An old adage used by many over the years states, “Who said you can’t go home again?” Who cares who said it — 43 members of the Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl XL championship team recently returned home to Heinz Field/Acrisure Stadium to remember, relive and share with fans their magical “BUS” ride of yjr 2005-06 season.
Alumni weekend kicked off on Friday, Oct. 31, with a staff- and players-only Meet ‘n Greet for whoever arrived in town early for the weekend festivities. Saturday evening was the Alumni Dinner presented by UPMC, UPMC Health Plan and U.S. Steel, with the guests of honor, along with faithful Steeler fans and sponsors who purchased tickets. Those in attendance had the opportunity to visit with Hall of Famers, Steeler Hall of Honor members and the attending Super Bowl 40 players.
KDKA sportscaster Bob Pompeani was the master of ceremonies, leading the program reminiscent of a conductor leading an orchestra masterpiece with grace and precision. Pompeani also conducted a question-and-answer segment with notable players from that year’s squad taking center stage and fielding questions about the past and future.
Those whose schedules allowed them to return for the celebration were Steeler mainstays Ben Roethlisberger, Ike Taylor, Brett Keisel, Jeff Reed, Jeff Hartings and the linebacker trio of Joey Porter, Larry Foote and James Farrior. Hall of Famers Jerome Bettis, Alan Faneca, defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau and head coach Bill Cowher were on hand. Among the notable players unable to attend were Troy Polamalu, James Harrison and the game’s MVP, Hines Ward.
Guests fraternized with the Super Bowl champs as they roamed the banquet hall throughout the evening fielding questions and signing autographs. Each member offered insightful, oftentimes colorful stories (not fit for publication), to the delight of anyone willing to listen. Picture taking was plentiful so fans took advantage of selfies and other related pictures as camera batteries took a beating creating memories to last a lifetime.
Attendees had the chance to take part in the evening’s jersey raffle and silent auction, and all of those proceeds benefited the UPMC Sports Medicine Concussion Program.
Sunday, Nov. 2, completed the weekend’s events at Acrisure as the sellout crowd on hand for the Steelers/Colts matchup had the chance to relive that magical season as well. How appropriate the Indianapolis Colts provided the opposition that day. It was in Indianapolis that season where the Steelers’ road to the Super Bowl almost struck a major pothole. After a Bettis fumble near the goal line, had it not been for a Roethlisberger play which was later labeled “The Tackle,” that Divisional Playoff contest could have wrecked the bus and the Steelers’ dream season.
In pregame warmups fans got their first glimpse of the heroes from days gone by. Invited to watch this year’s edition of the black & gold go through their drills prior to kickoff, returning champions roamed the field. They picked up right where they left off the previous evening — minus the libations. Storytelling was once again plentiful as they interacted with each other as well as players and fans.
At halftime, fans were instructed to remain in their seats for a special presentation. The guests of honor were escorted down from their perch in the private club boxes to the field for the formal ceremony. Only Cowher was missing from the Saturday evening group due to his contractual obligations with CBS, as he is a member of the NFL Sunday Pregame Show crew.
With music blaring from the stadium speakers, one by one team members strolled out of the tunnel just as they had done numerous times 20 years ago. At a glance it appeared some were in awe of the moment, gazing around a packed venue as if it were the very first time such an event took place. Perhaps it was the fact they were clad in a black & gold jersey with their name and number on it one more time.
The coaching staff was decked out in gray jackets with the Super Bowl XL logo on the left crest of it. LeBeau, the Hall of Fame coach, opted to wear his Gold Jacket from Canton. Team members Faneca and Bettis decided they would don the black & gold, leaving LeBeau to stand alone with his choice of attire.
After the players and staff were correctly positioned on the field, the public address announcer instructed all to turn their attention to the stadium’s video screens for a special video presentation.
The stadium speakers rumbled as the video paid homage to the champions with clips from the 2005 regular season, playoffs and Super Bowl. As fans relived the past, players and coaches looked up, somewhat amazed by their accomplishments. After all, they weren’t even supposed to make the playoffs let alone be crowned champions.
Upon completion of the video tribute, beginning with the coaching staff and concluding with the players, each name was announced as they stepped forward to the roar of the crowd for one more shining moment in the spotlight.
The final two players to be announced drew the loudest applause of the day, with Roethlisberger stepping forward first and waving to the cheers and screams of the crowd. Last but certainly not least, in perhaps the weekend’s most defining moment, the name Jerome Bettis came blasting through the speakers to a thunderous, deafening applause.
At the ceremony’s conclusion as the invited guests exited the playing surface, hugs, handshakes, fist bumps and head nods served as a parting of the ways until a time when they meet again.
Amazing how things turned out for the Super Bowl XL champs, as the road to Detroit that year was paved with uncertainty, roadblocks and a plea to a future Hall of Fame running back, asking for one more year before retirement.
Bettis was asked at Alumni Weekend what changed his mind after that heartbreaking AFC Championship game loss to the Patriots in January 2005? His answer was simply, Ben Roethlisberger. He further explained on the way to the locker room following that loss, Roethlisberger told Bettis he was sorry they couldn’t get the win for him and asked Bettis to give him one more year and he would take him to the Super Bowl.
Assuming it was just postgame consoling, like Bettis did, one would think the upcoming retirement decision would now weigh heavier on his mind during the offseason. Making that decision even more difficult was the fact that the following year’s Super Bowl would be played in Detroit, Bettis’ hometown.
As we all know, Bettis agreed to give the Pittsburgh Steelers and the NFL one more year of his life. The path back home was laid out with all the stops along the way meticulously marked for this final “Bus” ride.
Bettis’ final season was full of roadblocks, beginning with the four-game loss of Roethlisberger to a knee injury. Midseason found the Steelers’ record at 5-2 and by December they were 7-5 with their proverbial backs against the wall as far as the postseason was concerned. They needed to win their remaining four regular season games to secure the sixth and final playoff slot.
No sixth-seeded playoff team had ever won a Super Bowl; however, the improbable journey had to begin somewhere and somewhere was Cincinnati in the wildcard matchup against the Bengals.
Pittsburgh was only the second team ever and the first in 20 years to win three playoff games on the road to become the AFC representative in the Super Bowl, dispatching of the Bengals, Colts and Broncos in that dream season. The final roadblock would be the Seattle Seahawks.
History tells us the Steelers were victorious in the Super Bowl; in doing so they also became the only team at the time since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger to win a Super Bowl without playing a single home playoff game, though the New York Giants would repeat the feat two years later.
Prior to the start of the playoffs, Bettis remembered that he asked two things of his teammates, 1) give 110% and 2) take me home. Porter said he was asked by a local reporter back then for his take on the upcoming playoffs. Porter recalled that he quickly stated, “Time to pay back all the teams that beat us.”
On the subject of Roethlisberger’s promise to Bettis asking for one more year Bettis said, “When he gave me the game ball and said that he had made good on his promise that he was going to get me here, that was a special moment for me.” He went on to say, “And then the last moment was holding the trophy up and saying that the last stop for “The Bus” was here. Winning the Super Bowl, that was the best sendoff I could ever get going out a champion.”
As far as getting back together for the weekend bringing back a lot of memories, Bettis reiterated, “It is hard to believe it’s been 20 years. It really is. It’s gone by pretty fast.”
You would be hard-pressed to find anyone to tell Jerome Bettis “He can’t go home again.” Bettis returned home to Detroit, the town where he was born and raised, and captured football’s “Holy Grail.” The final “Bus Ride” has long since ended, ending with Jerome Bettis as a Super Bowl champion.
Photos by Mike Longo Jr.
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