The year was 2006, the Pittsburgh Steelers have done the impossible and advanced to Super Bowl XL as the AFC's 6th seed! The Steelers were about to run through the tunnel to take on the Seattle Seahawks. And then something happened.
Steelers running back, Jerome Bettis aka "The Bus" was making one last stop in his hometown of Detroit, Michigan. It was a special moment for him and his teammates knew that. Let's take a look back at what gave Bettis one of his greatest memories and a proper send off!
Super Bowl XL: Pittsburgh Steelers Jerome Bettis (36) exiting tunnel onto field during player introductions before game vs Seattle Seahawks at Ford Field Detroit, MI 2/5/2006. CREDIT: John Iacono (Photo by John Iacono / via Getty Images)
In an interview reposted due to the dead time that is now, before training camp opens on July 26th in Latrobe, Steelers.com opened up their “Time Machine,” to give us a little insight on arguably the greatest Steelers free agent pickup to date, James Farrior’s playing days with the team.
Farrior sat down with Stan Savran of Steelers Nation Radio to discuss many topics including the feelings of the 2005 team heading into Super Bowl XL and the infamous entrance by "The Bus."
On the mindset of the Steelers going into Super Bowl XL after defeating the odds to get there:
"We felt pretty good," Farrior said with a pleased look. "We felt pretty good. We thought we were doing pretty well, and we had a lot of momentum going into the Super Bowl and we didn't really think about winning the game. We just thought about, this is another game in the journey, and this is the one we need to be ours."
(Photo: USA TODAY Sports)
Savran then asked Farrior, "Before the kickoff, people are well aware, it's one of the great scenes in NFL history. You're in Detroit, you have an idea it's going to be Jerome's last game. He's in his hometown. And was it a team leader decision or was that Joey [Porter] again who said, don't tell Jerome when they introduced the team? Let him run out there by himself.
"That was all Joey, again, like I said before, he knows what time and when to do it," Farrior answered in the interview. "And another perfect moment for him. I don't know how he got it. It was all his idea and he came up with it while we were in the tunnel, I believe. And he was like, Everybody go back. Let Jerome go."
This was a spur of the moment type of thing? The team didn't discuss it during the week, Farrior was asked.
"No, I don't remember discussing that," Farrior stated. "It may have came up, but I sure don't remember. And I think he did it in the tunnel. It was a split decision."
What a beautiful spur of the moment decision it was!
Jerome Bettis returned to his hometown of Detroit in Super Bowl XL.
— NFL (@NFL) October 22, 2021
And his @Steelers teammates made him run out of the tunnel by himself. 😂
📺: #NFLIcons: @JeromeBettis36 airs TOMORROW at 10/9c on @EPIXHD pic.twitter.com/jZEIZBtq5M
The Steelers went on to defeat the Seahawks 21-10 in Super Bowl XL and Bettis went out on top, retiring following the win. This speaks volumes to the "team" mentality this 2005 Steelers team exhibited. That is why this team was successful and why they could win the big one! They did it together and for each other! This moment will forever be remembered!
Steelers RB Jerome Bettis during Super Bowl XL between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Seattle Seahawks at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan on February 5, 2006. (Photo by Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images)
Check out the entire interview here!
Do yinz remember the greatest player entrance in Super Bowl history? Let us know in the comment section below, or on Facebook, Twitter, and/or Instagram!
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