The New York Times-20080129-Roundabout Route to the Super Bowl

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Roundabout Route to the Super Bowl

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At 41, Jeff Feagles will be the oldest player in Super Bowl history, and maybe the last to be older than the Super Bowl itself. But he never expected to be going back to Arizona like this.

Feagles, the Giants' punter, was raised in the Phoenix area, and moved his family there two years ago when he thought he was retiring from the N.F.L. He sold his house in New Jersey and bought one in Paradise Valley, a Phoenix suburb. Jeff and his wife, Michelle, and their four sons moved to the Southwest.

The Giants, wanting to keep the dependable kicker around, agreed to special concessions to let Feagles travel home frequently during the 2006 season. Eventually, Feagles signed a two-year contract. Everyone was happy with the arrangement, or so it seemed.

That spring and summer, Jeff and Michelle felt something was not right.

We were there, and it was just kind of putting a square peg in a round hole, Feagles said. It just wasn't working. As parents, we could see the look on our kids' faces, that they just weren't enjoying it.

So before the 2006 season began, the Feagles sold their Arizona house and bought one back in Ridgewood, N.J., about three blocks from where they used to live. The boys, who now range in age from 8 to 17, were reunited with their classmates and their routines.

It was just a six-month vacation to Phoenix, is what it was, Feagles said. An expensive one.

But the experience of going back is priceless. Sunday's Super Bowl XLII, in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale, will be the first in 20 N.F.L. seasons for Feagles. His wife and children will be there -- an unexpected return to their temporary home, for a reason they had not imagined.

For his first 19 seasons in the N.F.L., Feagles was an optimist, usually thinking his teams were better than they were. He told friends each preseason that the team he was on could be quite good.

In those 19 seasons -- with the Patriots, the Eagles, the Cardinals, the Seahawks and the Giants -- he made the playoffs six times, and won only once.

Last summer, the optimism waned.

This is the first year I didn't make any of those forecasts, Feagles said. I just said, 'You know what? I don't know how good we're going to be this year. We might be really terrible.'

Now Feagles is as giddy as a rookie, he said. He learned last week that he would be the oldest player to play in a Super Bowl. And since he was born on March 7, 1966, he could become the last player in Super Bowl history to be older than the game itself. The first Super Bowl was played on Jan. 15, 1967.

That's how I always remember the Super Bowl number, Feagles said. It's the same age as me.

Feagles has not missed a game since his career started in 1988, a record of 320 consecutive regular-season contests.

Two years ago, at age 39, Feagles thought his career was over. By then, he had kicked 1,437 punts for nearly 60,000 yards, and his arthritic right knee felt worn out. He considered it a signal to retire.

But with the encouragement of the Giants, he went through a battery of tests and met with a rheumatologist. He had surgery to clear some scar tissue, and the doctors recommended medication that he still uses.

Without the urging of the Giants, Feagles would have retired. But for Coach Tom Coughlin, few players were as trustworthy or as loyal. Feagles was there every game, and had solved the swirling winds of Giants Stadium like few others. He had an uncanny ability to steer kicks toward the sideline to prevent long returns or to pin opponents deep inside their territory. And he never caused a disruption in the locker room.

Coughlin and Feagles remembered that the conversations in 2006 centered on finding the balance between football and family.

My conversations with him were very, very personal, Feagles said. That's when I really got to know Tom Coughlin as a person. And he was encouraging me: 'This is what you do. What else are we going to be doing? You're a football player.' And so he went over those kinds of things, and was emphasizing to me how important family is. 'It's important to do the right thing. It's for your family and for your career.' And things just ended up working out.

Now, retirement is far from Feagles's mind.

His knee feels strong, and he says he feels that he is doing more good for the team -- as a punter, a sure-handed holder on kicks and a locker-room leader -- than harm.

Asked if the Super Bowl could be his last game, he did not hesitate.

Oh, I don't think so, he said. I haven't thought about it, but I can tell you that I don't think it will.

He laughed, and noted that he will be a free agent after the season. I'm hoping I can come back, he said.

He already has. This time, he will be in Arizona for only a week.

[Illustration]PHOTO: Feagles with the Arizona Cardinals.(PHOTOGRAPH BY CHRIS O'MEARA/ASSOCIATED PRESS)CHART: Finally, the Right Place at the Right Time: Jeff Feagles has played for five teams in his 20-year career. Only one of those teams has not been to the Super Bowl since he joined the league. Unfortunately for Feagles, his tenure with those teams did not coincide with their Super Bowl trips -- until now. Chart shows Feagle's Career highlights and Teams' Super Bowl Appearance.