MIAMI -- Travis Hall might be the best defensive tackle no one has heard of.
A hockey player with spiked blond hair who lived in Alaska and played for BYU, he became the first Atlanta Falcons tackle to reach double digits in sacks (10.5) in 1997.But people still don't know who he is.
During the past three seasons, Hall has made more tackles (279) than any other interior defensive lineman in the league.
But fans still haven't heard of him.
He also made one of the most famous fumble recoveries in Falcons history.
Late in the first half of the NFC Championship Game against the Minnesota Vikings on Jan. 17, defensive end Chuck Smith knocked the ball loose from Vikings quarterback Randall Cunningham. Hall fell on it. One play later, Atlanta scored and the Falcons were back in the game.
They know him in Georgia.
A few days after the win over Minnesota, Hall (6-5, 288 pounds) walked into the grocery store where he had been shopping all season.
"Once in a while, someone might recognize you and say something," he said. "But now, all of a sudden, 15 people want your autograph."
They never bothered Hall for tickets before, either. But Super Bowls have a way of shining a bright light on players who have spent most of their careers in relative obscurity.
"You have a big game in a game like this, you're going to get your name out there," said Hall, who spent his high school years between Utah (at West Jordan High) and Kenai, Alaska. "People are going to start to realize or recognize the type of player you are. Those things help. You start getting on nationally televised games. We didn't have a lot of games like that this year. Maybe we'll get recognized in the future."
Hall and the other members of the Falcons defense will be recognized Sunday in Super Bowl XXXIII when they try to stop the Denver Broncos, led by running back Terrell Davis.
If they stop Davis, they'll be applauded. If they don't, they definitely will be identified.
"You see what Terrell has been doing to people on film and it's like, 'Wow,' " said Hall.
"Against Miami, they contain him to like 29 yards or something the first time they played. Then he turns around the second time and rushes for, like, 199 yards."
Hall has something in common with Davis. Both came out of the sixth round of the 1995 draft. Hall was the 181st pick, Davis the 196th.