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Never, it seems, has the football player who views the world from an upside-down perspective been more valuable — and yet, paradoxically, taken for granted.

That’s the curious lot of long snappers in the Canadian Football League: If you do your job well, nobody notices.

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“I think it’s the only position that if you don’t do it 100 per cent, you lose your job,” says B.C. Lions’ long snapper Mike Benson. “Do it right, nine times out of 10, but snap one over the punter’s head, you’re fired. As soon as snapper misses one, they’re probably looking at somebody else.”

In addition to snapping the ball on the money to the punter in less than .8 of a second, long snappers must block in protection, then release and get downfield to make a tackle — like the audacious one Benson made that stopped speedy Brandon Banks of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in his tracks.

“That’s one of my personal highlights,” Benson says. “He (Banks) didn’t get a single yard on that return, and he’s one of the fastest returners in the league. My goal this year is to have a special teams tackle in every game. My goal, every game, is to make a difference.”