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SUPER BOWL XXXIV

People forget that the week of the game, we had a huge ice storm in Atlanta. Airports were shut down. Streets were closed. Most players' families didn't get into town when they were supposed to. I told everybody to arrive early and we could hang out, but that later in the week, I would need to do my own thing and go win a Super Bowl. So the storm was disruptive. But I never would have expected that one of my own teammates would be more disruptive. My backup, Paul Justin, was also my roommate that week. The night the storm hit, he said he was going out to spend a little time with his girlfriend and would be back late. But he never came back. Two nights before the Super Bowl, and my roommate -- and backup -- misses curfew. I freaked out. I kept calling him, calling my coaches, calling my teammates, even calling the team offices in St. Louis. I was up all night, like a worried father, thinking, "He hasn't called. No one's heard from him. What's going on?" The next morning, it's early, and I've barely slept before the biggest game of my life. I go down to breakfast and Paul comes strolling in, ready for breakfast. He had a big smile on his face and he said he hung out with his girlfriend. "I didn't think it was a big deal," he said. I exploded. "Really? You couldn't even call?" I told him he had to make curfew the rest of the time, and I was adamant about it. "From now on, you just stay here. Don't mess with me anymore." We watched every single movie on the hotel system, and he just stayed at my side. The hidden benefit to the whole incident was that I slept great the night before the game and felt so rested on Super Bowl Sunday. So maybe I should thank Paul for that.
-- As told to Morty Ain of ESPN The Magazine