Awaiting Their Crowning Achievement

For the Giants' Strahan and the Patriots' Seau, a Super Bowl Ring Has Been Elusive

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Jan. 31 -- The way Junior Seau tells the story, he just had come in from surfing one summer day in 2006 when he heard a phone message from New England Patriots Coach Bill Belichick saying he had a position for the veteran linebacker. Seau had announced his retirement, and his life in Southern California was good. But this was a three-time Super Bowl-winning coach calling, and the opportunity was too good to pass up.

The Patriots are glad Seau, 39, accepted the offer. He has given the Patriots another locker room graybeard and, more important, another reliable defender on this season's run to an 18-0 record entering Sunday's meeting with the New York Giants in the Super Bowl.

Much like Seau, the Giants' Michael Strahan is a longtime veteran who has carved a possible Hall of Fame career as a feared pass rusher. He had been the defensive face of the Giants over his 15 years, all with New York, and was mulling retirement as training camp began this season.

Strahan eventually convinced himself to extend his career at least one more season, and now he and Seau, who have a combined 33 years of NFL service, are on the cusp of adding an elusive Super Bowl title to their extensive résumés.

"Junior is a great friend of mine," Strahan said. "I text him all the time throughout the entire playoffs and throughout the season, and I see him in the offseason. It is one of those things where I wish he gets a ring, but at the same time I need mine. One of us will have to suffer."

Said Seau: "I have a lot of respect for someone like Michael Strahan. He's on the same fence as me, trying to grab one. It's been a long, long journey for both of us."

Seau has fit right in on a New England defense laden with other wise veterans. Safety Rodney Harrison is 35. Linebacker Tedy Bruschi is 34. All remain key cogs in a defense that looked old and creaky at times during the season while the Patriots' record-setting offense did most of the heavy lifting.

Seau wasn't in the lineup at the end of last season, finishing on the injured reserve list. But he is healthy now and contributed a key tackle in the AFC title game that helped preserve the Patriots' victory over the Chargers.

"I've seen Junior Seau at 26, and I've seen Junior Seau at 39," said Harrison, also a teammate of Seau in San Diego. "There's really no difference in his preparation, in his approach to the game or the way he handles his business."

Seau said he had to ease into a leadership role in the Patriots' locker room because there were so many seasoned veterans when he arrived. But clearly he has become a respected and esteemed team elder even on a club seeking its fourth Super Bowl crown in seven years.

"He makes us better," said Patriots linebacker Mike Vrabel, a relative youngster at 32. "He brings an energy that's unparalleled. We love having him around. I hope to play with him further down the line."

Seau reached Super Bowl XXIX in Miami while with the Chargers but suffered a 49-26 defeat to the San Francisco 49ers on Jan. 29, 1995, that he recalls as embarrassing.