The 18-year NFL veteran donned a sweet Havana-style hat for his session with reporters on Monday.

"I probably have 150 hats," the Patriots linebacker said. "I'm pretty sick with hats. The world hasn't seen this one yet, so I thought I'd throw it on."

Seau last played in the Super Bowl in 1994 in San Diego's loss to San Francisco.

"It's been 181 games since I've been part of a Super Bowl," he said. "The game that I played against the 49ers was basically a game that we were overmatched. We really were."

The Super Bowl was big then, but nothing like it is now, he said.

"It's definitely a bigger attraction, and there's definitely more media hype to it," Seau said. "It's a very important game, it really is."

His team's 18-0 record only adds to that.

ELI'S COMING BACK

The only other time Eli Manning has suited up for the New York Giants in Arizona was the last time he didn't start.

Manning's final game in his brief time as an NFL backup came on Nov. 14, 2004, when the visiting Giants were beaten by the Cardinals 17-14. Kurt Warner, the Giants' starter, was sacked six times. Afterward, first-year coach Tom Coughlin said Warner would keep the job.

But by the next day, the coach changed his mind and gave the job to the rookie Manning, the NFL's No. 1 overall pick that year.

"He is the future of the New York Giants," Coughlin said at the time. "It just starts now."

For good or ill, the Giants have been Manning's team ever since.

When he takes the field in the Super Bowl on Sunday, it will be his 60th consecutive start. His 55 straight regular-season starts rank fourth among active quarterbacks, behind Brett Favre (253), older brother Peyton Manning (160) and Tom Brady (110), his opponent in the Super Bowl.

Much has changed since the Giants last appeared in Arizona. The Cardinals, with Warner their quarterback most of this season, no longer play in front of mostly empty seats at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe. They've moved to the western outskirts of Phoenix, where they've sold out two seasons in a row at their new stadium.

That's where the younger Manning will make his biggest start yet.

MEDIA OVERLOAD

A record 4,786 media credentials have been issued for this year's Super Bowl.

The old mark of 4,516 was set last season in Miami.

Reporters, photographers and broadcasters come from around the world.

The game will be televised to 223 countries and territories. The telecasts include networks from Britain, Canada, China, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Japan, Latin America, Mexico, Russia, Spain, Thailand.

DOUG WILLIAMS HONORED

Doug Williams, the first black player to quarterback a Super Bowl championship team, will take part in the Vince Lombardi Trophy presentation ceremony following Sunday's game.

The honor comes 20 years after Williams was chosen the game's MVP for leading the Washington Redskins to a 42-10 Super Bowl triumph over Denver in San Diego.

Williams set several Super Bowl passing records at the time, including touchdowns (4), yards passing (340) and longest pass completion (80 yards). His team scored a Super Bowl-record 35 points in a span of less than six minutes.

Williams retired as a player in 1989. He replaced his famed coach Eddie Robinson at Grambling in 1997. Currently, he is a personnel executive with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Williams joins Hall of Famers Don Shula and Bart Starr as participants in the trophy ceremony. Since 2006, the NFL has included a great from a former Super Bowl in the trophy presentation.

OVER THE HUMP

At least one forecaster thinks the New York Giants have what it takes to get over the hump in the Super Bowl. Princess, the pigskin-picking camel that once belonged to heiress Doris Duke, is picking the Giants over the heavily favored New England Patriots.

Her record is nothing to spit at. Princess went 11-6 during the regular season and is 8-2 in the playoffs.

"I can't explain it, but her predictions, more often than not, are right on the money," said John Bergmann, general manager of Popcorn Park Zoo in Lacey Township, N.J., where Princess has lived since 2004.

The camel's calculations flow from her love of graham crackers. Bergmann will place a cracker in each hand, and use a permanent marker to scrawl the name of a competing team on each hand.

Whichever hand Princess nibbles from is her "pick" for that week.