UNLIKELY BLACK-AND-GOLD REIGN.

Byline: BILLY WITZ NFL 

DETROIT - There it was, sitting familiarly on the banks of a murky river, another northern industrial town that had been dressed all week in black and gold. And when the Pittsburgh Steelers walked into Ford Field late Sunday afternoon, they were greeted by a sea of yellow Terrible Towels.

If nobody else would take to the comforts of Detroit, for the Steelers it turned out to be home sweet away from home.

Pittsburgh, riding the big plays of receiver Hines Ward, a defense that gave up plenty of yards but few points, and a considerable home-crowd advantage, celebrated its first championship in 26 years with a 21-10 victory over Seattle in Super Bowl XL.

It was the fifth Super Bowl victory for the Steelers, tying the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers for the most in the NFL, but it was clearly their most unlikely.

The Steelers needed to win their final four regular-season games just to qualify for the playoffs as the sixth and final seed in the AFC. Then they went on the road and beat the top three teams in the conference - Indianapolis, Denver and Cincinnati - something that had never been done before.

``Anytime you go in as the sixth seed, people aren't expecting too much of you, anyway,'' Steelers safety Chris Hope said. ``They figured you fought through, used all your energy to get to the playoffs, then you'll lose in the first round.

``But our whole season was based on, whenever we get on the right page - offense, defense and special teams - we're going to be a hard team to beat.''

That proved the case when they made two big plays in the second half - a 75-yard touchdown run by Willie Parker, the longest in Super Bowl history, and a 43-yard touchdown pass from one receiver and former college quarterback to another: Antwaan Randle-El throwing to Ward.

That touchdown, midway through the final quarter, all but sealed the victory and a happy homecoming for tailback Jerome Bettis, the Detroit native, who announced his retirement after the game.

The genesis of the Steelers' journey began in the waning seconds of last year's AFC Championship Game, in which the Steelers were beaten by New England, a team they had whipped in the regular season.

With rookie quarterback Ben Roethlisberger on the sidelines, his head on the shoulder of Bettis, he urged Bettis to come back for one more season, promising he would get the Steelers to the Super Bowl.

Bettis, the punishing running back nicknamed The Bus, took his time weighing whether to return. But the lure of the Super Bowl in his hometown was too much to resist for the 13-year veteran who had never reached the title game.

The season-long theme for the Steelers was get The Bus home.

``This is what you play the game for - this opportunity,'' said Bettis, in a locker room filled with the stench of cigar smoke. ``You bust your butt all season, all year long and to be able to do it at home is a dream come true.''

He relished the opportunity to use the Super Bowl as a platform for boosting his beleaguered hometown, which is the nation's poorest large city.

Bettis talked about a business partnership he's in to convert a former tire factory on the riverfront into a upscale housing and retail development. He was awarded the key to the city, he had his high school jersey retired, and invited the entire team over to his mother's house for a team dinner Thursday.

``To win it in front of my friends and family and the people who supported me when I was a shorty is incredible,'' Bettis said. ``A little chubby boy from Detroit couldn't ask for anything more.''

For Cowher, there was redemption in victory.

A Pittsburgh native, his square chin and fiery demeanor have been the face of the franchise that embodies the city's working class roots.

That face has shown mostly anguish in championship games. Cowher's teams have four times at home in the AFC championship game in his 14 years, and his one Super Bowl appearance, a loss 10 years ago to Dallas, ended with his 10-year-old daughter Meaghan consoling him with a hug as he left the field.

On Sunday, Meaghan - now a sophomore at Princeton - was all smiles as she, her two sisters, Lauren and Lindsay, and her mother Kaye, embraced Cowher as confetti as the last seconds ticked off the clock.

Afterward Cowher recalled a speech he gave his team on the eve of the playoffs. With a daunting task ahead, he related to them the story of Christopher Columbus' discovery of America.

``The purpose of it is Columbus got on that boat and a lot of people told him not to go out there because they said the world was flat,'' Cowher said. ``And he just kept going and he found the new world.

``That's what I told them. There's a lot of people telling you (that you) can't do it, but you know what: that doesn't mean you don't try. History is not going to determine our fate, but our effort today made history.''

For Steelers owner Dan Rooney, it served as validation.

The Steelers are one of the last remaining family-run teams in the NFL, having been founded by his late father, Art.

They have shown uncommon patience, employing just two coaches - Cowher and Chuck Noll - since 1969. Cowher is the NFL's longest tenured coach and their decisions on how they build their roster often involves qualities beyond football skills.

``They've been class individuals,'' Bettis said of the Rooney family. ``One thing they've done is they've been big on character. Not necessarily wins and losses. In this day and age of professional sports, when you have owners who believe in people and not stats and numbers, it goes a long way.''

On Sunday, all the way home.

CAPTION(S):

9 photos, 4 boxes

Photo:

(1) Ben Roethlisberger kept a promise to Jerome Bettis - that Bettis would reach the Super Bowl - after last year's loss in the AFC title game.

Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press

(2) Seattle's Darrell Jackson made four first-quarter receptions - with two more called back.

Harry How/Getty Images

(3) Pittsburgh's Ben Roethlisberger scores from the 1-yard line - a play that was upheld by review.

Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

(4) The Steelers' Jerome Bettis rolls over Seattle's Michael Boulware for a short gain on the ground.

Elsa/Getty Images

(5) Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck is sacked, thwarting another late drive.

Jeff Haynes/Getty Images

(6 -- 9) no caption (scoreboard)

Box:

(1) FIRST QUARTER

(2) SECOND QUARTER

(3) THIRD QUARTER

(4) FOURTH QUARTER