By Alan Robinson The Associated Press
PITTSBURGH – To coach Bill Cowher, the Pittsburgh Steelers simply look right in white.
The Steelers will buck years of tradition and wear their white away uniforms in the Super Bowl against Seattle, even though they are designated by the NFL as the home team and could wear their more imposing black jersey tops.
The black jerseys and gold pants are the Steelers’ traditional look, and numerous sports teams have switched to black uniforms in recent years because they believe it creates a more intimidating presence.
Cowher made the choice by himself and without consulting with ownership, saying, “We’re not playing at Heinz Field so, in my mind, it’s an away game.”
The Steelers’ unprecedented success as a road team no doubt factored into Cowher’s decision to wear white for the fourth consecutive game. The Steelers are the only sixth-seeded team to reach the Super Bowl and the first to knock off the No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 teams in a conference to get there.
Their choice will put the Seahawks in their metallic blue “home” jerseys. Seattle was 10-0 in the regular season and playoffs while wearing blue at home. But they were 0-2 away from Qwest Field with them, losing at Jacksonville in Week 1 and at Washington in Week 4.
The Steelers also will go against another tradition by not flying to Detroit until Monday – normally, teams travel to the Super Bowl site on the Sunday before the game. With Pittsburgh located so close to Detroit, Cowher said there was no reason to go any earlier since the first big Super Bowl-related event is Tuesday’s media day.
