Cheering for a Dyson mulligan

Super Sunday owes him one.

More than any other player that will strap on the pads for Super Bowl XXXVIII in Houston, Kevin Dyson should have something good happen to him. Not much has in the last two years.

His 2002 campaign with the Titans ended with a severe hamstring injury and then a torn Achilles tendon limited Dyson to only one contest this season.

Still it's not surprising that Dyson was one of the main centers of attention during media day Tuesday. Every reporter from the New York Times to Animal Husbandry Monthly descended upon him, firing questions, many less intelligent that others. Most forced Dyson to recount Super Bowl XXXIV at the Georgia Dome when Rams linebacker Mike Jones tackled Dyson one stinking foot short of the game-tying touchdown as time ran out.

Who knew that after scoring the most memorable touchdown in Titans history, he would be overdrawn at the karma bank?

Yet one of the endearing things about the man they call Dice is that he hasn't run away from his moment in the Super Bowl sun, scorched as it might be.

Now, as he prepares for a possible Super Bowl mulligan, there is the reality that Dyson could have very little to do with the outcome at Reliant Stadium. He has only caught two passes all season for the Panthers, but the history of this game is rich with supporting players transformed into leading men, if only for this one day.

Still we hope for what sports and Kevin Dyson has brought in the past, another moment to remember.

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