Herzlich tackles cancer, yearns to play

INDIANAPOLIS -- Mark Herzlich stared up at his surroundings, awed by the enormity of the moment.

On the very same field where he endured his biggest professional football disappointment, the Giants linebacker spoke at length Tuesday about possibly playing in the biggest game of his life.

A year ago, Herzlich ran his slowest 40-yard dash time ever -- a 4.91 -- at Lucas Oil Stadium, the site of the NFL combine and this year's host for Super Bowl XLVI.

And as he described the frustration that washed over him on that February day, he looked down at the very spot where the starting line had been placed.

"Right where we're standing," he said. "I'm pretty sure it was right over here."

In the midst of the media day hype, Herzlich reflected on his road to recovery from Ewing's sarcoma, his quest to make it to the NFL and now, his dream of becoming a Super Bowl champion. In many ways, it seems his life has come full circle. But even he knows more chapters to his incredible story have yet to be written.

A life-threatening disease can alter one's perspective, but it can't dim the competitive spirit of an athlete, he said. And after missing the past eight games with an ankle injury, Herzlich hopes to be activated against the Patriots on Sunday.

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"Medically I'm cleared," he said. "I'm off the injury report and the ankle has been feeling good. It really comes down to numbers at this point and seeing where I can help out, where they don't need me or where they do need me. Whatever I can do, whatever role I can play, I'm happy to be here and happy to help the team win."

After arriving in Indianapolis on Monday, Herzlich delivered this tweet to his nearly 70,000 followers: "2 yrs ago I was told I might never walk again. Just WALKED off plane in Indy to play in The #SuperBowl . . . "

He rarely thinks back to the cancer diagnosis he received while a star at Boston College or the rod that was surgically inserted into his left femur in November 2009. "But I walked off that plane and I saw the red carpet laid out, and the media and everybody was smiling and happy to be here, and I thought, 'Wow, this is a dream that I never thought would come true.' "

He became misty-eyed as he recounted the conversation he had with his father the day he was diagnosed with cancer in 2008. Herzlich simply told him, "I'm going to play football again."

"He said, 'OK, I believe you. Let's do this together,' " said the linebacker, who has 12 tackles in 11 games. "And we did it together as a family. We never lost hope, we never lost focus."

He made a highlight reel of himself, composed of interviews and snippets of football action, and on "real bad days" during chemotherapy sessions, Herzlich would watch those images just to remind himself he could get back to the game he loved.

"As you go through things, you learn that you have to see yourself succeed, whether mentally or actually in person," he said. "That can help you do it."