Two weeks from now, either Tom Brady or Adam Vinatieri will join exclusive company when one makes his sixth Super Bowl appearance.
Only one other player in NFL history has played in that many. His name, of course, is Mike Lodish.
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Lodish, a backup defensive lineman for much of his 11-year career, played in his six Super Bowls with the Bills (1990-94) and Broncos (1997-98). These days, he's a start-up businessman selling peanut brittle in suburban Detroit.
"I think it's great," Lodish said of welcoming a second member to his club during a recent interview with Yahoo! Sports. "How could you not think it's great? It's been lonely for 15 years. In a selfish way, sure I want to be the only guy. But officially whoever it'll be will be tied with me."
Lodish's career began when the Bills selected him in the 10th round of the 1990 NFL Draft. He carved himself a niche role backing up Bruce Smith and the rest of the Bills' defensive linemen during the team's unprecedented run to four consecutive Super Bowl loses.
He then latched on to the Broncos and won Super Bowls XXXII and XXXIII, retired and enjoyed the perks of being the only player to have made it to the big game six times. The walking trivia question has had fun with it while marketing his gourmet peanut brittle business, which he said is doing very well.
But he'll need make alterations to his sales gimmick in two weeks.
Brady will go down as one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history, winning three out out his five Super Bowl appearances thus far. Vinatieri was around for four of those same Super Bowls with the Patriots and won another with the Colts.
"They are both great players," Lodish said. "They are both going to be Hall of Famers. The more the merrier."
