TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -Pittsburgh is back at the Super Bowl, and so is retired Steelers running back Jerome Bettis.
The Bus broke out his NFL championship ring from three years ago for interviews Tuesday as part of NBC’s broadcast team for Sunday’s title game. He said it feels a little strange to be here as a pregame analyst rather than playing for his former team.
“It’s kind of weird because you know the experience and you’re familiar with it, and you’re familiar with the guys. But now you’re kind of on the outside looking in, instead of on the inside looking out,” Bettis said.
“But it’s fun because for me there’s no pressure. I get a chance to interact with the guys. … I can still get access without the other pressures. A little part of me says: `Man, you possibly could be in that game.’ But the other side of me says: `Naw, I wouldn’t have been able to make it to this point.’ “
Bettis, who rushed for 10,571 yards and 78 touchdowns for the Steelers from 1996-2005, retired after Pittsburgh won its fifth Super Bowl by beating Seattle 21-10 in his hometown of Detroit.
ion from the playing field to life after football and said he rarely wears his championship ring.
“The first couple of months I wouldn’t take it off,” he said. “Now, it’s just media situations.”
Bettis has spoken with several of his former teammates, but hasn’t offered any advice for Sunday’s game against the Arizona Cardinals.
“I really haven’t told them anything. I’ve just talked to them as a friend, as a confidant, not really as `hey, do this, do that,’ because they’ve all been here before. … They know what needs to be done. So it was really just congratulating them and letting them know this is a great opportunity for them and don’t lose sight of it.”
Bettis rushed for 43 yards on 14 carries in his only Super Bowl appearance, and the Steelers won despite a poor performance by Ben Roethlisberger, who threw for just 123 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions.
He expects to see a different Roethlisberger in this title game.
“If he doesn’t play well, they don’t win. It’s not like a couple of years ago when we didn’t need him to play his best game,” Bettis said.
“It’s definitely a different situation, and the pressure is on him a little bit more now. But I think he’s better prepared for it, having gone through the last Super Bowl. … He’ll be the first to say he didn’t play well. But this game, you’re going to see a different Ben because he’s a more confident player.”
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BIDWILL SPEAKS: A man of few words who rarely grants interviews, Cardinals owner Bill Bidwill shed some light during media day on what he did to celebrate Arizona’s victory over the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC championship game.
“I went home, finished off the morning coffee in the microwave, went to bed and got a good night’s sleep,” said the 77-year-old, known for his thrifty ways in operating a franchise his family has owned since 1932. “Then I woke up with a smile.”
The Cardinals are in the Super Bowl for the first time and haven’t appeared in the NFL title game since 1948, when the team was located in Chicago. Asked if his perseverance has paid off, Bidwill quipped: “We’ll we’re here,” adding that he never considered selling the team during leans years.
“I love the business. I’m accustomed to it,” he said. “I don’t let it get to me if we have a bad game or a bad year. I just go back into it and try to get better.”
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WE’LL TALK LATER: When he became the NFL’s youngest head coach earlier this month, Tampa Bay’s Raheem Morris not only predicted the Steelers would wind up in the Super Bowl, but said he expected to glean some knowledge from close friend and Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin when the team arrived in town.
The 32-year-old Morris and Tomlin worked together for four seasons, helping the Bucs win the NFL title six years ago.
et much of an opportunity to pick my brain this week, I can promise you that,” said Tomlin, who was 34 when the Steelers hired him two years ago.
Not that the Pittsburgh coach believes he needs to give Morris a lot of tips.
“Raheem is a great natural leader, great communicator and a great student of the game. He is going to very well here,” Tomlin said.
“The guys that he works with understand what he brings to the table from an ability standpoint. … He is a very unselfish guy. He is going to put those he leads in front of him, making sure that they get what they need to be successful. It’s not surprising to me in the least bit that he is where he is today. It’s an opportunity that is well-earned and well-deserved.”
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NO HARD FEELINGS: Arizona receiver Anquan Boldin says the well-publicized blowup he had with offensive coordinator Todd Haley during the NFC championship game is a “non-issue” that the Cardinals put to rest before arriving in Tampa.
In fact, the four-time Pro Bowl selection has had nothing but complimentary things to say about Haley this week, including thoughts on how the Cardinals assistant would be as a head coach.
level for some time. He knows what he is doing.”
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HAPPY TRAVELER: As soon as it became clear the Arizona Cardinals had beaten the Philadelphia Eagles for the NFC championship, Wayne Leonard didn’t waste any time celebrating.
Instead, he searched for a quiet spot in University of Phoenix Stadium and made a call to Delta Air Lines.
“I was afraid of airline tickets going up bigtime. Airlines kind of have a reputation of when they find out something like this, they might jack up the prices,” Leonard said.
The Chandler, Ariz., resident is one of many die-hard Cardinals fans who have spent the last month lying in wait to chart a course to Tampa for the Super Bowl. Some will actually attend the game, while others are settling for just being in Florida.
Leonard, a season-ticket holder since 1990, said he still can’t believe how his strategic planning has paid off. The $400 redeye flight he booked for Sunday is now going for $1,500. He isn’t worried about flying at such a late hour.
“I’ll be too pumped up. I probably won’t be able to sleep the night before anyway.”
While watching the Cardinals seemed priceless, Leonard still wanted to do it all without breaking the bank. Figuring Eagles fans would be canceling reservations, he waited a couple of days after the NFC championship to find lodging. He managed to find a hotel room for $300 a night five miles from the stadium.
I’m thinking my total expense for this trip will be close to $2,000 with ticket, airfare, rental car and the hotel. I think that’s pretty good,” Leonard said.
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Associated Press Writer Terry Tang in Phoenix contributed to this report.
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