The Man of Steel

By Sean Gregory

Nobody owns a town the way Ben Roethlisberger, the rookie quarterback for the Steelers, owns Pittsburgh, Pa. Not Bill Ford in Detroit. Not Steve Wynn in Las Vegas. Not even Broadway Joe Namath in New York City during his glory years. So when Roethlisberger, who shattered an NFL record by winning the first 13 starts of his career, looks to unwind, he can command a choice table at any upscale joint along Pittsburgh's revitalized Strip. But most Monday nights he and a few friends hold court at Jack's, a dive on the city's South Side, where a bottle of Iron City costs two bucks. Jack's is the kind of place where former steelworkers drink and tip as if they were still making $20 an hour. "Roethlisberger's entourage is not a bunch of hot chicks," says Jack's co-manager Scott McGrath. "It's usually about four guys, big guys. Bodyguard-type guys."

The flourishing mills and the four Super Bowl titles of the 1970s are distant memories in western Pennsylvania. But an energetic blue-collar ethos still engulfs the Steelers. At 6 ft. 5 in. and 241 lbs., the quarterback, 22, is built like a linebacker, or millworker, and fits in with the patrons at Jack's. Veteran running back Jerome Bettis took a $3.5 million pay cut so he could finish his career in Pittsburgh. And at a time when teams are bought and sold like ingots and coaches are fired at the drop of a pass, Steelers chairman Dan Rooney--whose father Art founded the team in 1933 and whose son Art II is team president--gave Steelers coach Bill Cowher a contract extension after last season's 6-10 performance. Cowher, 47, is in his 13th year with the Steelers, who have made the playoffs in nine of those years. Over the past 36 years, the team has had just two coaches, Cowher and Chuck Noll. During that time, the Indianapolis, ne Baltimore, Colts have gone through 15.

That stability is paying off. Despite injuries to several top players, Pittsburgh, at 14-1, entered the last weekend of the regular season with the best record in the NFL. Assured of home-field advantage throughout the AFC play-offs, the Steelers have their best shot at a Super Bowl title since the Steel Curtain era of the '70s. "This team has grown up this season, meeting every challenge every single week," says former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Ron Jaworski, now an ESPN analyst. "Pittsburgh is the best team in football, without a doubt."

In this season of mediocrity, the Steelers are certainly the best story of town and team. The defending champion, the New England Patriots--a class act that's still the team to beat--is a regional entity that plays midway between Boston and nowhere. The Colts own the game's most heralded star, quarterback Peyton Manning--but also have owners whose local loyalty is suspect. The surprising Chargers, featuring the game's most unheralded star, running back LaDainian Tomlinson, are fair-weather favorites, though that's never a bad bet in San Diego. And the Philadelphia Eagles, with their own legions of long-suffering devotees, seem capable of winning their first championship since 1960.

Yet it's Pittsburgh that has truly captured the fans' imagination. The bond between the Steelers and their city runs deeper than an Allegheny coal seam. For one thing, the team provides a much needed distraction. "The city's in big trouble," says McGrath. "There is some high-tech stuff going on, but that doesn't help most people." Having the best record in football does. Roethlisberger jerseys are flying off the shelves; the Roethlisburger, a sub sandwich with sausage, chopped meat, eggs, cheese and fried onions, sells for $7, matching Ben's jersey number. And it's not just western Pennsylvanians who are worked up. When Terry Bradshaw and Mean Joe Greene were winning Super Bowls in the '70s, the Steelers were America's Other Team, and like the Dallas Cowboys, they attracted fans nationwide. That spirit is back. When the Steelers played the New York Giants in December, Giants Stadium was covered in black and gold. It could almost have passed for a Pittsburgh home game.

How did the Steelers turn things around? Roethlisberger deserves a lot of the credit. After starter Tommy Maddox tore a tendon early in the season, Cowher entrusted the team to the rookie, who had played three years at the other Miami University in the other Oxford (Ohio). Roethlisberger responded by leading the Steelers to back-to-back home victories against the then undefeated Patriots and Eagles, and he hasn't lost since. Cowboys coach Bill Parcells, who dishes out compliments about as often as Don Rickles, has called Roethlisberger the most impressive rookie quarterback since Dan Marino.

The young passer's most surprising attribute is his poise. "When you look at most rookie quarterbacks, you see them shuffling around like they just had eight cups of Starbucks," says Jaworski. "When I see Ben, I can see the calm in his eyes. His instincts are just amazing." Roethlisberger gladhands like a vet: he bought a custom-made suit for each of his offensive linemen. "They've been saving my life out there every week, so it's the least I could do for them," he says. "I hope they all fit."

If Roethlisberger has fit Pittsburgh's passing game like an Armani, its resurgent rushing attack has been no less stunning. "Last year we probably got away from running the ball a little too much," Cowher concedes. So in the off-season, Pittsburgh signed Eagles running back Duce Staley to a five-year, $14 million contract. When injuries slowed Staley, Bettis, a 12-year veteran who was supposed to fade into the background, got his groove back. Bettis, known as the Bus for his ability to run over tacklers, rushed for 100 or more yards in each of his first six starts, climbing to fourth place on the all-time NFL list with more than 13,000 career yards. "It's quality of life, really," says Bettis, 32, explaining why he decided to stay in Pittsburgh as a backup rather than pad his wallet and his stats for another team. "I've grown to love this town. I didn't want to go somewhere else and have to prove myself all over again." In a league where players seem like replaceable parts, the Steelers have tried to keep a core squad intact. "There are a lot of guys that stay here," says James Farrior, the Steelers' Pro Bowl inside linebacker. "You fight harder for the guys you know better."

Farrior is leading a defense that has been recharged by the return of Dick LeBeau as defensive coordinator. Formerly head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals, LeBeau has reinstituted the Steelers' aggressive "Blitzburgh" defense. Farrior, a solid though unspectacular player in his first seven years, has thrived in the new system, earning comparisons with Baltimore's Ray Lewis, considered the best defensive player in the NFL. Entering the last game of the regular season, the Steelers had allowed only 258 yards a game, the lowest in the NFL.

Pittsburgh has a first-round bye going into the play-offs, which will give Roethlisberger, who bruised his ribs on Christmas weekend, Bettis and other nicked Steelers time to recover. Art Rooney II, for one, senses something big: "We don't put all the dice in one year. But there's a special feeling in this organization and in this city about this team, and hopefully we've got some intangibles going for us this year that will help us make it happen." And help a weary city relive its glory, if just for one Super Bowl Sunday. --With reporting by Chris Maag/Pittsburgh