"This whole Super Bowl thing isn't completely foreign to Saints tight end Jeremy Shockey. He already has been a member of a team that played for the NFL championship, a team that actually won Super Bowl XLII in an epic upset.

But the similarities cease there.

Shockey's team in 2007, the New York Giants, played in that game. Shockey, then an injured tight end, only attended the game. Reportedly, after a falling out with management, he flew to the game in Arizona on his own dime, wasn't allowed to stay in the team hotel and watched from the press box because he wasn't allowed on the Giants sideline.

His relationship with the Giants had deteriorated, and Shockey was traded to New Orleans in exchange for second- and fifth-round draft picks before the 2008 season, which is why he's bordering on giddy in anticipation of battling the Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl XLIV on Feb. 7 in Miami.

"It's completely different," Shockey said. "I'll be playing in this game, unlike the last one. It's a surreal feeling. It still hasn't hit me. God works in mysterious ways, man. It's a blessing to be a part of this organization and this team. A lot of hard work has paid off."