Call in the referee!

Byline: Lewis Taylor The Register-Guard

Daniel and Tammy Fickle will celebrate their seventh anniversary today with lots of blood, sweat and bone-crushing action.

Tammy is a lifelong Pittsburgh Steelers fan, and Daniel is a serious Seattle Seahawks supporter, which means it could get pretty heated at the Fickle household in Eugene when the two teams square off this afternoon in Super Bowl XL.

"My dad called today and said he wants to be the best man at our divorce," Daniel deadpans. "Everybody wants to come over and watch us fight.

"We won't fight."

The Super Couple say any violence that occurs today will be limited to the gridiron. That doesn't mean there won't be some trash talking.

"It's just normal to be a Seahawks fan," Daniel, 42, says. "The sun rises every morning and sane people like the Seahawks."

"The Steelers have the grit," Tammy, 43, counters. "The Seahawks are the corporate team."

When the Fickles first learned their teams would be vying for the National Football League championship on their anniversary, they planned to watch the game in seclusion.

Then the phone calls started pouring in.

`My daughter calls and (says), `I'm coming over, I'm bringing my boyfriend, I'm bringing my friends,' ' Daniel says. `My son calls, too ... We thought, `We're not going to tell them all no - we're going to have a Super Bowl party.' '

It looks like the Seahawks will enjoy homefield advantage at the Fickles' Super Bowl bash. Many of the roughly 15 family members and guests will be rooting for the 'Hawks, but the audience still includes some undecideds.

Such as 2-year-old daughter Rebekah.

"We're still waiting on her," Daniel says.

Based on Rebekah's preference for Seattle regalia, Daniel believes that she ultimately will come out in favor of the Seahawks.

As for the other kids, Anali, 19, roots for the Seahawks, along with Craig, 16, and Emily, 5.

"I like my daddy a lot," Emily says, explaining why she'll be cheering for Seattle's Matt Hasselbeck and Shaun Alexander today.

On the other hand, Sean, 14, is a part-time Steelers fan, who put money on black and gold for the Super Bowl, while Megan, 7, supports the Steelers for her own reasons.

"They're Mommy's favorite," she explains.

The Fickle house is a mishmash of team colors that reflects the family's dueling allegiances. An inflated black-and-gold Steeler player stands a few feet from a blue, navy and green Seahawks blanket. Black and gold streamers trail from the front door and a Seahawks parking sign hangs above the mantel. Daniel wears an NFC championship T-shirt and Tammy sports the AFC equivalent.

"The Seahawks are going to win because they've got an incredible offense," Daniel says. "They've got more points per game than anyone else."

"The Steelers are on fire," Tammy says. "They are ready. They want to win."

"Twenty-four to 7, Seahawks," Daniel says, offering his prediction.

Tammy calls for a shutout and then changes her mind. She won't guess the final score, but says the Seahawks will score just three points.

"We probably won't be able to stop them from scoring," she says.

Tammy traces her Steeler fanaticism to her childhood. She grew up in Pittsburgh and has been a fan her whole life. Daniel says he used to drive to one Seahawks game a year with his dad while growing up in Spokane.

"I've always been very vocal about my team. She's always been very vocal about hers," Daniel says. "I'm more forgiving than she is."

The last time the Steelers beat the Seahawks, Daniel says, his wife called all the kids into the room and asked them to look at their father.

`She said, `Look, it says `loser' on his forehead,' ' he recalls.

Daniel says he and his wife will do their best to forget about the action on the field and celebrate their anniversary once today's game comes to an end.

"As soon as the game is over, we're telling everybody goodbye," he says. "We're taking off, and we're just going to forget about the Super Bowl and one of us isn't going to be very happy.

"As much as I'm into it, it's still just a game and she's still my wife.'

"I'm just trying to keep quiet," Tammy says, hugging her husband.

CAPTION(S):

The Fickle family, including mother Tammy (left), a lifelong Pittsburgh booster; father Daniel, a die-hard Seahawks fan; Rebekah, 2; Megan, 7; Emily, 5; and Craig, 16, all have high hopes for their Super Bowl teams.