DENVER — Happy homecoming, Jerome Bettis.
The NFL's fifth-leading career rusher doesn't ask much of his Pittsburgh teammates, but now that each game could be his last, the senior Steeler called in a favor during an impassioned pep talk before the AFC championship game in Denver.
"Just get me to Detroit," said Bettis, who came back this season mostly for the chance to end his career by playing in the Super Bowl in his hometown. "Just get me to Detroit."
Inspired by Bettis, the Steelers shook off a dozen years' worth of bad karma, bad luck and badly played AFC championship games, beating Denver 34-17 Sunday to reach their second Super Bowl in 26 years.
It's a first Super Bowl for Bettis, coming in what is certainly the last season for one of the most-liked and most productive athletes in Pittsburgh sports history. No wonder there were hugs all around after he finally made it in his 13th season — from team chairman Dan Rooney, from the parents who have never missed a game in his career, to every person in the locker room from quarterback Ben Roethlisberger to the equipment managers.
"I can't imagine anything better," Bettis said, drenched in Gatorade and showered with praise by his teammates. "I'm going home."
Thus fulfilling a promise made by Roethlisberger during last year's 41-27 AFC championship loss to New England. Then, fearful Bettis might retire, Roethlisberger begged him to come back.
"He was boohooing, and I was boohooing, and he turned to me and said, 'Come back next year, I will get you to the Super Bowl. Give me one more year,' " Bettis said. "That meant a lot."
So much so, Troy Polamalu said Bettis made only two requests during his from-the-heart Saturday night talk.
"He asked for something that he knew we would give — and that's 100 percent. With that, the game came into our favor and we took him home, which was the second request," he said.
All-Pro guard Alan Faneca said Bettis' speech made his teammates realize they couldn't get this far again without winning. They had lost two AFC title games in the previous four seasons.