It wouldn’t be right not to note Ruben Brown being at the Superbowl. Granted it might not have happened if he hadn’t gotten a little pissed at his offfensive coordinator in Buffalo in 2003.

Another would be to say he nearly killed Kevin Gilbride, the team’s pass-happy offensive coordinator for whom Brown had developed a distaste for as the team spiraled to another losing season and Gilbride refused to emphasize the run the way a team that was turning the ball over far too often to win probably should have. At a team meeting following another defeat, Brown finally snapped, coming over a table at Gilbride after he began to upbraid Brown for a lack of leadership. The 300-pound Brown’s path was blocked by several teammates and he soon left the building, never to return. Brown understood he would be seeking employment elsewhere that winter.

With apologies to my step-father-in-law (and Buffalo native), when hasn’t leaving Buffalo been a good move for a pro player (or anyone else)?

Brown will be the oldest player on the field for the game, but still expects to keep playing after this year. Of course, Brown would never have become an offensive lineman if he had had his way at Pitt.

It all goes back to Aug. 14, 1991, when Brown was a redshirt freshman at Pitt playing on the defensive line. He was a star, one of the most highly recruited players in the nation, a Parade All-American. But Pitt had future pros, Keith Hamilton and Sean Gilbert, on the defensive line and needed help on offense. Five days into preseason camp at Johnstown, coach Paul Hackett finally agreed to the pleas of offensive line coach Bill Meyers and switched Brown to offensive tackle.

“I was very disappointed,” Brown recalled this week. “But I was behind two outstanding defensive linemen. I was upset, but there was a good reason for it, and I was fortunate. I wanted to get on the field, and I knew I had a good chance to start.”

Brown excelled at his new position. He started for four years, was an All-American and was a first-round pick of the Buffalo Bills, the 14th player selected.

A Pitt player on the O-line often means success in the superbowl.