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Father figure Woodson readies himself and team for Super Bowl
Updated: Thursday January 25, 2001 10:50 AM
By John Giannone, CNNSI.com TAMPA, Fla. -- As Baltimore Ravens safety Rod Woodson relishes in the glory of being a part of Super Bowl XXXV, he also has time to reminisce about a time when things weren't as pleasant on the football field. "When I planted, my foot stayed on the turf and my knee wanted to turn," Woodson said of the ill-fated day in 1995 when his career flashed before his eyes. "That's not a good combination. I could just feel something pop. I tried to jump off of it. By that time it was too late. When they asked me what happened, I said it's gone. And they said 'What?' I said, 'My ACL, it's gone.' " Woodson still remembers every agonizing frame. It was, after all, his handshake with sporting mortality. That Woodson returned to play a cameo role in the Super Bowl four months later ... and that Woodson is back five years later, is a testament to Super-human perseverance. "I didn't need to prove anything, but I needed the light at the end of the tunnel, to push myself." Woodson said. "It was worth it. I enjoyed it. I wouldn't change anything because fate is fate; it is what it is. I made the decision and you live with those decisions." Two years after the injury, Woodson decided to leave the Steelers. He spent one uncomfortable season in San Francisco, then landed with the Ravens in 1998. His plan was to return to stardom. His role was to be a veteran beacon. The marriage of role and plan has been blissful. Ravens linebacker Peter Boulware talked about Woodson's role on the team: "What he says to us, it's just like we're soaking it up like sponges. You know, he's telling us information, he's giving us stuff, but you know, nothing beats experience." "They're trying to play pass. They're trying to do all the [expletive] because they know we're aggressive." Woodson said to his teammates during a huddle in a recent game. "Let them show they can run the ball on us. Secondary, take care of the pass. Hey, if two guys are close, mambo it, limbo it."
When asked about Woodson's role on the team, Ravens cornerback Chris McAlister said, "Rod is like my father. I joke with him all the time. I call him 'Pops' in the locker room, out there on the field. He's always the one that comes to you and gives you that lecture that your father used to give you about manhood, growing up." So much of Woodson's attention this season was reserved for Ray Lewis. The two are locker mates, teammates, even soul mates. It was Woodson who offered to post bond after Lewis was arrested in the aftermath of the Super Bowl murders last January. It is Woodson who continues to provide an ear, a shoulder, a comforting word. When asked about what he provided to Lewis during his time of need, Woodson replied, "Just friendship and love. You don't have to do anything special, you don't have to say anything out of the ordinary to give somebody comfort." Other teammates notice the bond between Woodson and Lewis, including wide receiver Qadry Ismail who said, "Ray can be able to speak openly to Rod and allow him to understand those things and not allow the pressures of life to get to him." Ravens defensive lineman Tony Siragusa said, "I think when Ray got into the trouble, and Rod said that he'd put up the bond, that he would trust Ray with his kids, and really stood by Ray, that Ray's finally at that point he confided in him, and they're best of friends." "When friends look in each other's eyes they see a comfort level," Woodson said. "That they can believe in the person, they trust in the person, they have love for the person, and that's everything I saw and I believe that is the same thing he saw in my eyes." Woodson said that no matter what happens on Sunday, he will return for a 15th season. His love for the game is still strong, his passion for the profession still deep -- and especially this week -- his desire for some diamonds is unquenchable. "The ring gives the achievement that we all want, because we are going to say we are the best in the world at what we do for one year," Woodson said. "That would be nice. that's more of a want than a need, and we all want it real bad. Is my life going to change dramatically if win or if I don't win? No. Do you really, really want it? Yeah. I really want it." And as we all know by now, when Rod Woodson wants something badly enough, he refuses to acknowledge the alternative.
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