Rodney Harrison played in three Super Bowls with the Patriots and won two of them. He’s been through the drill a few times and is familiar with all the hype and distractions that come with the big game. Prior to the Pro Bowl Sunday, he explained on NBC what the biggest distraction of the Super Bowl is.
“The biggest distraction for me, and I hate to admit to it, are family and friends,” he said, “Because they’re pulling you, they’re grabbing you in all types of different directions. They’re asking you ‘Hey, can you come to lunch with us?’ They even want to take you to the mall.
“But for me, Thursday was the deadline. I’m cutting everyone off on Thursday. I had a cell phone and I cut everyone off. I bought a cell phone, cut my other cell phone off, and said ‘Only my wife will call me on this one.'”
We’ve heard this before, and it’s worth mentioning again. Some teams arrive and want to be a part of the parties. Other teams come prepared for a business trip, and they’re content saving their partying until after the game is over. How both teams conduct themselves this week, and their ability to avoid all the distractions, will have a major impact on how focused they are for Sunday.
