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The Pittsburgh Steelers can get one for the thumb. The Seattle Seahawks want the first one.
Either way, the team winning rings for Super Bowl XL could be considered a surprise.
The Steelers go for their fifth championship, and what would be their most improbable one, and try to prevent the underdog -- but top-seeded -- Seahawks from winning one in their first trip to the biggest stage in American sports.
Ben Roethlisberger hopes to become the youngest quarterback ever to win a Super Bowl and Steelers teammate Jerome Bettis strives for what could be a perfect end to a Hall of Fame career, playing in his hometown of Detroit in what may be his final season.
"To be in the Super Bowl, I am living the dream," Bettis said. "Then to be at home, it's an unbelievable dream. It's one of those things you don't want to end."
Those stories, along with Pittsburgh emerging from the AFC despite being its lowest-seeded team, have generally overshadowed a Seattle squad which was the NFC's best throughout the season and features league MVP Shaun Alexander.
"People expect the Steelers to win this game. Oh well, we're not getting caught up on it. It is what it is," Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck said.
After entering the playoffs as one of the most unlikely teams to get this far, the Steelers joined the 1985 New England Patriots as the only clubs to win three consecutive road games in the postseason.
Seattle, meanwhile, cruised through two wins at home to make the Super Bowl for the first time. The Seahawks were the NFC's No. 1 seed and many have long expected them to reach this point, something no one said about the Steelers when they were 7-5 with four weeks left in the regular season.
They've since won seven games in a row to reach the Super Bowl for the first time since 1995.
"I don't know how (the Seahawks) can feel disrespected when everybody had them going to the Super Bowl, anyway. We feel like we're the underdog," Steelers wideout Hines Ward said. "Nobody was talking about us. For us to do what we have done, people want to jump on the bandwagon now."
During their four Super Bowl runs in the 1970s, the Steelers had to win only one road game. This time, they had to win in three hostile environments and beat the three highest-seeded teams in the AFC.
Pittsburgh won in Cincinnati -- a team whose fans hadn't seen a playoff game in 15 years -- for its first road victory in the playoffs under coach Bill Cowher.
Then came the hard part.
The Steelers emerged with a wild 21-18 win at Indianapolis over a team which many predicted would win the Super Bowl following its 13-0 start. Pittsburgh's best performance of the playoffs came in Denver, winning the AFC championship game 34-17 over a club which hadn't lost at home all season.
"With all the road that we traveled to get here, it means nothing if we go out here and lay an egg in this game," Ward said. "If we don't go out and take care of business, then all that had work that we have done, nobody's ever going to remember it."
One thing the Steelers, particularly Joey Porter, will remember is Jerramy Stevens' recent comments.
The Seahawks tight end didn't go as far as to guarantee his team would win, but Stevens did say Bettis would be unhappy walking away from Ford Field.
"It's a heartwarming story and all that, but it will be a sad day when he leaves without that trophy," Stevens said.
Porter did not take well to that comment, and had a very vocal response. After saying he "got his first taste of blood" and was "thirsty for more" on Wednesday, Porter did not keep quiet Thursday, saying the Steelers would be so physical in the Super Bowl they will try to make Seattle quit playing.
"We're going to try to tap out as many people as we can, I'm going to put it like that," Porter said. "We're going to try to send as many people to the sideline as we can."
Porter leads a Pittsburgh defense anxious to shut down Alexander, who set an NFL single-season record with 28 touchdowns and led the league with 1,880 yards rushing. He ran for 132 yards and two touchdowns in Seattle's 34-14 rout of Carolina in the NFC championship game.
Pittsburgh had the league's third-best run defense during the regular season, but has given up 4.3 yards per carry in the playoffs. The Steelers didn't allow 100 yards rushing in any of those three games, but their opponents mostly had to rely on the pass because they were playing catch-up.
Steelers Pro Bowl safety Troy Polamalu, who tweaked an ankle in practice Thursday but is expected to play, knows one of his team's biggest challenges will be slowing down Alexander.
"He carries more size and more speed than anybody. He has that combination," Polamalu said. "As far as his size, he can run you over. His speed, his agility, his ability to make people miss. I think the combination he carries is far above anybody else."
Still, Alexander isn't even the running back getting the most attention this week.
That's because Bettis could be playing his final game, having said there's a good chance he will retire at season's end. Born and raised in Detroit, Bettis has scored a touchdown in each of Pittsburgh's playoff games and teamed with Willie Parker to form a formidable 1-2 punch this season.
Parker, though, has been quiet this postseason while Cowher has often gone to Roethlisberger and the passing game to throw off opposing defenses. Parker rushed for 1,202 yards during the regular season but has been limited to 132 yards on 47 carries in the playoffs.
