In at least some instances, the Super Bowl has been known in part for players who play through the pain.
As Dan Fouts said in The Waterboy, "Last game of the year, Brent. Can't hold anything back now."
In Super Bowl XIV, Rams defensive end Jack Youngblood faced the Steelers with a broken leg. Last year, Colts defensive end Dwight Freeney played with an ankle injury.
Over the course of this week, all eyes will be on the left ankle of Steelers center Maurkice Pouncey.
Pouncey, who suffered a high ankle sprain and was seen using crutches to get off the plane in North Texas, took a different method to his rehabilitation than Freeney did in last year's Media Day.
In the Media Day before Super Bowl XLIV, Freeney stood at a podium wearing flip-flops, giving NFL Network's cameras a good look at his swollen ankle. He ended up playing, but Drew Brees and the Saints put up enough offense to upset the Colts.
In this Media Day, Pouncey was interviewed from the Cowboys Stadium seats. There, he showed Deion Sanders the cast on which he is trying to heal his injury in time for Super Bowl Sunday.
Will he play?
"Most definitely," Pouncey said. "My mind right now is stuck on preparing the right way for the Green Bay Packers."
He went on to say that, at best, there is a 75-percent chance that he will play. But it is nice to know, at least for the Steelers' sake, that Pouncey is taking his rehab very seriously.
With a Packers defense that likes to send Charles Woodson, Clay Matthews and company on blitzes, the Pittsburgh offense will need its linemen to play effectively and with a sound coherence.
Without its starting center making a positive impact, it could be a long Super Bowl Sunday for Big Ben Roethlisberger and the Steeler offense.
Extra Point
James Harrison, when asked by NFL Network's Kara Henderson if we should expect any hard hits in the Super Bowl, said, "We're not trying to hit nobody hard. We don't wanna get fined."
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