America at Large: On the evening of January 22nd, Eagles tight end Chad Lewis gathered the second of his two touchdown catches in the NFC Championship game, but landed somewhat awkwardly as he came to earth in the end zone.

The score had put the Eagles on top, 27-10, and more or less ensured that the Philadelphia team would be making its first trip to the Super Bowl in nearly a quarter century, but Lewis' jubilation was short-lived.

When fellow tight end LJ Smith rushed over to congratulate his team-mate, the first words out of Lewis' mouth weren't, "We're going to Jacksonville", but "I think I just broke my foot". His diagnosis was confirmed by X-rays. Lewis had suffered a Lisfranc fracture, and underwent surgery the following morning.

At 4 p.m. on Monday, January 23rd, the telephone rang in the field office of a construction project in southern New Jersey. Jeff Thomason, the assistant project manager for the Toll Brothers Construction Company, was summoned to the phone and was surprised to learn that the voice on the other end belonged to Eagles coach Andy Reid. He wanted to know if Jeff could come out and play.

Thomason had been happily retired from professional football for two years, and was making a decent living in the construction business. He had spent 10 years in the NFL, all as a reserve, in the employ of the Green Bay Packers and later the Eagles. Now the coach who had cut him two years earlier wanted to know if he could spare the time to come play in the Super Bowl.

Thomason hastily arranged for two weeks' vacation time, and the next morning reported to the Eagles' complex in South Philly. After a brief audition he was signed on the spot. "I was able to still catch the ball and do okay," said Thomason.

Reid explained that while other tight ends of a more recent vintage were available on the market, he had several good and compelling reasons for turning to the tried-and-true.

"One was that Jeff already knew our system," explained the Philadelphia coach. "We wouldn't have to spend time giving him a crash course in the plays. Another was that we knew he had kept himself in tremendous shape. He's been training for and participating in triathlons since he left football."

"It's kind of like riding a bike," said Philadelphia offensive coordinator Brad Childress after putting Thomason through two days of drills. "Jeff came in, did all the motions and knows right where to be. He hasn't forgotten anything. Some of the nuances are different, but I think he'll be able to fill that role."

The Cinderella story was so compelling that when the Eagles were trotted out on the field at Alltell Stadium for Tuesday's Media Day sessions, Thomason was provided with his own podium, an honour more commonly reserved for more prominent players like Pro Bowlers Donovan McNabb, Terrell Owens and Jevon Kearse.

Media Day is one of those curious Super Bowl traditions. Five days in advance of the game, players from both teams arrive at Sunday's venue in game regalia, and several thousand print, radio and television journalists are turned loose for an hour's feeding frenzy.

Thomason had been through a couple of these before. In his Green Bay days he'd been a participant in two Super Bowls, but, he said, Wednesday's experience was "incredible. My last two media days, when I was with the Packers, I was over in the corner trying to get someone to talk to me. This is definitely a thrill."

And an even bigger thrill, it appears, for his fellow hard-hats back at Toll Brothers, who will have a vicarious rooting interest when Super Bowl XXXIX kicks off Sunday evening.

Not that Jeff was wielding a sledgehammer on the building site. He spent as much time crunching numbers behind a desk as he did actually surveying the progress of the job. "But how many guys sitting at their desks get a phone call to come play in the Super Bowl?" he asked, as if he still couldn't believe it.

During the two years he spent away from football, Thomason said he hadn't missed the daily grind or the bumps and bruises, "but I missed the guys. I think the camaraderie and the life is what most retired players go through. It's a great life. You work your tail off in the season, and in the off-season you have a lot of free time."

At the same time, said Thomason, his recent return has given him a new appreciation of his former life. "Definitely. I've been out there working 10 and 12-hour days with weekends off. I can't put into words how lucky I am to be playing football again. I'm thrilled to be here, but it's all kind of surreal to me."

Thomason won't just be window-dressing in Sunday's Super Bowl. Reid said this week that he reckons the construction worker will be on the field for 15 to 20 plays - "about what our second tight end normally does". That his first game in 25 months will be against the defending world champions doesn't make his re-entry any easier.

The biggest test, of course, will come on Sunday, the first time a New England defender pops him in anger. "That first hit will be interesting," mused Thomason. "I know it'll be a real eye-opener for me. I'm just thankful we've had the two weeks to prepare for the Super Bowl. If it had been one week it would have been tough, but this gives me time to catch up."

Though he clearly is enjoying the experience, Thomason hasn't been tempted to make a full-time comeback. "No, this is my final one. It will be my swan song. After the Super Bowl I'll go back to work at Toll Brothers. I'll go back to my desk and sit there and wonder what happened to me over the last two weeks.

"Besides," he added. "I can't take any more time off. I've just used up all my vacation time for the next year."