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Night before the biggest game of my life
By Keyshawn Johnson
Special to ESPN.com

Keyshawn Johnson is filing a daily diary during Super Bowl week.
So OK, here we go -- my last entry before the biggest game I'll ever play in. I might be in Super Bowls after this one -- I mean I'm hoping -- but no matter what, this will always be the first one. Guys who have been in a bunch of them always say the first one is different.

I'm already thinking about what it's going to be like to run into that stadium and feel the roar, and hear all the booing from the Raider fans. They booed me pretty good when I was with the Jets and we went to Oakland to play. So I'm thinking they'll be booing me pretty good now. Especially with so much on the line. I'm happy they're here, that they got to the Super Bowl because I've been a Raiders fan all my life, but I ain't about to give them the game.

The media found out today about Ronde Barber's knee injury and how he's been playing in a lot of pain for about a month. He never said anything to us, but we all knew how bad he'd been hurting. We saw all the hours he spent in the training room icing down, trying to get the swelling down. But we also knew that Ronde was going to show up every week and play through the pain. He's one of the toughest guys we've got so it was never a worry. All of us are playing through some sort of pain -- my hand's a lot better, but it's not 100 percent -- but I don't think anyone's going to be feeling any pain on Super Bowl Sunday. I know the fans won't because they'll all be toasted by the time we take the field.

We had a little walkthrough today and then I jumped in my car and drove up to Newport Beach. I'm thinking about moving to that area, and I wanted to check things out. Actually, that's kind of funny -- the night before the Super Bowl and I'm house hunting. Mainly, I just wanted to get away from everything for a while, clear my head. I feel pretty relaxed, but I'm nervous and excited a little bit, too. I don't think it has really sunk in that this is the Super Bowl. I'm not trying to get caught up in all the hype, all the fuss. I'm gonna take it easy tonight, stay in the hotel. I'll sleep. I know I'll sleep because I'm relaxed and ready.

So everything's set. My family's all here. My best friends are all here. My kids are here. I found enough tickets for the people I want to be there. No more hassles about trying to make sure everyone's hooked up. That was a major pain, believe me.

As for the team -- our game plan is tight. We had great practices all week, and I can feel that we're gonna be cracking. All that's left now is to play the game. So let's go. Time to play. I'm ready.

Keyshawn Johnson is filing a daily diary during Super Bowl week exclusively for ESPN.com.






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