Yellow alert
Much as they do in other NFL cities, Steelers fans are swarming Detroit
By Jamison Hensley
Originally published February 4, 2006
DETROIT // They have come waving Terrible Towels, wearing their black-and-gold jerseys and - much as they've done all season - carrying the determination to crash another party on the road.
Pittsburgh Steelers fans have lived up to the billing as the NFL's most hardcore following, taking over the city's streets, bars and casinos. Come Super Bowl Sunday, they plan to crack the toughest building in town and turn Ford Field into Heinz Field Midwest.
"We expect it to be better than 50-50, more like 70-30," Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said. "We have the best fans in sports, not just in football. Every road game, opposing players always ask us, 'How do they get in here?' "
The NFL distributes a vast majority of Super Bowl tickets to corporate sponsors, coaches, players, season-ticket holders across the league and others with NFL connections.
But thousands of tickets are available through ticket brokers (a $600 ticket at face value can range from $2,000 to $5,000), an easy price to gain admittance these days for Steelers fans.
Before their divisional playoff game with the Steelers, the Indianapolis Colts sent letters to season-ticket holders asking them not to sell their tickets to opposing fans.
Before the AFC championship game with Pittsburgh, the Denver Broncos limited ticket sales for the first hour to those in the Rocky Mountain region and sold out in 30 minutes.
Despite those attempts to lock them out, about 8,000 fans from the Steel Nation still managed to infiltrate each of those stadiums.
"You have to give them credit: The more you try to keep them out, the more they find a way in," running back Willie Parker said.
This phenomenon isn't a recent one, and anyone who has attended a Steelers game in Baltimore can attest to that.
According to a longtime Steelers beat reporter, fans began showing up at road games by the thousands in the 1990s.
One theory is that the closing of the steel mills in Pittsburgh two decades ago caused a migration of Steelers fans across the country. That meant whenever the Steelers would visit that city, they would already have a built-in fan base.
Others believe the Steelers' Super Bowl success in the 1970s created a large national bandwagon, especially among teenagers. Now those fans are in their 40s and 50s and are spending their disposable - or not-so disposable - income to cheer on the Steelers.
In Denver, a Pittsburgh dentist reportedly paid $15,000 for four tickets. This week, a fan took out a second mortgage on his home to buy scalped Super Bowl tickets.
"You always hear about how they're great fans," rookie tight end Heath Miller said. "But until you look up in a place like Minnesota and see all those Terrible Towels waving, you really don't know the magnitude."
Whether it's Minnesota or M&T Bank Stadium, Steelers fans are everywhere, and the Seattle Seahawks know it as well as anyone.
Seahawks tight end Jerramy Stevens had to give tickets to his fiancee's family, which is full of lifelong Steelers fans. The best friend of Seattle running back Shaun Alexander is also a member of the Iron City beer crowd.
"He is definitely coming," Alexander said. "He'll be there, probably wearing a Pittsburgh jersey, but that's OK."
The anticipation of a pro-Steelers crowd has spurred the Seahawks to work on silent snap counts in practice and issue a public request.
"My plea would just be for all the people coming to the Super Bowl that are undecided on who they want to root for, root for us," Seattle quarterback Matt Hasselbeck said. "We could use it."
Proximity to Detroit is another factor working against the Seahawks. It's a five-hour drive from Pittsburgh and a five-hour plane ride from Seattle (if you're lucky enough to get a direct flight).
Tomorrow, charter buses will be taking fans from Pittsburgh to Ford Field. Those who don't have tickets to the game will party around the stadium.
Other fans have already arrived in recreational vehicles to bypass the excessive hotel costs. The Silverdome, which is about a 30-minute drive from downtown, has allowed them to park there for $10 a day and could become the largest Steelers tailgate site.
"You can't wave your Terrible Towel here without hitting another Steeler fan," said Amanda Thompson, a Pittsburgh-area resident who was sporting a Troy Polamalu jersey. "I feel like I'm in Pittsburgh now."
