R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Even if you have people's respect, you don't want to acknowledge it. Then, you can't play the "We don't get any respect" card. Without it, what would players talk about in press conferences following wins?

Ben Roethlisberger pulled it out of his back pocket and slammed it down on the podium Sunday, following the Pittsburgh Steelers' win over the Denver Broncos. He claimed no one gave them a shot against the Bengals, Colts, or Broncos. He is probably convinced the whole world is picking the Seahawks to win the Superbowl! If there is a team that does not get the respect they deserve after compiling a fantastic record, it's the Squawks! Seattle, despite being at home and the number one seed in the NFC, was a slight underdog according to a lot of the prominent analysts, who liked Carolina's toughness and physical nature.

The Steelers had to go on the road for all three of their playoff games because they didn't win enough games in the regular season. They weren't given the #6 seed in the AFC because the selection committee didn't deem them worthy of a higher seed. This isn't the NCAA tournament, where who you play matters and seeding is a sort of magical process, carried out by a bunch of people in a room, doing who knows what. The Steelers and Bengals split their games in the regular season, with each team winning on the road. So, I find it hard to believe that nobody thought they would win that game, especially with the stigma (deserved or not) attached to first-time QB's in the playoffs (Carson Palmer, who did well ... except for that whole torn up knee thing). Indianapolis is another story. I think the Steelers were the underdog in that one, although no one thought the matchup was as lopsided as Big Ben himself, who stated something to the effect that the Steelers would have to play their A+ game just to beat the Colts' B- game. In both games yesterday, the home team was favored slightly by the oddsmakers, almost entirely due to the location of the games. If the Panthers and Steelers had been at home, the lines would have been almost exactly the opposite. Thus, the people in Vegas believed the teams were essentially equal ... on neutral fields, the games probably would have been pick 'ems.

The Steelers had the best record in the AFC a year ago and lost to the Patriots in the AFC Championship. This year, they were healthy, and peaking, at the right time and made it to the Superbowl, where they are an early 5-point favorite. Congratulations, but don't try to convince anyone that you (the team) didn't have anyone believing in you.