Charles Woodson made it to the Super Bowl eight years ago. Unfortunately, his team, the Oakland Raiders, got lost in transit.
"We didn't show up," Woodson said of the 48-21 beat-down the Raiders absorbed at the hands of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
One year earlier, Ryan Pickett made it to Super Bowl XXXVI as a rookie with the St. Louis Rams, who lost to the New England Patriots, 20-17.
Pickett, being young and nave, figured he'd be penciling in the Super Bowl on his calendar on an annual basis
"I thought, 'This is easy. I'll be back every year,' " he said. "I mean, how crazy was that?"
Now among the oldest players on the Green Bay Packers' roster - Woodson is 34, Pickett 31 - they understand the fleeting nature of success in the NFL and how incredibly difficult it is to get to the Super Bowl.
They know they're fortunate to have a second chance to win a title, and their message to their teammates is to seize the opportunity. They want the Packers to play like there's no tomorrow against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XLV on Feb. 6 in Arlington, Texas.
Because there's no guarantee that young stars such as Aaron Rodgers and Clay Matthews and B.J. Raji, for all their talent, will ever make it back.
"You just don't know," Woodson said Wednesday. "I'm not going to say I didn't think I'd ever be there again. But I just knew how hard it was.
"I knew how hard the process was, building that team the first few years I was in Oakland with (Jon) Gruden and the guys they brought in, and finally getting to a playoff game and then a (AFC) championship game and then finally the Super Bowl. And then you don't win it. That was a tough, tough pill to swallow.
"Then after that, the losing seasons, losing seasons, losing seasons, and I leave and I come to Green Bay, and you still really don't know what to expect, you know? We had a lot of talent around here when I first got here. We won some games but couldn't get over the hump. Then we get to a (NFC) championship game (in 2007) and lose it.
"And it's like, you know, wow, it's hard getting here. You want to be able to get there and win it."
Woodson is not by nature the loud, vocal type. He prefers to let his play do the talking, and it speaks volumes. But as an elected team captain for the playoffs, he has opened up and poured out his emotions in speeches that have transfixed the locker room.
His passionate from-the-heart speech after the Packers' victory over the Chicago Bears in the NFC Championship Game hit all the right notes.
"Every week his speeches are really in-depth," said linebacker Desmond Bishop. "It's not really rah-rah, it's more of an emotional message that really gets to your heart. I think it's very effective, and I think everybody feels pretty much the same way."
Woodson said everything he says and does is calculated, such as his vow that the Packers would go see disappointed Bears fan and President Barack Obama at the White House if he wouldn't come watch them in the Super Bowl.
On Wednesday, when Obama visited Wisconsin, he was presented with Woodson's No. 21 jersey, which the player had signed and added the inscription, "See you at the White House."
"You have to give it some thought, absolutely," Woodson said. "You don't want to just go up there and rant. You want to give it some thought because you're talking to your peers, and you're talking at a time where the games are bigger than ever.
"So you put some thought into it. You want to be able to tell them something they can feel. You don't want to just talk and clich guys to death."
Rodgers is impressed with the way Woodson has handled himself as a team spokesman, even though Woodson admits he is uncomfortable in the role.
"Charles is a very respected player on this team," the quarterback said. "Every time there has been a vote for captains or player council, he always wins. I think he's starting to realize he has a lot of respect in the locker room and guys listen to him, they appreciate what he has to say.
"And he's pretty good at it, too."
Pickett, a jovial defensive end known for his easy-going demeanor, has shown his teammates a different side.
"I've been more vocal with the younger players," he said. "And that's not really my thing. I'm a quiet, laid-back guy, but I think it's important to let them know what we're headed for and what we are trying to do."
Woodson said he thought about winning the Super Bowl "around the clock" and added, "I've never felt better about a team than I do about this team right now."
Pickett agreed.
"You can easily get carried away with all the things that happen at a Super Bowl," he said. "But the bottom line is we have to go and win. It's a business trip. And that's how we have to approach it."