Rival kickers will oppose each other on the gridiron Saturday, but are teaming up to try and save the small businesses in the United States.
Texas Longhorns' Bert Auburn and Alabama Crimson Tide's Will Reichard will star in a Goldman Sachs commercial this week to call on Congress to reauthorize the Small Business Administration, which is a federal agency that helps entrepreneurs "start, grow, expand or recover," according to its website.
The two went back and forth joking about the last time they saw a kicker in a commercial to which Auburn said the position was being overlooked, even those with flowing curly hair like his. Auburn added that kickers "are the difference between winning and losing.
"It's like small businesses," Reichard said. "Without them, the economy would lose every time."
As part of the commercial, Auburn pointed out that Congress has not reauthorized the Small Business Administration since 2000. H.R.3843, a bill that was passed by the House of Representatives, authorized for money to be given to the various programs within the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 from fiscal year 2001-03, according to the United States Congress.
"Twenty-three years is way too long to go without modernizing support for the clutch players of our economy," Reichard said.
Said Auburn: "Support small businesses. Reauthorize the Small Business Administration."
Though the two had a common goal in mind with the commercial, they'll be competing against one another Saturday when No. 11 Texas squares off against No. 3 Alabama. In last year's contest, Reichard booted through the game-winning 33-yard field goal with 10 seconds left to defeat the Longhorns, 20-19, after Auburn had just hit what was a go-ahead 49-yard field goal a few minutes prior.
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