‘The Bus’ Hangs Up an Out-of-Service Sign

Moments after the game ended, so did Jerome Bettis’ career.

The Pittsburgh running back announced that he was retiring after 13 seasons, having finally reached football’s mountaintop.

“I don’t think you could have scripted it any better,” he said of finishing his career with a Super Bowl victory in his hometown. “I think the script right now, if somebody took it to Hollywood, they will turn it down because they’d say that it couldn’t happen. It’s been an incredible ride. It’s been amazing.”

Bettis, who began his NFL career with the Los Angeles Rams, rushed for 43 yards in 14 carries, and, for the first time in the last six postseason games, failed to score a touchdown. No matter, he was thrilled.

“This is why I started 13 years ago on this quest,” he said. “Along the way, I amassed a lot of yards and a lot of Pro Bowls, but none of that was significant because it wasn’t the team goals. The team goal was always to win a championship, and now I have a championship.”

Said offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt: “I couldn’t think of a better scenario for him. If he does retire, we’ll miss him. He’s been a critical element of this team, from his leadership and promoting the team aspect. I love Jerome to death. He’s a fantastic player, and if he does retire, it’s just five years until he’s in the Hall of Fame.”

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Seahawk tight end Jerramy Stevens had three big drops to go along with his touchdown catch.

“The bottom line is that I didn’t get it done,” he said.

Steeler linebacker Joey Porter made Stevens a story last week when he blasted the Seahawk for suggesting Pittsburgh wouldn’t be going home with the Lombardi Trophy.

Porter, in an hour-long diatribe Thursday, called Stevens “soft” and said he wouldn’t be a factor in the game.

Stevens was a factor, but not the kind he had hoped to be. Asked after the game what he thinks of Porter, he said: “I don’t need to think anything. He’s on the winning team, and that’s all that matters.”

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If you can’t meet ‘em, beat ‘em.

Steeler running back Willie Parker noticed Hall of Famer Marcus Allen on the field before the game as part of a gathering of former Super Bowl most valuable players. Parker is a fan of Allen’s, and had never met him.

“We were warming up,” Parker said. “I didn’t have a chance to really get to him.”

When the game came around, Parker got to Allen and stepped right past him.

Parker’s 75-yard touchdown run on the second play of the third quarter was the longest rushing touchdown in Super Bowl history, one yard better than Allen’s famous reverse-of-field score in the Raiders’ victory over the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl XVIII.

“It meant a lot getting in the record book,” Parker said.

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It wasn’t just Parker who ran his way into the Super Bowl record book with the 75-yard touchdown, or Kelly Herndon who made history with his 76-yard interception return.

Seattle’s Tom Rouen had the highest punting average in Super Bowl history, 50.2 yards; and Antwaan Randle El became the first wideout to throw a touchdown pass in the Super Bowl.

Hines Ward, who was born in South Korea, joined Canadian-born quarterback Mark Rypien as the only Super Bowl MVPs born outside the United States.

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The Steeler victory came 26 years after their last such triumph, in Super Bowl XIV on Jan. 20, 1980 at the Rose Bowl. That gap is the second-longest in Super Bowl history to Green Bay’s. The Packers went 29 years between their victories in Super Bowls II and XXXI.

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Before the game, the NFL honored the Super Bowl most valuable players throughout the years. Three of them -- San Francisco’s Joe Montana, Pittsburgh’s Terry Bradshaw and Miami’s Jake Scott -- did not participate in the celebration, each informing the league he wouldn’t be available, according to NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy.

Montana and Bradshaw were spotted at the media hotel earlier in the week.

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The team leading at halftime has won 31 of 40 Super Bowls.... Every team that has won the coin toss in Super Bowl history has elected to receive the ball.... The face value of Super Bowl tickets was $600 and $700, up from $500 and $600 last year. The tickets for Super Bowl I cost $6-$12.

-- Sam Farmer, Jerry Crowe and J.A. Adande