As an athlete, I’m all about routine – from the time I wake up to what I have for breakfast to my warm-up and stretching. That process is very important. And if one thing is off, I feel off. But at the Super Bowl, everything is off, everything is different.

I spent the warm-up just in awe of the occasion, seeing all those NFL legends – the guys who have played the Super Bowl before me – walking around that stadium in Indianapolis. And then there’s me. I’m in the history books now.

How did I get there? I never had anything easy. I’ve had to fight every step, from coming into the game as an undrafted free agent. I started off as, like, the 10th wide receiver on the roster for the New York Giants, always thinking I was going to get cut. But now I’m there on merit with my brothers.

What a game. New York Giants versus New England Patriots. [Hall of Famer quarterbacks] Eli Manning against Tom Brady. Me and the two other wide receivers on the team, Mario Manningham and Hakeem Nicks, we are tight. We had dinner together every Friday before games. We would really hang out and that brotherhood of getting to know one another really helped us become that much stronger on the field. We’ve been through the best of times and the worst of times together. Loyalty is everything to me. Band of brothers for life.

My father passed away when I was 20 years old. At the game, he was heavily on my mind. I’m always wanting to know what he’s thinking. Is he proud of me? Look Dad, we’re here at the Super Bowl. He’s here, too.

There’s this book that my sister got made for me when I was little – I’ve still got it. It’s one of those where you can choose the story and the character. It’s about me loving football, watching the game, but falling asleep. And then in my dream, I wake up and I’m in the game and it’s the Super Bowl. Fifteen years later, I’m in the game for real. I score a touchdown and I have a signature dance and my family is in the stands. It’s just like this book came to life.

When I scored in that end zone, I looked up in the stands about five rows up and my godfather and my high-school football coach were sitting right there. I did my signature salsa celebration. My mom is Puerto Rican and I grew up in a very Puerto Rican household, very rooted in our culture and heritage, from food, to the way we party and celebrate things. Growing up, I learned how to dance: cha-cha, merengue, salsa, all the dances of my culture. The salsa celebration is something that’s authentic to who I am. Anyone that knows me knows that I’ll break out in a salsa dance any time.

Madonna was performing at the half-time show and in the build-up someone asks her about my celebration dance. She actually gets up and does it, she starts dancing salsa on stage during her press conference. I was just like, “What is happening?”

The game is very tight, very tense, all the way down to the final play. But watched those final moments from the sidelines. I don’t play defense, so I’m not out there. I have no control. It’s the worst feeling in the world. I remember pacing back and forth. I didn’t know whether to sit down, stand up, run away, look, don’t look.

And then in the final seconds, Tom Brady launches the Hail Mary. All or nothing. It feels like it is in the air for an hour. But then it comes down and hits the ground. Incomplete! We’ve won! And that’s when I’m running across the field, arms waving, arms in the air, just ecstatic about what we just accomplished as a team.

It was chaos, absolute chaos. Confetti raining down. But the first thing I thought was: where’s my family, do they even know to come down here? I don’t do a single interview until I see them. I need to just hug them, celebrate for a minute, stay in this euphoric state.

The other families are out there. They’re hugging you. You’re still hugging your teammates. They bring the stage out, you go up on the stage and you get to hold the trophy. I just can’t believe I’m actually holding this thing.

I have a lot of mementos. I definitely kept some confetti. I have my entire uniform from the game, helmet, cleats, the whole thing. I have the football I scored with. And the famous Super Bowl ring that we get a few weeks after we win the game. It’s in one of my drawers. I open it and it’s always there reminding me that we won the Super Bowl. It’s such a sick ring. It’s huge. It’s what you work all your life for as a football player.

Especially around Super Bowl time, it all comes back. They do the marathon every year on TV of all the Super Bowls, so I’ll always tune in and watch it back. For me, one freeze-frame moment is after the game. You can just see that I’m exhausted. My mom is next to me. She’s giving me a hug and I’m leaning on her. And I just remember being like, “Ma, we did it.”

As told to Mr Dan Rookwood