This is exactly it... 99.9% of people never hear of punters, or if they do, it's bc they one some collegiate award... And of those punters that won some award, most don't pan out.
Punters are the great unknown, there is hardly ever a punter that comes out of college and everyone is SOO enamored with them that they are excited their team got them..
It generally goes something like this...
- team has a punter and brings in some guy to compete
- competitor wins battle in camp and people A.) either don't care or B.) ask who in the hell that punter is... Maybe both
- competitor punts well and starts garnering respect
- all fans vote for said punter for pro bowl
- years go by and same cycle continues...
The alternative is that the competitor doesn't win the job and fans instantly forget about him and claim the team didn't do anything to improve their punter situation...