Ken Roberts spent his first night off at one of the NFL's most anticipated games of the season.The Ventura County Fire Department Captain was one of many honored by the Los Angeles Rams during Monday night's game against the Kansas City Chiefs. Roberts was one of many first responders who received tickets to the game as the Rams honored those impacted the past two weeks by the shooting at a Thousand Oaks bar and Southern California wildfires."The past couple weeks as a firefighter is the toughest I have experienced," Roberts said. "To have one monumental event and have the active shooter was enough for one whole career. Then you add on a fire that impacts the exact same area, we just didn't have a chance to breathe."The Rams train in Thousand Oaks, where 12 people were killed in a mass shooting at a country music bar on Nov. 7. The next day a pair of wildfires broke out in Ventura and Los Angeles counties, forcing thousands of people to flee.Roberts got off work Monday morning. He then picked up his wife and son before heading to the LA Memorial Coliseum to enjoy the game with friends and colleagues. The game was originally scheduled to be played in Mexico City before the NFL moved it back to Los Angeles due to poor field conditions."To come together, take a deep breath and watch some good football is monumental," Roberts said.The Thousand Oaks Titans youth football team, who trained at the Rams facility last Friday before its Pacific Youth Football League final, were also at the game after being treated to a pregame VIP tailgate party."It was very hard. We had kids coming in from as far as San Bernardino and Long Beach where they had been relocated. They came every night, just sometimes we didn't have fields to practice on," coach Steve Szakos said.Several of the 25 players 鈥?including quarterback Jacob Poley 鈥?were evacuated from their homes. Poley and his family have returned home David Long Los Angeles Rams Jerseys , which is still standing."This has taught me to be more thankful and that nothing is for granted. You have to appreciate everything," the 14-year old Poley said.The California Lutheran University Choir sang the National Anthem and were joined by first responders, who held the flag. Cal Lutheran alumnus Justin Meek, who was one of the 12 victims in the shooting, was a member of the choir for four years."They are honored to be singing and share in everything. For these students to go back out and be with other people is good," choir director Wyant Morton said.Karen and Jordan Helus, the wife and son of fallen Ventura County Sheriff Sergeant Ron Helus, lit the LA Coliseum torch prior to kickoff.Ventura County Sheriff sergeants Jason Robarts and Dave Brantley both knew Helus for over 25 years and said that he would be overwhelmed with the outpouring of support for his family."Seeing everyone come out it makes you get through it a lot easier," Robarts said. "The guy was one of the most tactically sound. If there was someone I wanted to go in and deal with a situation it was this guy. What is hard is we had the right person doing the job."Dylan and Derek Adler, the 17- and 12-year old sons of Sean Adler, served as honorary water boys for the game. Sean Adler was a member of the security team at the bar."It's a way to get my mind off everything. It's almost overwhelming what people are willing to do for us," Dylan Adler said.Kevin Demoff, the Rams Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President of Football Operations, said after the Rams 54-51 victory that the game was one way for the organization to show its appreciation to everyone."Right after the Borderline shooting you are trying to figure out how to lead your community and 12 hours later you are wondering if you are even going to have a community," he said. "Our organization saw it not as a challenge but really an opportunity to put the best of Los Angeles and its people on display and I think you saw that tonight."