SOMETHING OLD, SOMETHING TRUE.

Byline: STEVE DILBECK

SAN DIEGO - Jerry Rice did not roll into Tuesday's Super Bowl media day in a souped-up electric wheelchair. Rich Gannon did not pause between questions to pop arthritis pills. Tim Brown amazingly maneuvered through the media horde without aid of a walker. Rod Woodson was not helped off the stage. Bill Romanowski answered questions without the use of a hearing aid.

These Raiders are absolutely amazing. Half their team is a couple months from collecting Social Security, and they're in the Super Bowl.

These guys saw the pyramids built. They're so old, they remember when Eddie Murphy was funny. They actually were around when Dick Vermeil coached the first time.

Yet here they are, not only still playing, but at a high level. Causing problems, disrupting the opposition, winning.

This should not be happening. That's what everybody says, anyway. That's what everyone keeps telling them.

Next thing you know, Al Davis will re-sign George Blanda and have Fred Biletnikoff go deep.

It's all working for the Raiders. The more age spots, the better. The more rings at their core, the better they play.

It's not supposed to work this way, of course. And their five AARP members know it better than anyone.

``People want to put a label on you,'' Brown said. ``Say you can't do this, can't do that.''

You hit 30 in professional sports, and people suddenly start re-evaluating. Expecting you to slow down. For the legs to go. For age to lay its claim.

If you stretch your career into the mid-30s, then the looks go from concerned to amazed. Look what he can still do! Who would have believed it!

That's when you need to give Davis a call. Davis is 73 himself and was coaching when helmets were leather. As an owner, he's developed a fine appreciation for ability regardless of crow's-feet.

``Al Davis doesn't do things like others in the NFL,'' Woodson said. ``He looks at how you play and not your birth certificate. He gives a lot of guys second chances, guys who are older, who may have a bad reputation.

``He's kind of the black sheep in the NFL. He doesn't follow trends. He asks two questions: Can you play and can you fit in?''

Rice is 40, Gannon and Woodson are 37, Brown and Romanowski are 36. The five players have a combined 79 years of NFL experience.

And it's not like they're just hanging on. All five start. All five have impact.

Romanowski and Woodson were signed in the offseason and have given the Oakland defense new life with their old intensity.

Rice led the Raiders with 92 receptions for 1,211 yards, and Brown caught 81 passes for 930 yards.

And then there was Gannon, who was having a nice career with Kansas City before signing with the Raiders four years ago and morphing into one of most feared passers in the NFL. This season, he was named the league MVP.

``It's a stereotype that when you get into your mid-30s that your career is over,'' Rice said. ``I think we have a core of players that are proving people wrong. It all depends on how you take care of yourself, what types of sacrifices you make and if you're healthy.

``There's always going to be a little bit (of doubt). Pretty much everybody had put me out to pasture. They said my career was over.''

Rice already was considered the greatest receiver in NFL history when he stopped on his way to the Hall of Fame to play two seasons with the Raiders. The 49ers had to figure he was slowing down after the '99 season, when he caught only five touchdown passes, his lowest total while healthy since his rookie season.

But Rice is nothing if not dedicated, and his legendary regimen paid off.

``I'm trying to hold out,'' Rice said. ``If you say I'm 40, I'm going to work that much harder.

``I get up with the same focus every day. My intensity is still the same, and I still go out and work hard. I'm 40, but my body still feels like I am in my late-20s or something.''

Take away the receding hairline and bald spot, and he pretty much looks 10 years younger. Woodson said it's crazy to simply dismiss a player's ability based upon chronology.

``Certainly your athletic skills diminish as you get older, but your knowledge and understanding increases,'' he said. ``That not only makes up for slowing down, it makes you a better player.''

To the Raiders' septuagenarians, Sunday's Super Bowl not only is an opportunity to capture football's biggest prize but a chance to make a statement.

Sometimes really old guys still can play.

``We're not just trying to do it for ourselves, but for the guys coming up, guys who are 28, 29 now,'' Brown said. ``Obviously no one thought we could sustain our level of play. Hopefully it will make people take a second look at guys who are 30-plus, and what kind of shape they're in.''

Either that, or they will go straight from playing in Sunday's Super Bowl to being exhibits at a gerontologist convention.

They have other plans. All five expect to return next season. There are more clocks to turn back.

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This is 40-year-old Jerry Rice's fourth appearance in a Super Bowl. He was 3-0 with the 49ers.

Lenny Ignelzi/Associated Press