Roethlisberger, though, has more than made up for that drop-off by picking apart secondaries during the postseason, completing 68 percent of his passes for 680 yards with seven touchdowns and one interception. Pittsburgh is throwing for about 35 yards per game more in the playoffs than it did during the regular season.
"I think that teams have really come out to stop the run, so when a team puts eight or nine guys in the box to stop the run it's pretty hard, you can only ask those five guys up front to move so many people," Roethlisberger said. "I am sure that they are up for the task, and Seattle we expect them to come out and try to stop the run again."
Turning 24 next month, Roethlisberger is the second-youngest quarterback to start a Super Bowl -- 213 days older than Miami's Dan Marino in 1985.
His counterpart, Hasselbeck, also seems to have matured this season and it showed in Seattle's playoff opener when he helped keep the offense on track against a tough Washington defense even after Alexander left with a concussion. Hasselbeck has thrown for three TDs and no interceptions in this postseason, completing 67 percent of his throws.
"I expect him to play very well on Sunday. He has prepared himself well all season," Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren said. "I think this season we have eliminated a lot of our demons and the things that have plagued us in the past that have allowed us to go over the top.
"He has been very, very consistent down the stretch."
While Holmgren looks to become the first coach in league history to win a Super Bowl with two teams, Cowher wants to win his first.
The longest-tenured coach in the NFL lost his only trip in 1995 and had been 1-4 in AFC title games before beating Denver. That leaves one of the league's most well-liked coaches in position to quiet the critics who say he can't win the big one.
"There is a lot of tradition with Pittsburgh and to be a part of that would be really special," Cowher said. "We have the four trophies in our building and I pass them every day and to bring another one there would be very gratifying and very special for the whole team."
HOW THEY GOT HERE: Seahawks - 1st place, NFC West; first-round bye; beat Washington Redskins 20-10, divisional round; beat Carolina Panthers 34-14, NFC championship game. Steelers - 2nd place, AFC North; beat Cincinnati Bengals 31-17, wild-card round; beat Indianapolis Colts 21-18, divisional round; beat Denver Broncos 34-17, AFC championship game.
SEAHAWKS LEADERS: Offense - Hasselbeck, 3,459 passing yards and 24 passing TDs; Alexander, 1,880 rushing yards and 28 rushing TDs; Bobby Engram, 67 receptions and 778 receiving yards; Joe Jurevicius, 10 receiving TDs. Defense - Bryce Fisher, 9 sacks; Michael Boulware, 4 INTs.
STEELERS LEADERS: Offense - Roethlisberger, 2,385 passing yards and 17 passing TDs; Parker, 1,202 rushing yards; Bettis, 9 rushing TDs; Ward, 69 receptions, 975 receiving yards and 11 receiving TDs. Defense - Porter, 10 1/2 sacks; Chris Hope, 3 INTs.
SEAHAWKS TEAM RANK: Rushing Offense - 153.6 yards per game (3rd); Passing Offense - 216.1 ypg (13th); Total Offense - 369.7 ypg (2nd). Rushing Defense - 94.4 ypg (5th); Passing Defense - 222.4 ypg (25th); Total Defense - 316.8 ypg (T-16th).
STEELERS TEAM RANK: Rushing Offense - 138.9 ypg (5th in NFL); Passing Offense - 182.9 ypg (24th); Total Offense - 321.8 ypg (T-15th). Rushing Defense - 85.5 ypg (3rd); Passing Defense - 198.0 ypg (16th); Total Defense - 283.5 ypg (4th).
LAST MEETING: Nov. 2, 2003; Seahawks, 23-16. At Seattle, Darrell Jackson scored a fourth-quarter touchdown on a 14-yard pass from Hasselbeck and his 43-yard catch-and-run set up Alexander's late 1-yard TD run.
STREAKS AND NOTES: Seahawks - Hasselbeck hasn't thrown an INT in five consecutive games. ... WR Jackson has averaged 101 yards receiving in four postseason games. ... Seattle led the NFL with 50 sacks during the regular season and has four in the playoffs. ... WR Jurevicius, who went to Super Bowls with the New York Giants and Tampa Bay, has only two catches for 37 yards in this postseason. He had 55 for 694 in the regular season. Steelers - Pittsburgh's defense has forced six turnovers and totaled 11 sacks in three playoff games. ... Ward has seven TD receptions in his last seven playoff games. ... CB Willie Williams, who played with Seattle from 1997-04, is the only Steeler to have appeared in a Super Bowl -- with Pittsburgh in 1995. Five Seahawks have been to the Super Bowl. ... Since Week 12, Pittsburgh has scored an average of 29 points, more than double what Seattle has allowed in that span (12.4).
INJURIES: Seahawks - PROBABLE: CB Andre Dyson (quadricep); WR D.J. Hackett (hamstring). Steelers - PROBABLE: LB James Harrison (ankle); DE Travis Kirschke (groin); RB Dan Kreider (knee); S Polamalu (ankle).
