PRO FOOTBALL / DAILY REPORT : SUPER BOWL : This Trip to Pasadena Game Not a First for Emmitt Smith

Emmitt Smith has been to a Super Bowl in Pasadena before--as a spectator.

Smith will be there again on Jan. 31 as a member of the Dallas Cowboys, who will take the Rose Bowl field against the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXVII.

Smith, the NFL’s leading rusher, was unstoppable as a running back for Escambia (Fla.) High. He posted the third-highest career rushing and scoring totals in national high school history with 8,804 yards and 106 touchdowns.

Smith was named player of the year by Parade Magazine and USA Today. He also won the Gatorade player of the year, which got him a ticket to the 1987 Super Bowl between the New York Giants and Denver Broncos.

“I was kind of going for the Giants in that game,” he said. “I was sitting there wondering if I’d ever play in a Super Bowl. I think it’s ironic that the first one I get to play in is in Pasadena, where I was doing my dreaming that day back in 1987. Believe me, this is a thrilling situation.”

Smith, who has rushed for more than 100 yards in each of the Cowboys’ playoff victories over Philadelphia and San Francisco, set a goal that day six years ago.

“I was thinking that my ultimate goal would be to have a career day in the Super Bowl and win the MVP,” Smith said. “Now, I have a chance to do it.”