JERSEY CITY, N.J. (AP) — They are former kids who played in their back yards and dreamed of scoring the winning touchdown, making the big play on defense and somehow sharing in the spotlight of helping a team win the Super Bowl.
Not all dreamers get to the NFL, and certainly, many who get to football’s highest level don’t get the chance to play in the Super Bowl.
There are at least a dozen who will be participating for the Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks in Sunday’s Super Bowl who toiled for at least eight years in the NFL before getting a chance to play for the title.
Broncos cornerback Champ Bailey is their poster child. He waited 15 years. The other included the last XFL player still in the NFL.