He is literally the center of the story. It is a tale of hard work, more than a few laughs, and increasing recognition, and if it all worked out as planned last night at University of Phoenix Stadium, the ultimate reward of winning a Super Bowl.

or Shaun O'Hara, a fixture for the New York Giants at center, a win in Super Bowl XLII against the Patriots would be the greatest moment in a career in which the 6-foot-3-inch, 303-pounder has more than paid his dues.

He started as a walk-on at Rutgers, a very bad program at the time. He worked his way up to captain, which still earned him no respect in the NFL draft. He began his pro career in 2000 as a rookie free agent with the Browns. He spent four seasons in Cleveland, working his way up the pecking order as a versatile lineman who could play guard, center, and special teams.

When he signed with the Giants as a free agent in 2004, it was as a center. He has been at the position for coach Tom Coughlin's team ever since, the Jersey guy coming back home.

Jersey guys (he's from Hillsborough) sometimes find themselves in strange situations. Take a few weeks ago, when the Giants were facing the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship game. The Packers called O'Hara a dirty player.

"Dirty player?," asked O'Hara, who missed the Giants' wild-card victory over Tampa Bay with a sprained MCL in his left knee but returned the next week. "I try to shower daily. I use deodorant, and every once in a while I even throw in some conditioner. I think my mom knows she raised me right to shower and stay clean."

O'Hara had fun last week, enjoying the circus atmosphere of his first Super Bowl while trying to focus on the task of beating the Patriots.

"I think it is right about right," said O'Hara in describing the media frenzy. "I think playing in the New York area kind of prepares you for this. It is really just the amount of cameras, the amount of media that are here. The repetition with the questions and answers, that kind of thing, you just have to be patient with it. It is pretty much along the lines of where I thought it would be."

O'Hara said having played the Patriots in the final game of the regular season taught him a few things about what to expect last night.

"This game is really on a much bigger scale," he said. "I thought the first time we played them [a 38-35 Patriots win, ensuring New England's perfect regular season] it was a big game, but now you have two teams who are trying to win the ultimate prize. It is going to be a similar game. Their defense is tough and our defense is playing well, so I think it will be a good battle offensively to see who can score points."

O'Hara said the running game - especially in the playoffs with Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw providing power and speed, respectively - was a big factor in the Giants' surge after an 0-2 start.

"I think our running game has been pretty good all year," O'Hara said. "I think there have been a few games this season that have gotten us out of our balanced attack. We can get into trouble sometimes when that happens.

"As an offensive lineman, we're always going to want to start with running the football and end the game running the football. That's kind of our bread and butter and I think [quarterback] Eli [Manning] knows that when we're running the ball well, it makes his job easier."

Running the ball well would keep the Patriots offense, led by NFL Most Valuable Player Tom Brady at quarterback, off the field, which was the Giants' goal.

O'Hara said he saw the Giants' playoff run developing around the New England game.

"I think in order to make this kind of run, you have to believe it," said O'Hara. "You have to believe it's possible, you have to believe in your teammates. I know everybody has brought it up, and I think the Patriot game at the end of the regular season was a good opportunity to gauge ourselves.

"I think week in and week out, you have some good weeks where you play well and a lot of weeks when you don't play well. But I think, that week, the whole team just had a little something riding on that game and I think that was a good gauge for us. It helped boost our confidence, even though we lost the game.

"I think this team has always been confident in its abilities and its talents. We've just been able to eliminate the bad football that's plagued us for so much of the season."

Last night, O'Hara and the Giants tried to do it one more time.