The Arizona Republic
http://www.azcentral.com/news/
TAMPA - Their success runs deeper than the Terrible Towel or the monikers that have lasted like iron over the decades, from "The Steel Curtain" to "The Immaculate Reception."
Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward talks to reporters during the team's media availability in Tampa Florida January 26, 2009 before the NFL's Super Bowl XLIII football game to be played on February 1.(Reuters) To understand the sheer scope of the Pittsburgh Steelers' legacy, according to Brian St. Pierre, you almost have to walk it.
"They have a tremendous history and tradition," said the Cardinals third-string quarterback, who spent four seasons with the Steelers. "But it really hits you when you walk into the team facility and stroll by the big glass case that holds all those Super Bowl trophies."
They have five in the cabinet. If they beat the Cardinals on Sunday, the Steelers would be the first team to win six. That would be one more than both the 49ers and Cowboys and twice as many as the Patriots, who just a year ago were being talked about as a dynasty for the ages.
Times weren't always rosy for the franchise in black and gold. The Steelers have had their lean years, too. But from the beginning, when they were founded in 1933 as the Pittsburgh Pirates by Art Rooney, there always was stability.
The team has stayed within the family, and will remain so. Dan Rooney, Art's son, has satisfied the NFL's requirement that the primary owner control at least 30 percent of the team by agreeing in principle to buy out his brothers, who didn't want to stay in the football business. This all but guarantees that Dan's son - Art II, the team president - will succeed his 76-year-old father.
And the team never has strayed far from its roots. The Steelers became the team of the people in Pittsburgh with their hard-working, can-do style.
"It's a toughness, a blue-collar work ethic they've always had," said Cardinals special-teams coach Kevin Spencer, who held the same position with the Steelers from 2002-06. "It started when they had the steel mills, and it's what everybody there identifies with to this day. The thing I've always respected . . . they always drafted good players and high-character guys."
As with ownership stability, the Steelers also have had an unbreakable link when it comes to their head coaches. Since 1969, they've had only three: Chuck Noll, Bill Cowher and now Mike Tomlin. All three have taken the Steelers to the Super Bowl.
"They hire a coach; that's their guy, and they're going to stay with him," NBC analyst John Madden said. "They have a plan; they believe in it, and they stick with it. That's pretty big."
Madden's broadcast partner, Al Michaels, the play-by-play man for Super Bowl XLIII, notes that Tomlin potentially can write his own ticket with the Steelers, even though this is only his second season with the team.
"He could probably be there for the next 20 years if he wants," Michaels said.
The fifth-oldest franchise in football, the Steelers have 17 players and coaches in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
If Pittsburgh were to lose to Arizona, a seven-point underdog, it would be a disaster to Steeler Nation.
"I love the high expectations that come with this job," Tomlin said. "The tradition is awesome. You can't put a price tag on it."
But you always can add more trophies to the cabinet.
"It's pretty amazing the first several times you walk by those things," St. Pierre said. "It's pretty impressive, especially when you're a rookie.
"But they don't need six of them. They've got five already, and that's enough for now."
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