Now in his third season, this is Ellis Hobbs' first Super Bowl appearance. He was so emotional after the Pats' loss in Denver two years ago that he had to take time to compose himself before he went into the locker room; last year was more postseason sadness.

With the sting of last January's loss to the Colts still on their minds, Hobbs said tonight that the players stressed "not this year."

"Not this year. Especially for me, my college years weren’t the best. I’ve been a loser for a long time, on a lot of losing teams, man," he said, referring to his years at Iowa State. "With all the things that have gone on this season, on the field, off the field, whatever, this is the culmination of all of them. This feels great."