SUPER BOWL XL

Another Super Bowl with family on his mind

As always, Joe Jurevicius will think of his late son ... and, at this Super Bowl, a delightful daughter.

By JOANNE KORTH
Published February 5, 2006

	[AP photo]
	When Joe Jurevicius went to the Super Bowl with the Bucs three years ago, his newborn son, Michael, was seriously ill in a Tampa hospital.

DETROIT - The boy would be 3 now, sitting in the stands at Super Bowl XL. Which is not to say Michael Jurevicius will not be there today for his father's game.

He will.

His father takes him everywhere.

Three years ago, Joe Jurevicius played in the Super Bowl for the Bucs with his heart in shreds while his newborn son fought for his life in a Tampa hospital. A fight he would lose. Though sorrow persists, this wondrous return to the NFL's championship game with the Seattle Seahawks gives Jurevicius a chance to share his joy.

Her name is Caroline.

"People ask me, "How many kids do you have?' I have two kids. One of them just wasn't here that long," Jurevicius said. "But I think of him every second, and now I have a healthy, 17-month-old daughter who probably takes his tickling.

"She's getting a double-whammy."

This is Jurevicius' third Super Bowl with as many teams in eight pro seasons, an astounding feat considering so many players with successful careers never make it at all. The first, he lost with the Giants. The second, he caught four passes for a game-high 78 yards as the Bucs won Super Bowl XXXVII in San Diego.

Somehow, he played.

"I know I got the strength from my family," Jurevicius, 31, said. "My mom and dad have been my rock, my pillar for a long time. I realized that it was my opportunity to step up and be that guy in my family. It's not to say I don't have my weak points. I cry just like the next guy, and I still have my share. But there were so many people that if I didn't look strong, we'd all be weak."

Michael William Jurevicius was born Jan. 14, 2003, one month premature and in the middle of the Bucs' playoff run. He had a rare inherited disease, sialidosis, that affects the body's ability to break down fats and carbohydrates.

For 70 days, Michael fought his illness while around him a family grew stronger.

"I hope one day as my daughter grows older and we have another kid, which I'm sure we will, that she's able to learn from me that family is No. 1 ahead of anything else," Jurevicius said. "And it will always be that way."

Jurevicius and his wife, Meagan, were at a gas station in western Washington when the doctor called with test results during the first trimester of Meagan's second pregnancy. Jurevicius' heart stopped. Their daughter was healthy. Jurevicius slapped high-fives with strangers at the gas station and celebrated with a case of cola.

"There were a lot of tears shed," he said.

Caroline Elizabeth was born Aug. 9, 2004, completely healthy. She is into everything, jabbers at her father on the phone - "I don't know what we talk about, but we talk for five minutes," he said - and cries when he leaves town.

"When you hear her say, "Daddy,' or she gives you a kiss, even if you're the sorest you can ever be from playing a football game, it sure makes you feel better," he said.

So much for a rugged NFL image.

"He's soft as a doughnut when she's around," said Chartric Darby, a teammate in Tampa Bay and Seattle.

Seahawks receiver Bobby Engram, who played with Jurevicius at Penn State, recently spent the evening at the Jureviciuses' home to watch their alma mater play Florida State in the Orange Bowl. Jurevicius and his daughter were the real show.

"To see him pick her up and play with her and kiss her, all you have to do is look at the way he looks at her," Engram said. "He loves that little girl to pieces."

On Monday and Tuesday mornings, days NFL players typically have off, Jurevicius rises early to fix Caroline breakfast, some eggs, turkey sausage and yogurt.

Cherished moments.

"She's my little monkey, she's all over the place," Jurevicius said. "She's got a lot of personality. I wake up every morning, and the first thing I do is smile."

Jurevicius and his wife have become active with the March of Dimes, a national organization that works to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality. The Florida chapter is based in Tampa, where the Jureviciuses still have a home and live for much of the offseason.

"I don't know if we'll ever cure certain diseases or prematurity," Jurevicius said, "but if we can help raise awareness and maybe help one family not have to go through something, it's worth it."

Jurevicius was alone at his previous Super Bowl, the rest of the family at his son's bedside while Jurevicius played valiantly for the Bucs. He has 22 family members and friends at Super Bowl XL. His parents arrived Thursday, Meagan on Friday.

Everyone, but Caroline.

She's too young, so will spend the weekend with relatives in Cleveland while the rest of the family has the Super Bowl experience they could not three years ago.

"I've got an opportunity now to enjoy everything that I didn't get to enjoy in my second one," Jurevicius said. "There's a lot of things I'm grateful for. And I've got a little X-factor up there that kind of watches down on me."

After the game, Jurevicius will spend time in his hometown of Cleveland, where Michael is buried. He will visit the grave each morning and each night. But today, right before kickoff, Jurevicius will kneel in the end zone at Ford Field to trace an "M" on the turf with his finger and whisper three words to his son.

"I need you."

Michael will be there.

[Last modified February 5, 2006, 01:58:19]