For all the high-profile names and talent on the New York Giants, when they take the field for Super Bowl XLII there will be only one man on their roster that has been there before and completed the job.
No, it's not defensive end Michael Strahan. Or wide receiver Plaxico Burress or cornerback Sam Madison.
Try offensive lineman Grey Ruegamer, a Super Bowl XXXVI champion.
But Ruegamer isn't the only player appearing at University of Phoenix Stadium Sunday who has something to show from the 2002 Super Bowl in New Orleans.
Standing across the field from the Giants will be the New England Patriots, who Ruegamer played for during the 2000 and 2001 seasons. Yet, he doesn't speak too openly of his time in New England.
"Yeah, I had a good time there, but I want a ring that says 'New York Giants' now," said Ruegamer days before the final game of the NFL postseason. "[They're] just another team on the schedule."
He does, however, recall a different time football brought him to Arizona.
Ruegamer was a four-year starter on the offensive line for the ASU football team from 1995 to 1998 when he played center and tackle. His ability earned him Walter Camp All-American honors his senior season, and he was selected in the third round by the Miami Dolphins in the 1999 NFL Draft. Yet, those aren't the things that standout to Ruegamer when he thinks about his time as a Sun Devil.
"Being able to play in the Rose Bowl for the national championship against Ohio State [is] one of them," Ruegamer said. "Then just the group of guys we had on the team. We were a close unit."
Ruegamer played with the likes of Jake Plummer, Pat Tillman, Juan Roque, Keith Poole and Derek Smith, all of whom played in the NFL as well.
And while he was developing as a football player at ASU, Ruegamer also honed his skills as the master prankster that he is notoriously known for today.
"We talked so much smack to each other and played jokes on each other," he said. "That was the best part."
But Ruegamer couldn't have been that cruel because he said he still talks to several of his Sun Devil teammates, including tight end Steve Bush and Plummer "when he's not playing handball."
What's more surprising though, is that Ruegamer is on good terms with Giants teammate and former UA football player Antonio Pierce.
"We'll have a friendly wager on the [rivalry] game every year," Ruegamer said. "And we're on friendly terms when it comes to pranks. Offensive linemen and quarterbacks are usually fair game."
And that's with the blessing of Giants coach Tom Coughlin, of course.
"He hears about [the pranks], and sometimes he'll get a little ticked off," Ruegamer said. "But he knows we screw around to have fun, but we can focus at practice. He realizes what it is."
Ruegamer added that neither he nor his offensive line mates were going to tone down the jokes leading up to the Super Bowl because even though "it's a business trip," it's a part of how they are.
Ruegamer didn't show any consideration for the heavily favored Patriots either, despite their pursuit of history.
"I don't give a rat's ass about their record or anything else," he said. "Their record is irrelevant. We're here to play a football game."
Spoken like a Super Bowl champion.
Reach the reporter at: christopher.d.ramirez@asu.edu.
