FOXBOROUGH - He sought solace in the surf.
Junior Seau knew of no better way to clear his mind and get himself right with the world.
After his first season with the Patriots was truncated by a fractured arm in a Week 11 contest against Chicago, Seau could not bear to watch his new team square off against his old team, the San Diego Chargers, last Jan. 14 in an AFC divisional playoff game.
So, Seau figured, the best place for him to be was the sanctuary of the Pacific surf - astride his board, in search of the perfect waves - and not the sideline of
"Last year? Yeah, I went surfing during the game," Seau admitted yesterday as he prepared for Sunday's AFC Championship game against the Chargers, a matchup even he couldn't have dreamed up. "Being from San Diego, it was actually a great time for the City of San Diego and the team. But, yeah, it was definitely bittersweet for me."
Improbably, the 18-year veteran linebacker, who turns 39 tomorrow, has returned as a participant in the AFC Championship for the first time since 1994, when he was in his fifth season with the Chargers. And now? Seau will get the opportunity to play against the team that selected him in the first round (fifth overall) of the 1990 draft out of Southern California and made the Oceanside, Calif., native the face of the franchise.
"To find the situation again has [come about], to play my hometown and a lot of the guys that I played with there in San Diego and the coaching staff that I know, it's definitely something special," Seau said. "I can honestly say that we're going to experience [the] AFC Championship together - not on the same team, but we'll definitely experience it together."
Will it be an emotional experience, though?
"No," Seau said. "You know, I try not to get too Oprah with it and know that it's just another game and know that I'm so happy for the city of San Diego, my hometown, and obviously the organization that started me off and really helped me to become who I am today.
"So all of that is all great, but when it comes down to playing [between] the white lines and it comes to Sunday, it's going to definitely be a challenge.
"It's going to be a challenge of the game of football - nothing more."
The Chargers arrived at this moment just as improbably as Seau did by fighting back four times to pull off a 28-24 upset of the highly favored Colts at the RCA Dome. The Bolts did so, too, by relying upon a talented bunch of reserves who responded when several offensive starters were injured: quarterback Philip Rivers (knee), running back LaDainian Tomlinson (knee), and tight end Antonio Gates (dislocated toe).
"What they showed last week, obviously, was a great game and they did it with a lot of backups," Seau said. "I don't consider them backups, anyway. Those guys can play and they can start on other teams in the league. That was perseverance. That showed how much depth they have on their team, but more importantly that showed how much character and heart is in that locker room, and you have to tip your hat to that."
Seau understands about playing with heart. He can appreciate such a gutsy effort, because that's how he made his name with the Chargers.
If he were to rewind tapes of himself, say, 10 years ago, Seau said he'd likely describe that player in the harshest of terms: "Dumb, crazy, out of control. I didn't know the game."
Seau said, in time, there comes a point of understanding. "But there's a bigger difference when you can feel it," he said. "When you're able to feel the game, you can anticipate things, you can make calls, you can make checks, you can do things ahead of time. And that's within, like, two seconds.
"That's when you separate yourself from being good and being great. That's the difference."
Seau had hoped to make a difference in San Diego. "But being there 13 years and not having a Super Bowl ring and helping that team win . . . in corporate America, I would've gotten fired four years ago," he said. "I kind of overstayed my [welcome] there in San Diego, probably four years. I think that was the grace period that they gave me, and I appreciate that. So there's no hard feelings - it was just business."
Traded to Miami April 16, 2003, in exchange for a fifth-round selection in the 2004 draft, Seau seemed to recharge his battery with the Dolphins until he wound up on injured reserve in his last two seasons in Miami (torn pectoral muscle in 2004 and Achilles' injury in '05).
After last week's 31-20 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars, Seau expressed his gratitude toward the Patriots for giving him the opportunity not only to get back to the AFC Championship, but to win it all.
"This is a long journey," Seau said. "If you want to look at my career being a part of the National Football League, I am fortunate - very fortunate - that the New England Patriots gave me a chance. That's the best blessing that I received - being a part of the National Football League, allowing an 18-year vet an opportunity, a chance to come and perform what he believes that he can do on the field. And that's all it was."
A chance?
"When I first came here, my decision was based on going to an organization where you have a chance," Seau said. "Well, this organization, the New England Patriots, they have such a culture [of success] here that all you can ask is to belong to an organization and establishment where you have a chance in life. And that goes for anyone. It doesn't matter if you're a rookie or a five-year vet or an 18-year vet.
"In life, all you want is a chance, and that's what they give you here."
