The Associated Press

SAN DIEGO - Keenan McCardell is the only Tampa Bay Buccaneer with a Super Bowl ring, but it's not something he is excessively proud of.

Of course, he's glad he has the ring. After all, it is the ultimate artifact of success as an NFL player.

Players with the ring are kindred spirits. When they are together they talk about the big or unusual plays in their Super Bowl games. They won't discuss these things intimately with anybody who hasn't won the big one.

It's not snobbery; they just feel you can't understand unless you've been there and conquered.

McCardell has been there, but in his mind, he has not conquered.

The Bucs wide receiver was a rookie with the Washington Redskins team that beat the Buffalo Bills 37-24 in Super Bowl XXVI at Minneapolis in 1992. He had blown out a knee in a scrimmage against Pittsburgh before the season and didn't play a game.

McCardell has a ring, but he's not wearing it this week. He doesn't wear it much under any circumstances.

"I want to earn a ring the right way," McCardell said, "and that's with blood, sweat and tears. I've got the opportunity to do that."

The 94 and 93 catches he made with Jacksonville in 2000 and 2001 made him too expensive for the salary-cap-strapped Jaguars, but very attractive as a free agent.

Coach Jon Gruden had gone to Tampa Bay with the mandate to build an explosive offense, and there McCardell was. But Gruden came within a day of not signing McCardell.

"I was visiting the Bucs, and on Monday I had a flight to New England," McCardell said. "But we got the deal done Sunday in Tampa. It was close, and I know if I'd gotten there, (Patriots coach Bill Belichick) wouldn't have let me leave."

Gruden was persuasive.

"He just said, 'I really need a Z (wideout other than the split end) in my offense,'" McCardell said. "That was all he needed to tell me. That is a type of position in the West Coast offense that gets a lot of attention."

McCardell, a speedy 6 feet 1 and 195 pounds, fits in well with Tampa Bay's big wideouts, Keyshawn Johnson and Joe Jurevicius. During the regular season, he caught 61 passes for 670 yards and a team-high six touchdowns.

Even at 33, McCardell brings vitality to the Bucs' receiving corps. He's the change-of-pace receiver, the zip when defensive backs are weary of wrestling with Johnson and Jurevicius.

"We're all first choices," said McCardell, explaining that there is no lead receiver in Gruden's scheme. "This offense is so diverse. Everybody has to touch the ball. Keyshawn has to touch the ball, I have to touch the ball, Joe. Everybody, at any point if they play, can touch the ball."

Now here McCardell is, back in the NFL's biggest game. It has been 12 years since that first Super Bowl. He had come close losing in the AFC title game with Jacksonville after the 1995 and 1998 seasons.

"I always tell young kids, 'Never let anyone tell you you can't do something,'" McCardell said. "This is something you've always dreamed of. When you go to sleep at night, you dream of catching a touchdown in the Super Bowl, making a sack in the Super Bowl, causing a fumble. You're here. Now, it's time to do those things you dreamed of."

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