Letters

Steel the One

Thanks for putting the terrific photo of Hines Ward on the Feb. 13 cover. That's what an end zone celebration should be: pure, spontaneous joy.

Mark W. Pitcock, Albuquerque

Is it safe to say the cover jinx is over? Perhaps a lesser team would have fallen victim to appearing three times in four weeks, but not the mighty Steelers.

Richard A. Sadlock, Harrisburg, Pa.

Second only to watching your favorite team win the Super Bowl is slowly turning the pages of the following issue of Sports Illustrated covering the game (Hearts of Steel, Feb. 13). Your comprehensive coverage summed up the 2005 Pittsburgh Steelers perfectly: a true team, each member of which wanted to win more for someone else than for himself.

Daniel Ludwig, West Hartford, Conn.

Steelers fans don't like pretty games. We have no cheerleaders, no song, no mascot. Just Rooneys and cigars. We're not at all upset about an ugly game. The Steelers intentionally mess up games, make 'em ugly and win. It's a plan, not a mistake.

Tim Craven, Ephrata, Pa.

Looking back, I see that Michael Silver was right on, in his scouting report for the Steelers in your NFL Preview (Sept. 5, 2005), predicting that for Ben Roethlisberger to be considered a great quarterback he would have to leap over the bar of his rookie season and land in the Super Bowl. Move over, Bradshaw.