Either way, the team winning rings for Super Bowl XL could be considered a surprise.
The Steelers go for their fifth championship, and what would be their most improbable one, and try to prevent the underdog -- but top-seeded -- Seahawks from winning one in their first trip to the biggest stage in American sports.
Ben Roethlisberger hopes to become the youngest quarterback ever to win a Super Bowl and Steelers teammate Jerome Bettis strives for what could be a perfect end to a Hall of Fame career, playing in his hometown of Detroit in what may be his final season.
"To be in the Super Bowl, I am living the dream," Bettis said. "Then to be at home, it's an unbelievable dream. It's one of those things you don't want to end."
Those stories, along with Pittsburgh emerging from the AFC despite being its lowest-seeded team, have generally overshadowed a Seattle squad which was the NFC's best throughout the season and features league MVP Shaun Alexander.
"People expect the Steelers to win this game. Oh well, we're not getting caught up on it. It is what it is," Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck said.
After entering the playoffs as one of the most unlikely teams to get this far, the Steelers joined the 1985 New England Patriots as the only clubs to win three consecutive road games in the postseason.
Seattle, meanwhile, cruised through two wins at home to make the Super Bowl for the first time. The Seahawks were the NFC's No. 1 seed and many have long expected them to reach this point, something no one said about the Steelers when they were 7-5 with four weeks left in the regular season.
They've since won seven games in a row to reach the Super Bowl for the first time since 1995.
"I don't know how (the Seahawks) can feel disrespected when everybody had them going to the Super Bowl, anyway. We feel like we're the underdog," Steelers wideout Hines Ward said. "Nobody was talking about us. For us to do what we have done, people want to jump on the bandwagon now."
During their four Super Bowl runs in the 1970s, the Steelers had to win only one road game. This time, they had to win in three hostile environments and beat the three highest-seeded teams in the AFC.
Pittsburgh won in Cincinnati -- a team whose fans hadn't seen a playoff game in 15 years -- for its first road victory in the playoffs under coach Bill Cowher.
Then came the hard part.
The Steelers emerged with a wild 21-18 win at Indianapolis over a team which many predicted would win the Super Bowl following its 13-0 start. Pittsburgh's best performance of the playoffs came in Denver, winning the AFC championship game 34-17 over a club which hadn't lost at home all season.
"With all the road that we traveled to get here, it means nothing if we go out here and lay an egg in this game," Ward said. "If we don't go out and take care of business, then all that had work that we have done, nobody's ever going to remember it."
One thing the Steelers, particularly Joey Porter, will remember is Jerramy Stevens' recent comments.
The Seahawks tight end didn't go as far as to guarantee his team would win, but Stevens did say Bettis would be unhappy walking away from Ford Field.
"It's a heartwarming story and all that, but it will be a sad day when he leaves without that trophy," Stevens said.
Porter did not take well to that comment, and had a very vocal response. After saying he "got his first taste of blood" and was "thirsty for more" on Wednesday, Porter did not keep quiet Thursday, saying the Steelers would be so physical in the Super Bowl they will try to make Seattle quit playing.
"We're going to try to tap out as many people as we can, I'm going to put it like that," Porter said. "We're going to try to send as many people to the sideline as we can."
Porter leads a Pittsburgh defense anxious to shut down Alexander, who set an NFL single-season record with 28 touchdowns and led the league with 1,880 yards rushing. He ran for 132 yards and two touchdowns in Seattle's 34-14 rout of Carolina in the NFC championship game.
Pittsburgh had the league's third-best run defense during the regular season, but has given up 4.3 yards per carry in the playoffs. The Steelers didn't allow 100 yards rushing in any of those three games, but their opponents mostly had to rely on the pass because they were playing catch-up.
Steelers Pro Bowl safety Troy Polamalu, who tweaked an ankle in practice Thursday but is expected to play, knows one of his team's biggest challenges will be slowing down Alexander.
"He carries more size and more speed than anybody. He has that combination," Polamalu said. "As far as his size, he can run you over. His speed, his agility, his ability to make people miss. I think the combination he carries is far above anybody else."
Still, Alexander isn't even the running back getting the most attention this week.
That's because Bettis could be playing his final game, having said there's a good chance he will retire at season's end. Born and raised in Detroit, Bettis has scored a touchdown in each of Pittsburgh's playoff games and teamed with Willie Parker to form a formidable 1-2 punch this season.
Parker, though, has been quiet this postseason while Cowher has often gone to Roethlisberger and the passing game to throw off opposing defenses. Parker rushed for 1,202 yards during the regular season but has been limited to 132 yards on 47 carries in the playoffs.
Roethlisberger, though, has more than made up for that drop-off by picking apart secondaries during the postseason, completing 68 percent of his passes for 680 yards with seven touchdowns and one interception. Pittsburgh is throwing for about 35 yards per game more in the playoffs than it did during the regular season.
