Steelers Enter the Circus

Team Vows to Embrace Many Obligations Before Super Bowl

TAMPA, Jan. 26 -- The Pittsburgh Steelers arrived here for the seventh Super Bowl appearance in franchise history with wide receiver Hines Ward still on the mend, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger vowing to be more at ease and Coach Mike Tomlin telling his players to embrace all the tasks ahead of them this week.

Given the option by the NFL, both the Steelers and their opponent next weekend, the Arizona Cardinals, chose to travel to town Monday rather than Sunday. The Steelers left behind snow and temperatures in the low teens on Monday morning, conditions that necessitated their plane being de-iced before takeoff.

They were greeted here by bright Florida sunshine and temperatures around 80 degrees. They spent a few hours getting situated at their hotel for the week and had a team meeting, and by late in the afternoon a few dozen fans were standing on the lawn and driveway outside. Many wore Steelers jerseys, and they cheered wildly when Tomlin and a half-dozen of his players walked past on their way to their meeting with media members.

Tomlin, in the Super Bowl in his second season as an NFL head coach, said he told his players he would do all he could to keep them on something resembling their normal routine this week in terms of meeting and practice times. Of course, normalcy isn't usually part of the equation for a Super Bowl participant, but Tomlin said he didn't want to hear his players grousing about their out-of-the-ordinary obligations during the buildup to Sunday's game at Raymond James Stadium.

"It's quite simple: It's my goal that we embrace all that comes with being in the Super Bowl," Tomlin said. "We're not going to come down here and have the mentality that we're going to be resistant of the obligations that we have, that we're going to be resistant of these opportunities to visit with the media and so forth.

"You know, we're down here to play. We're down here to win. But there are a lot of things that come with that. There are 30 other teams that, I'm sure, would love to have the burden that we have this week. So from that standpoint, we're going to embrace [it]. I encouraged the guys not only this week, but last week in preparation for us coming down here, that we were going to have that mentality."

Ward was the game's most valuable player when the Steelers beat the Seattle Seahawks in the Super Bowl three years ago. The veteran wideout said he would deliver a similar message to his teammates without Super Bowl experience.

"Enjoy it," Ward said. "Have fun. But don't get caught up in it. Once Wednesday comes around, we're about business. . . . Coming down here, you're starting to realize you're in the Super Bowl. It's starting to hit home."

Ward continues to rehabilitate the sprained knee he suffered during the Steelers' triumph over the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC title game. He didn't practice last week, and he said Monday he is uncertain how much he will be able to practice this week. But he reiterated he intends to play Sunday, even while conceding he will be less than fully healthy.

"It feels better," Ward said. "I'm not going to be 100 percent. I'm not going to trick anybody about that. But I think it's going to be all right when I get out there. . . . I worked my tail off to get to this point. There's no way I'm going to miss this game. . . . I'm doing the things that help me get to the point where I feel like I'll be able to play at a good level in the game."

Roethlisberger is back on the sport's biggest stage, trying to become a two-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback. Even so, there is a need for a bit of Super Bowl redemption for him. When the Steelers beat the Seahawks, Roethlisberger had a dreadful game, throwing two interceptions and completing only 9 of 21 passes for 123 yards.

He became the youngest quarterback to win a Super Bowl, a month shy of his 24th birthday, but he also did it with one of the worst performances by a victorious quarterback. Roethlisberger said Monday he expected to play well that day after totaling seven touchdown passes and one interception in the Steelers' three triumphs during that season's AFC playoffs.

"I wasn't nervous in those games, and I played pretty well, and I was expecting another good performance," Roethlisberger said. "It just didn't happen. But you know, we won the game. That's what matters to me. I just want to help the team win this one."

He said he's "more comfortable, more relaxed" this time around, and his plan is "to enjoy it and soak it all up." He has no fear, he said, of having the ball in his hands Sunday with the game on the line. In fact, he would relish that chance, he said.

"Part of it is being here before," Roethlisberger said, "understanding what went right the last time and what went wrong. . . . I didn't know what to think. It was my second year. I didn't know what to do. I was just kind of along for the ride. . . . I just want to enjoy it.

"You never know if it's your last one. I hope I'm here five more times. But who knows? You never know in this league. There are so many greats who never get here or only get here once. That's why I've taken the approach that I'm going to enjoy the heck out of it."

Ward said of his quarterback: "He is driving the bus now. The last time, he was coming off a great rookie season. It was his second year in the league. He was in the huddle. But I was there. [Former Steelers tailback] Jerome Bettis was there. It wasn't really his team. Now, we're only going to go as far as Ben takes us. I'm sure he's looking forward to performing better than he did the last time he was in the Super Bowl."