“We picked up right where we left off,” said linebacker James Farrior. “We won’t see each other for a couple of years or an extended period of time. And it doesn’t really matter when we see each other. It’s like we’ve always been together the whole time. It’s as if no time has passed since we’ve been together.
“That’s a unique quality that our team had and we possessed, and we carry that. Wherever we go, whenever we see each other, it’s just like old times.”
Those old times were filled with a lot of football, but they were also filled with fun.
After all, this was a team filled with players who not just loved to play the game, but loved each other.
One of the biggest motivating factors of getting to Super Bowl XL was knowing that this would be the final season for Hall of Fame running back Jerome Bettis.
And the game was being played in Bettis’ hometown of Detroit, Michigan.
They team came together, fighting for each other, and to get Bettis back home, in a way that drove them to be champions.
And getting back together again this weekend brings back all of the memories.
“It is hard to believe it’s 20 years,” said Bettis in advance of the dinner. “It really is. It’s gone pretty fast.
“The relationships that the guys have and the love that we have for each other and how we were able to come together and be selfless and nobody cared about who got the credit. Nobody cared about who scored the touchdown. It was all about us finding a way to get it done. That’s what was so special about all of that.
“It can be 10, 15, 20 years later, we get back in a room, and you can rewind the clock back 20 years and we’re right back in the locker room. It’s that kind of feeling that we have when we see each other.”
There were things that brought the team together during a season where they easily could have fallen apart.
The Steelers were coming off a 15-1 season in 2004 that ended with a loss in the AFC Championship game. They had high hopes for the 2005 season, and things started off strong.
The team was 7-2 heading into Week 11 of the season, on a roll and feeling great about their prospects.
And then they went through a three-game losing streak, dropping games to the Baltimore Ravens, Indianapolis Colts and Cincinnati Bengals, leaving the season in doubt with a 7-5 record.
There was some disappointment, some frustration.
But Coach Bill Cowher wouldn’t let it take over. Instead, he took over. In a team meeting he gave his players a reset, giving them a new outlook.
The Steelers went on a four-game winning streak, and they earned a wild card playoff spot.
And it wasn’t just about how they played on the field. It was about how they related off the field as well, something that still holds true today.
“There was just a difference with this team,” said Porter. “When I explain this to people, people don’t understand. They don’t because they don’t know how it was then. You know exactly how close we were. I tell people stories. They don’t believe me.
“But when I start talking about certain stuff, they understand me. One example was the night before a game. There used to be 60 people waiting in line to get a slice of red velvet cake. Every week. It’s a piece of cake, right? It was more than just a piece of cake to us.
“It was a tradition that we had that cake at the hotel the night before the game, a tradition Jerome Bettis made sure we maintained. It was about bonding, sharing something together. And you had to wait your turn for that cake. You would get in trouble if you tried to cut that line.
“There were other things. If we had a meeting at 8:30 a.m., we were here at 8 a.m. If we didn’t see something, we would have the coaches looking for them. We cared about each other. We held each other accountable.
“I can’t explain how close we were. I never went to work where everything we had to do would be over and we would stay there for five hours. Nobody wanted to leave. We would just keep hanging around each other and talking and having fun.
“We were a family for real. From top all the way to the bottom. From the star quarterback to the last practice squad guy. Nobody was treated differently.
“We literally loved being around each other and still feel the same way.”
