By Jeff Duncan, The Times-Picayune
January 30, 2010, 6:00AM
Garrett Hartley doesn’t look like a hero.
The New Orleans Saints’ 5-foot-9, 196-pound kicker is diminutive by NFL standards. His baby face and big brown eyes make him look 23 going on 18.
You’d walk past him on the street or stand next to him in the checkout line at the grocery store and never know he was the guy who just kicked the Saints into the Super Bowl.
He wears his blonde hair in spikes and leans toward X Games fashion: T-shirts, hoodies, conductor hats and knit caps.
His unassuming demeanor makes him fade into the background on a Saints roster loaded with stars such as Drew Brees, Darren Sharper, Jeremy Shockey and Reggie Bush.
“I’m just the 5-foot-9 guy walking around with long hair that looks like a surfer dude, ” Hartley said. “People tell me I need to get a suit for interviews.”