Pitt’s Steelers fans feeling super

Three years removed from their last Super Bowl run, the Pittsburgh Steelers are looking for one… Three years removed from their last Super Bowl run, the Pittsburgh Steelers are looking for one for the other thumb. Pittsburgh’s NFL franchise outlasted the Baltimore Ravens 23-14 in the AFC Championship Game at Heinz Field on Sunday to lift the Steelers to their seventh Super Bowl appearance, coming Feb. 1 in Tampa, Fla. If Oakland’s reaction to the Steelers’ Sunday victory is any indication, Pitt’s campus could overflow with a seemingly endless army of students filtering into the streets after an impending Super Bowl win. ‘It was crazy,’ said Pitt junior Justin Terek. ‘The whole street was packed, there was a couple of Philly fans hanging out of [a window] waving an Eagles flag, and the crowd ripped it down.’ Several hundred students mobbed together Sunday night in a celebratory manner following Pittsburgh’s win. The sea of black and gold consisted of Terrible Towels waving and constant cheering and chanting. Sunday’s scene was reminiscent of a much larger riot that occurred after the Steelers defeated the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XL. In that incident, thousands of Pitt students crowded onto Forbes Avenue and Bigelow Boulevard as police closed the road to drivers. Excited Steelers fans tipped a parked car over in front of the Cathedral of Learning and caused damage to numerous storefronts and other property on Forbes Avenue. Sophomore Corey Dietz, who attended the Super Bowl-clinching victory, was practically speechless about his experience. ‘It was awesome,’ said Dietz. ‘Most incredible experience I’ve probably ever had, to be honest.’ Dietz said he goes to one or two Steelers games per season, but that this contest was the first playoff game he’s attended. Both Terek and Dietz said it was too early to finalize their plans for the Super Bowl, but that they expect many opportunities to arise both on and off campus. The Steelers’ Super Bowl XLIII opponent is the historically inept Arizona Cardinals. Since the Super Bowl’s inception in 1967, the Cardinals never reached the season’s final game until clinching a berth in this year’s game with a 32-25 triumph over the Philadelphia Eagles Sunday afternoon. Arizona features two former Pitt standouts, wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald and linebacker Gerald Hayes. Fitzgerald, the former Heisman Trophy runner-up as a sophomore with the Panthers in 2003, already has set the NFL playoff record for most receiving yards in one postseason with 419. Despite Fitzgerald’s presence and the two-week layoff, some Pitt students and Steelers fans already have a prediction in mind for Super Bowl XLIII. ‘Arizona almost looks like [Pittsburgh] the last time they won the Super Bowl,’ said Terek. ‘I’m worried about them, but I still think the Steelers will win.’ Ultimately, Dietz agreed. ‘I just don’t think the Cardinals can hang with the Steelers,’ said Dietz. ‘The Steelers defense will hold out.’ On Sunday, the Steelers never trailed against the Ravens, but a fourth quarter touchdown run by Willis McGahee cut Pittsburgh’s lead to 16-14. Baltimore had the ball and a chance to take the lead, but Steelers safety Troy Polamalu intercepted former Pitt quarterback Joe Flacco and returned it for a touchdown, cementing the final score.