SUPER BOWL XL Steelers ready to get focused

They spent the first three days this week taking care of distractions.
By TOM WILLIAMS
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
PITTSBURGH -- The downside of playing in the Super Bowl can be family feuds that spring up.
"Distractions, trust me ... they say when the Super Bowl comes around, you lose family members because of tickets," Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward said this week. "Everybody can't go to the game. I understand that -- it's like the Civil War in my house."
The Steelers are experiencing firsthand what happens to NFL players who earn the right to play in the championship game that everyone wants to attend.
Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has a voice mail on his cell phone telling callers don't even think about asking for tickets.
Distractions worth it
For tailback Jerome Bettis who postponed retirement a year ago on the chance he might get to play in a Super Bowl, the distractions that pop up during the two weeks in between the conference championship games and the Super Bowl are worth it.
"It's not a problem," said Bettis, 33, who most likely will be playing his final NFL game in his hometown of Detroit. "You could be home watching. For a lot of years, I have been so it's a good problem to have.
"People say you're going to have so many distractions. My family comes to every game anyway so it's not that big of a situation.
"Obviously, the media requests are a bit more but mental preparation doesn't change," said Bettis, who played in four AFC Championship games before advancing to the Super Bowl.
On Feb. 5 at 6:30 p.m., the Steelers (14-5) will play the Seattle Seahawks (15-3) in Super Bowl XL at Ford Field.
Asked if he enjoys the enhanced spotlight, Bettis replied, "No, you'd rather go under the radar if you could. I understand that that's not going to be the case.
"You can't take [every media request]," said Bettis, who was traded to the Steelers 10 seasons ago just after the franchise's last Super Bowl appearance (a 27-17 loss to the Cowboys in 1996). "I have a reputation of saying yes to everything but unfortunately I won't be able to do that this week."
Does he realize that his motivation to return has been accomplished?
"It's sinking in, but I think it will sink in more once we touch down in Detroit," Bettis said.
To Detroit on Monday
That will happen Monday. After last Sunday's AFC Championship game victory in Denver, Coach Bill Cowher gave his players three days off so they could deal with ticket requests and the other distractions that come with the Super Bowl.
The Steelers began three days of practice on Thursday and will have Sunday off before flying to Detroit where they will be based in Pontiac, Mich., and practice at the Silverdome, the Lions' old stadium.
Cowher said the extra week before the Super Bowl is a big benefit.
"It is an opportunity that you want to share with a lot of people, and the logistics of going through that can be overwhelming at times with all the requests," Cowher said. "At the same time, you can't forget what we're going in there to do."
Ward said the three days off were welcome to the players, whose open week was in early October.
"Through the preseason, regular season and three playoff games, your body gets beat up -- so is Seattle," Ward said. "So it was a much-needed rest but it's great to get back and get things going again."
The eight-year veteran said being conference champions is "exciting. Coach Cowher wants us to go out and enjoy the moment because we might never get this opportunity again.
Back into football mode
"[But] It feels good to get back into that football mode after taking three days off. For a lot of guys, we needed that because we were pretty banged up."
Unlike 10 years ago when Cowher was participating in his first Super Bowl, the 14-year head coach says he has experience this time that he can relate.
"There are some things that you can share with [the players] like the demands, what the game was like, the pregame part of it and some of the things that lead up to it," Cowher said.
"We're just trying to inform them of what to expect, but it's still going to be a football game once that ball is kicked off."
williams@vindy.com