09:05 AM PST on Monday, February 6, 2006

Associated Press

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FOYIL, Okla. - In the tiny Route 66 town that has long proclaimed itself home to the "World's Largest Totem Pole," Josh Brown was the biggest roadside attraction on Super Bowl Sunday.

High school football coach Trent Worley had plans to erect his own sign proclaiming Foyil "Home of Josh Brown," even before the Seattle kicker scored the first points in the biggest game in football.

"I might just spray paint one tonight," said Worley, who played 8-man football alongside Brown for the Foyil Panthers in the mid-1990s.

Even when Brown missed two later attempts -- from 54 and 50 yards -- his hometown never stopped cheering him on.

His former high school football coach, Rick Antle, wearing the No. 3 Seahawks jersey Brown gave him after his rookie season, kept coaching from his distant sideline, saying after the misses, "OK Josh, don't let it get you down."

After the Seahawks lost 21-10 to the Pittsburgh Steelers, Worley said Brown still deserved his sign.

"Just getting to the Super Bowl is something not many people get to experience, especially if you're from a small town like this one. Win or lose, we're still proud of him," he said.

About 20 percent of the town turned out to watch the big game on a sheet-draped projection screen in the high school gymnasium. But with Foyil's population of 250, it made for a small crowd.

AP

Seattle Seahawks kicker Josh Brown (3) reacts after missing a third-quarter 50-yard field goal against the Pittsburgh Steelers at the Super Bowl XL football game, Sunday, Feb. 5, 2006, in Detroit.

Still, Brown's fans and friends were on their feet before his first attempt of 47 yards split the uprights to give Seattle a 3-0 lead.

"Why, he used to kick off out here and kick them out to the parking lot," boasted athletic director Tom Naro, waving toward the Panthers' field.

"That gave me goose bumps!" said Antle, who is now principal of the Foyil's junior and senior high schools.

Brown's family still lives in Foyil, just across from the brightly painted 90-foot totem pole made by a local folk artist from 28 tons of carved cement. And Brown regularly visits, even helping the local football team in summer practice.

Antle was at church Sunday when Brown called from his hotel to say that he was relaxed and ready to go.

The 61-yard field goal Brown kicked as a junior in 1996 remains the longest kick from scrimmage in state prep history, although two longer field goals have come on free kicks.

"I told him, '61 yards in 1996 is still 61 yards in 2006,"' Antle said. "He said, 'You're right, coach -- 61 yards is still 61 yards."'