Kenny Trades Cowboy Hat for Football Helmet

Posted by amyclark on 08/11/2008
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8/16/2007 Stephen L. Betts   Anyone who's seen Kenny Chesney in concert knows he gets quite a workout on stage every night. But tomorrow (Friday, 8/17) he'll get a different kind of workout as he joins the New Orleans Saints on the practice field the day before their pre-season game against the Cincinnati Bengals. On Thursday (8/16) Kenny will be in concert at Cincinnati's Riverbend Music Center. Kenny was a wide receiver for the Eagles football team during his days at Gibbs High School in Luttrell, Tenn. He met Saints head coach Sean Payton in 2002. "Over the years, we'd become really good friends because there's a very mutual respect for what the other one does," Kenny says. As for the invitation to practice, he says, "They wanna see if I can make some kind of contribution. They realized they were gonna be up there when I was playing Cincinnati, and they wanted to make it work. Turns out a lot of the guys on the team were fans, and Sean said they really wanted to do it." Kenny will be attired in shorts, a jersey and helmet as he goes through the workout and practice. "The day before I get there will be very intense, but I can't be there for that," he says. "This is more about going over game situations, being out there in the huddle with [quarterback] Drew Brees and [running back] Reggie Bush ... and I imagine it'll be a whole lot faster than when I was in high school."