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Posted at 12:43 a.m., Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Super Bowl: Bruschi finds success again after stroke

By Dan Zeiger
East Valley Tribune (Mesa, Ariz.)

GLENDALE, Ariz. — Whether he leaves the field in ecstasy or agony — and during his 12 seasons with the New England Patriots, it has usually been the former — linebacker Tedy Bruschi often turns around for one last look.

It is the moment he takes a mental picture, to capture the joy of victory or burn a loss in his mind to use for motivation later.

However, the images of one game, Super Bowl XXXIX, cause Bruschi's personal football hard drive to crash with emotion. Against the Philadelphia Eagles, he had eight tackles and a sack, resulting in his third Super Bowl ring.

It could easily have been his last game.

"Before I could sit back and enjoy that win, I was fighting for my life," said Bruschi, a University of Arizona product who will start for the Patriots in Super Bowl XLII. "That's why the images from that game are so fond for me. It's powerful every time I see it, because I know what happened after that."

On Feb. 15, 2005 — 10 days after that Super Bowl, three days after playing in his first Pro Bowl — Bruschi suffered a stroke, the result of a blood clot that traveled through a small hole in his heart. It left him with numbness on the left side of his body and a loss of peripheral vision.

Nine months later, he returned to the NFL. Three years later, Bruschi, 35, has beaten the odds into submission, again becoming an impact player. He is back in the Super Bowl, an inspiration exemplified in the reverence from his teammates and thousands of letters he has received from fellow stroke survivors.

Save for a victory on Sunday, there is nothing more Bruschi could ask for.

"It sounds ludicrous to play football after a stroke," said Bruschi, who compiled a team-leading 99 tackles during the regular season. "That sentence is just not used a lot.

"When I realized it could happen, getting back was an incredible journey - especially getting back to playing a high level of football again, to feel like a major contributor to this team. It feels like I have come full circle."

While age has begun to limit the 12-year veteran's mobility, Bruschi still has plenty of instinct and smarts. He made one of the biggest plays of the AFC championship game, preventing a San Diego touchdown by diving to knock down a pass to tight end Antonio Gates.

"He has been a tackling force and a strong leader for us since his rookie season," coach Bill Belichick said of Bruschi, a team captain.

"What he went through in 2005 was something few players — or few people - go through. There was a possibility he wouldn't play football again.

But he did.

"He has great energy and enthusiasm for the game. Any player and coach on the team feels the positive vibe he gives off. It's been awesome to have him as part of this organization."

The letters and e-mails Bruschi receives come from people as young as 5 who have suffered from a similar condition. Many write their doctors and have told them that this is the same ailment that Tedy Bruschi had, and if he can play in the NFL again, they can still have a normal life.

"I receive stories of adversity, whether they are cancer survivors or stroke survivors. If any of them tell me they have been able to draw inspiration from what I've been able to do, it's incredibly honoring," Bruschi said.

Bruschi works with the American Stroke Association, creating Tedy's Team, a program designed to raise awareness of early signs of stroke.

His book, "Never Give Up: My Stroke, My Recovery and My Return to the NFL," is currently ranked No. 5 in sales among football books at Amazon.com.

After the Super Bowl, Bruschi is an unrestricted free agent, and retirement figures to be among his options.

Last week, safety Rodney Harrison was surrounded by reporters at Gillette Stadium when he was asked about Bruschi. Harrison thought for a moment, then pointed to the Patriots' logo on his helmet hanging nearby.

"To me, that's what Tedy is all about, right there," Harrison said. "Our logo embodies character, dedication and teamwork. I can't think of anyone more worthy to wear it than Tedy Bruschi."