As part of its annual "Where Are They Now?" issue, Sports Illustrated profiled former professional athletes who made the most of their chance to play in just one game.

The name Eric McCoo doesn't resonate with a lot of Eagles fans, but he was a member of the 2004 NFC Championship team. Promoted to the active roster after the devastating hip injury to fullback Thomas Tapeh, McCoo rushed for 54 yards against Cincinnati in the regular season finale. It was the only NFL game McCoo, a former star running back at Penn State, ever played in.

"I accomplished something just by being there," McCoo told Sports Illustrated. "I beat the odds."

McCoo joined the NFL as a rookie free agent signing of the Bears in 2002. He was released at the end of Training Camp, but kept his dreams of the NFL alive. He was signed by the Eagles following the 2003 season and sent to NFL Europe where he was the World Bowl MVP as a member of the champion Berlin Thunder.

A college star. The opportunity to get paid and play football in Europe, for a champion no less. Then, the chance to play in the NFL and go to the Super Bowl. Even though McCoo's pro career ended in 2005, he got to do things most of us could only dream of.

"There are guys who play for so many years in the league and never get an opportunity to be in that Super Bowl atmosphere," McCoo said. "What else could you ask for, besides winning it?"

Now living outside of Chicago, McCoo works as a customer-service supervisor for a company that manufactures connectors for use in electronics. He gets his football fix by playing in a local flag football league.

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