"I think that teams have really come out to stop the run, so when a team puts eight or nine guys in the box to stop the run it's pretty hard, you can only ask those five guys up front to move so many people," Roethlisberger said. "I am sure that they are up for the task, and Seattle we expect them to come out and try to stop the run again."
Turning 24 next month, Roethlisberger is the second-youngest quarterback to start a Super Bowl -- 213 days older than Miami's Dan Marino in 1985.
His counterpart, Hasselbeck, also seems to have matured this season and it showed in Seattle's playoff opener when he helped keep the offense on track against a tough Washington defense even after Alexander left with a concussion. Hasselbeck has thrown for three TDs and no interceptions in this postseason, completing 67 percent of his throws.
"I expect him to play very well on Sunday. He has prepared himself well all season," Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren said. "I think this season we have eliminated a lot of our demons and the things that have plagued us in the past that have allowed us to go over the top.
"He has been very, very consistent down the stretch."
While Holmgren looks to become the first coach in league history to win a Super Bowl with two teams, Cowher wants to win his first.
The longest-tenured coach in the NFL lost his only trip in 1995 and had been 1-4 in AFC title games before beating Denver. That leaves one of the league's most well-liked coaches in position to quiet the critics who say he can't win the big one.
"There is a lot of tradition with Pittsburgh and to be a part of that would be really special," Cowher said. "We have the four trophies in our building and I pass them every day and to bring another one there would be very gratifying and very special for the whole team."
HOW THEY GOT HERE: Seahawks - 1st place, NFC West; first-round bye; beat Washington Redskins 20-10, divisional round; beat Carolina Panthers 34-14, NFC championship game. Steelers - 2nd place, AFC North; beat Cincinnati Bengals 31-17, wild-card round; beat Indianapolis Colts 21-18, divisional round; beat Denver Broncos 34-17, AFC championship game.
SEAHAWKS LEADERS: Offense - Hasselbeck, 3,459 passing yards and 24 passing TDs; Alexander, 1,880 rushing yards and 28 rushing TDs; Bobby Engram, 67 receptions and 778 receiving yards; Joe Jurevicius, 10 receiving TDs. Defense - Bryce Fisher, 9 sacks; Michael Boulware, 4 INTs.
STEELERS LEADERS: Offense - Roethlisberger, 2,385 passing yards and 17 passing TDs; Parker, 1,202 rushing yards; Bettis, 9 rushing TDs; Ward, 69 receptions, 975 receiving yards and 11 receiving TDs. Defense - Porter, 10 1/2 sacks; Chris Hope, 3 INTs.
SEAHAWKS TEAM RANK: Rushing Offense - 153.6 yards per game (3rd); Passing Offense - 216.1 ypg (13th); Total Offense - 369.7 ypg (2nd). Rushing Defense - 94.4 ypg (5th); Passing Defense - 222.4 ypg (25th); Total Defense - 316.8 ypg (T-16th).
STEELERS TEAM RANK: Rushing Offense - 138.9 ypg (5th in NFL); Passing Offense - 182.9 ypg (24th); Total Offense - 321.8 ypg (T-15th). Rushing Defense - 85.5 ypg (3rd); Passing Defense - 198.0 ypg (16th); Total Defense - 283.5 ypg (4th).
LAST MEETING: Nov. 2, 2003; Seahawks, 23-16. At Seattle, Darrell Jackson scored a fourth-quarter touchdown on a 14-yard pass from Hasselbeck and his 43-yard catch-and-run set up Alexander's late 1-yard TD run.
STREAKS AND NOTES: Seahawks - Hasselbeck hasn't thrown an INT in five consecutive games. ... WR Jackson has averaged 101 yards receiving in four postseason games. ... Seattle led the NFL with 50 sacks during the regular season and has four in the playoffs. ... WR Jurevicius, who went to Super Bowls with the New York Giants and Tampa Bay, has only two catches for 37 yards in this postseason. He had 55 for 694 in the regular season. Steelers - Pittsburgh's defense has forced six turnovers and totaled 11 sacks in three playoff games. ... Ward has seven TD receptions in his last seven playoff games. ... CB Willie Williams, who played with Seattle from 1997-04, is the only Steeler to have appeared in a Super Bowl -- with Pittsburgh in 1995. Five Seahawks have been to the Super Bowl. ... Since Week 12, Pittsburgh has scored an average of 29 points, more than double what Seattle has allowed in that span (12.4).
INJURIES: Seahawks - PROBABLE: CB Andre Dyson (quadricep); WR D.J. Hackett (hamstring). Steelers - PROBABLE: LB James Harrison (ankle); DE Travis Kirschke (groin); RB Dan Kreider (knee); S Polamalu (ankle).