It came down to two field goals at the end of the Pittsburgh 17-16 win over the Jaguars Sunday night.
“I was sure I’d make it,” said Pittsburgh’s Jeff Reed of the 36-yarder he kicked with 18 seconds left. “But then they got downfield and Josh got to try one, too. I thought he’d make it; he has a cannon for a leg.”
The Jags’ Josh Scobee was just barely short with his 60-yard attempt as time ran out on a scintillating game before 71,000 or so in Alltel Stadium.
“I knew I would make it,” said Scobee.”I could have hit it better but I thought I had enough. But it wasn’t straight enough, either.”
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Pittsburgh Coach Bill Cowher said he wasn’t thinking of the game in 1997 that was a deja vu. Pittsburgh lined up for a winning field goal with a few seconds remaining but it was clocked and returned for a touchdown as the Jags won 30-21.
“I promise it didn’t cross my mind but I don’t know why it didn’t,” he said. “I sure have been reminded of it.”
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The victors don’t get terrific spoils, as it turns out. The Steelers flew home right after the game and their postgame meal was a box lunch.
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The unofficial estimate of 20,000 Steeler fans may have seemed low as the stands were a sea of black and gold with fans waving the “terrible towels.”
A quick survey of area hotels Sunday evening confirmed the obvious: there were a lot of people wearing Pittsburgh colors.
“The bar has been full all afternoon,” said a desk worker at the Omni. That was the usual comment from others, too.
The visiting fans presence was also felt at Alltel Stadium where they packed the Bud Zone and lined up three deep at the bars of the south end zone deck. Bartender Nicole Bensko said the visitors were impressed by Alltel’s full-service bars. It’s beer only at Pittsburgh’s Heinz Field.
“When they find out we have liquor, their eyes light up like kids in a candy store,” chuckled Bnesko.
The Pittsburgh fans hope they haven’t seen the last of Jacksonville this year.
“We keep getting people asking about getting a room for the Super Bowl,” said a person answering the phone at the Adam’s Mark. No luck, of course; the hotel will be taken over by the league.
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The National Football League brought in over 100 officials over the weekend for the final big pow-pow about the Super Bowl.
No details were available but there appear to be few areas of concerns, according to sources.
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One more bachelor bites the dust. Jaxson De Ville will marry a former Jaguar cheerleader in March with the ceremony on the stadium field and the reception in one of the clubs.
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It was the season’s biggest crowd and it was obvious by early evening when a steady flow of traffic jammed Bay Street. Police moved things along well despite the large number of Steeler fans who obviously didn’t know where to go.
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ESPN broadcast the game and play-by-play announcer Mike Patrick spent the pregame visiting with old Ch. 4 pals, even doing an on-air appearance with anchor Tom Wills. Patrick once was Ch. 4’s sports director.
-Bradley Parsons and Fred Seely