Surreality sinks in for Steelers

~ Pittsburgh will return to the Super Bowl for first time since losing in 1996 to Dallas.

PITTSBURGH -- Steelers linebacker Clark Haggans was relaxing at home, enjoying a few days off before returning to practice for the Super Bowl.

Then a commercial touting The Rolling Stones and their upcoming performance in Detroit came on the air.

"They're talking about the Seahawks versus the Steelers and I'm saying, 'Hey, I play for that team,'" Haggans said. "It's a great feeling; it's kind of surreal. You can sit back and everything's kind of memorable."

Yes, everything is a little surreal for the Steelers, who practiced for the first time Thursday since beating Denver in the AFC championship game.

Only one player on the team, veteran cornerback Willie Williams, was on the last Steelers team to make it to the Super Bowl. They lost 27-17 to Dallas 10 years ago.

"Like coach [Bill Cowher] said, there's not too many people who remember who loses the Super Bowl," Steelers kicker Jeff Reed said. "The last few years, everybody thinks of the Patriots."

New England won three of the last four Super Bowls. But the Steelers won three on the road to make it to the big game Feb. 5.

Ben Roethlisberger is a big reason why. At 23, he will be the second-youngest quarterback to start a Super Bowl -- 213 days older than Hall of Famer Dan Marino was in 1985. But Marino lost in his only Super Bowl appearance, and has given Roethlisberger some words of advice.

"He said, 'Listen, enjoy this. You're young,'" Roethlisberger said. "On the one hand, enjoy it and have a good time, but take it serious enough that you want to win it, because you never know if it's going to happen again."

Roethlisberger said he feels more comfortable than last year, when he led the Steelers to a 15-1 regular-season record, but played poorly as they lost to New England in the AFC championship game.

"I was a little overconfident last year and this year I understand where I'm at and where we are as a team and the situation, so I think I'm better prepared than I was last year," Roethlisberger said.