TAMPA, Fla. – Even Hines Ward is getting a little tired of his right knee.
“Every day it’s something about my knee,” Ward said. “I think my knee deserves an Oscar award. He has more interviews than anybody here at the Super Bowl.”
That’s what happens when you’re a returning Super Bowl MVP who has the most significant injury heading into Sunday’s Super Bowl XLIII. Ward practiced yesterday fully for the first time since spraining the knee in the AFC Championship Game.
Ward wore a brace on the knee, and will do the same against the Cardinals. The Pittsburgh receiver admitted yesterday that he’s using the doubts people have about him as motivation – even if they are perceived doubts created in his mind.
“I want to go out there and play even harder,” Ward said. “I want to prove the naysayers (wrong). They say he can only run this route because his knee hurts. No, I want to run all the routes.”
This will not be Ward’s first experience playing in pain during a big game. He sprained the AC joint in his left shoulder two days before Super Bowl XL three years ago and that didn’t stop him. He caught five passes for 123 yards and a touchdown in the Steelers’ 21-10 victory over Seattle and was named the game’s MVP. He injured it in practice, diving for a pass.
“I don’t even know why I dove,” Ward said. “I just knew that I wasn’t going to play. I was in a sling Friday and Saturday night. I woke up Sunday morning and had to get a shot in my shoulder. I couldn’t even reach my arm above my head.
“With this injury, at least I had two weeks to heal. With that injury it was a day, maybe a day and a half, to get ready to play in the Super Bowl,” Ward added. “Once your adrenaline gets going and after the shot kicked in, I didn’t even know I had an injury in the Super Bowl. I felt it the next day. There was no question about that. It was all worth it because there is no tomorrow.”
As Sunday draws nearer, Ward envisions having another big game.
“What if I have a great day?” he said. “What if I go out there and have a 150 day on one leg? That would be a great story to write about. But, all in all, I just want to win. I worked my butt off all year to get to this point. I worked my tail off during this off week we had. Each day it’s gotten better and better.”
Ward has been careful rehabbing the knee. He had a hyperbaric chamber shipped here to sleep in to aid his recover. Ward rested last week, did a limited amount in Wednesday’s practice before testing it out yesterday. Ward spoke with the media before yesterday’s practice, and said he planned on going 60-70 percent and gradually working up to 100 percent on Sunday.
“There’s no rush,” Ward said. “We’re not going to win a Super Bowl on Thursday. We’re not going to win a Super Bowl on Friday.”
Ward said he is sick of hearing about his knee and it’s made him into a bit of a movie critic.
“I don’t turn on TV,” Ward said. “I don’t watch ESPN. I just sit in my room and rehab. I think I’ve watched every movie on the On Demand that we have. I’m caught up on all my movies.”
