TAMPA – Hammer finally nailed down a place in the Super Bowl after nine seasons, so yesterday he went Tampa in style.
Keith Hamilton got on the plane as a man in black, wearing a suit that suited the occasion. He had more jewelry hanging from his wrist and chest than Long John Silver, enough practically to embarrass Puff Daddy, even light up Times Square. It still wasn’t as glittery as the sparkle in the defensive tackle’s eyes. This was a man all dressed up and finally, on the last week of January, having the place to go. “I always dress like this,” he said. “But some guys were more [dressed] than usual, and a lot of guys brought camcorders, too.
“It was just a memorable occasion for everybody. You can see it in guys’ eyes. It was exciting. This is a once-in-a-lifetime deal, maybe, so you have to seize the moment and enjoy everything. And there was a time during the ride where I said, ‘Yeah, I’m going to the Super Bowl.’
“But you have to keep focus on what we’re here to do and that’s win this game. I’m here for one reason.”
On the chance some Giants will think of other reasons, they got the obligatory warnings upon arrival.
“We just had a security meeting,” said Hamilton. “They told us about sting operations and places we need to stay away from.
“We have some young guys who may want to venture off and do some different things. But although there may be a lot of nightlife in Tampa Bay to some people, it don’t got nothing on New York. If we can handle New York – and everybody on the team has been good all year – I’m sure we can handle this.
“Jim [Fassel] never actually said any place was off limits, but he said there was some kind of a lap- dance ordinance. There may be some guys who go in there, but I hope they go by the rules. He just said to be on the safe side, steer clear; can’t have girls lap-dancin’ on you.
“Hey, I’m an older guy. In my mind, I’m thinking that’s some place I don’t need to be. This is a business trip.”
He is here to close the deal from the most businesslike year of his nine in the NFL, following hardball negotiations with himself. Hamilton went to the treadmill, put his nose to grindstone, slimed down to 285 from 305, dedicated himself like he never had before.
“He is a helluva a lot better player than when I got here,” said Fassel last night. “He is in the best shape he has ever been in.
“For a big defensive lineman, he doesn’t take practice plays off, he doesn’t take plays in games off. He knows where his career is and that he had a shot this year and he went after it.”
If it still didn’t earn Hamilton his first place in the Pro Bowl, then he’ll live, and happily ever after, too, if the Giants seal the deal Sunday against the Ravens.
“[The Pro Bowl disappointment] is over with now,” he said. “But, yeah, I do feel like this was my best year.
“As you get older, you start thinking about what your contribution has been. For so long, I got by being just good enough, a little above average. I told myself I would take it upon myself to be the best player I could be. I grew up.”
Lomas Brown helped teach Hamilton how with treadmill workouts that began at dawn. Perhaps Hamilton went because sunrise presented the worst view possible of an approaching sunset.
Or maybe the big lug Lomas is just so much fun to be around that even at six miles an hour, sweat flying, there still was no better place Hamilton could think to be.
“Lomas has meant a tremendous amount to me,” said Hamilton. “He is a very good friend of mine. I had no idea we would click the way he have. This is a guy with 17 years’ experience and his work ethic meant a lot to me.
The Giants would never get here if Hamilton hadn’t come to mean more than ever to them, if he didn’t see this Super Bowl as a viable goal long before the passengers outside the locker room boarded late. As long ago as last summer, Hamilton swears he saw a team with absolutely as good a chance as it chose to give itself.
“I can say that now because I know how hard the guys worked,” he said. “I’ve been through good and bad times and I always knew we had the talent, but we just had to get more balance, get an offense up to where the defense was playing.”
It all came together, like the magic of the carpet Hamilton rode here yesterday, a man lookin’ gooood, feelin’ even better, having absolutely every reason, too.