Bettis in new role at Super Bowl XLIII
TAMPA (AP) – Pittsburgh is back at the Super Bowl, and so is retired Steelers running back Jerome Bettis.
The Bus broke out his NFL championship ring from three years ago for interviews Tuesday as part of NBC’s broadcast team for Sunday’s title game. He said it feels a little strange to be here as a pregame analyst rather than playing for his former team.
“It’s kind of weird because you know the experience and you’re familiar with it, and you’re familiar with the guys, but now you’re kind of on the outside looking in, instead of on the inside looking out,” Bettis said.
“It’s fun because for me there’s no pressure. I get a chance to interact with the guys. … I can still get access without the other pressures. A little part of me says: ‘Man, you possibly could be in that game.’ But the other side of me says: ‘Naw, I wouldn’t have been able to make it to this point.’ “
Bettis, who rushed for 10,571 yards and 78 touchdowns for the Steelers from 1996-2005, retired after Pittsburgh won its fifth Super Bowl by beating Seattle 21-10 in his hometown of Detroit.
He’s made a smooth transition from the playing field to life after football and said he rarely wears his championship ring.
“The first couple of months I wouldn’t take it off,” he said. “Now, it’s just media situations.”
Bettis has spoken with several of his former teammates, but hasn’t offered any advice for Sunday’s game against the Arizona Cardinals.
“I really haven’t told them anything. I’ve just talked to them as a friend, as a confidant, not really as ‘hey, do this, do that,’ because they’ve all been here before. … They know what needs to be done. So it was really just congratulating them and letting them know this is a great opportunity for them and don’t lose sight of it.”
Bettis rushed for 43 yards on 14 carries in his only Super Bowl appearance, and the Steelers won despite a poor performance by Ben Roethlisberger, who threw for just 123 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions.
BIDWILL SPEAKS: A man of few words who rarely grants interviews, Cardinals owner Bill Bidwill shed some light during media day on what he did to celebrate Arizona’s victory over the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC championship game.
“I went home, finished off the morning coffee in the microwave, went to bed and got a good night’s sleep,” said the 77-year-old, known for his thrifty ways in operating a franchise his family has owned since 1932. “Then I woke up with a smile.”
The Cardinals are in the Super Bowl for the first time and haven’t appeared in the NFL title game since 1948, when the team was located in Chicago. Asked if his perseverance has paid off, Bidwill quipped: “We’ll we’re here,” adding that he never considered selling the team during leans years.
WE’LL TALK LATER: When he became the NFL’s youngest head coach earlier this month, Tampa Bay’s Raheem Morris not only predicted the Steelers would wind up in the Super Bowl, but said he expected to glean some knowledge from close friend and Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin when the team arrived in town.
Morris, 32, and Tomlin worked together for four seasons, helping the Bucs win the NFL title six years ago.
“He’s not going to get much of an opportunity to pick my brain this week, I can promise you that,” said Tomlin, who was 34 when the Steelers hired him two years ago.
Not that the Pittsburgh coach believes he needs to give Morris a lot of tips.