"Time brings a lot of things along for the ride, a crease or two in the brow, perhaps some gray around the temples and a lot more perspective.

Looking back, five seems to be a more impressive number now than when former Broncos star John Elway lived it as a player. For now, Elway is the only quarterback in NFL history with five Super Bowl starts. That changes next Sunday in Indianapolis when New England Patriots star Tom Brady joins him.

"It's kind of nice to look back on it now and you see how difficult it has been since (Brady), he's the only other one," Elway said last week. "To get to five of those, that's really hard.

"I'm not sure you realize that at the time, especially early in your career if you get to a Super Bowl. You're young, so you kind of lose your perspective a little bit."

Elway helped lead the Broncos to three Super Bowls in a four-season span, from 1986 to 1989. The Broncos lost all three NFL title games, to the New York Giants (39-20), Washington Redskins (42-10) and San Francisco 49ers (55-10). Those trips to the Super Bowl came at the end of Elway's fourth, fifth and seventh seasons in the league. It took Elway, a Pro Football Hall of Famer, and the Broncos eight years to get back to the Super Bowl. Armed with a strong running game fueled by Terrell Davis, the Broncos were NFL champions in the 1997 and 1998 seasons. Elway retired after being named the MVP of his last game, Super Bowl XXXIII.

"We had three trips out of four years at one point," Elway said. "When you are younger, you think that's how it's going to be. But then you wait, and that's when you realize what it really means because during those eight years you feel like it might not happen again. So, for what Tom and the Patriots have done is really a testament to the kind of player he is."

Brady is the league's ultimate competitor. The Patriots were a flawed team for much of this season, finishing 31st in total defense and struggling enough in their secondary that veteran coach Bill Belichick used wide receivers as defensive backs.

And yet the Patriots are 15-3 and have a 10-game winning streak entering Super Bowl XLVI against the Giants. It's a rematch of the Super Bowl played four years ago."