PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers’ road to the Super Bowl in Detroit ran through Heinz Field for a pep rally on Friday, and running back Jerome Bettis made a bold prediction.

“We carry Pittsburgh in our hearts wherever we go. ... And you better believe, when we come back, we will have one for the thumb,” Bettis said in reference to the Steelers bid for a fifth Super Bowl victory.

An estimated 30,000 people gathered at the stadium, with Steelers fans awash in black and gold to honor of the AFC champions. It was a hometown celebration for a team that earlier this season seemed a long shot to even make the playoffs.

“This is monumental for me. I’ve been waiting so long for this,” said 23-year-old Chris Feldman of Dormont.

For Feldman, the Steelers are more than just a sports team.

“They’re blue collar like the city. Even if they are football players, they feel like blue collar to us,” Feldman said. “They put the city on the map. After the steel mills closed, they were the only thing going for us.”

Fans painted their faces black and gold, tucked Terrible Towels in their waistbands and donned jerseys of their favorite players. Most jerseys celebrated current players, but some recalled the Steelers’ heyday and stars Jack Lambert and Rocky Bleier.

Fans inside the stadium waved their Terrible Towels as they waited for the rally to start at 5 p.m. Others chose to wait outside, turning the stadium parking lots — normally used by commuters — into a big tailgate party.

The crowd didn’t mind waiting a few hours for the celebration to officially begin. They broke into impromptu chants of “Here we go, Steelers!” — the popular Steelers’ anthem — and cheered raucously as highlights of the AFC championship game win over Denver was replayed on a video screen.

Jim O’Donnell, 43, of Pittsburgh, started work early Friday so he could finish in time to bring his family to the rally.

“It gets in your blood,” he said. “Once you’re a Steeler fan, you’re always a Steeler fan.”

As some of the players took the stage, the crowd got more boisterous.

“Wow, this is amazing. You guys make us go out and play with passion in our hearts each and every Sunday,” wide receiver Hines Ward said.

Bettis, who will be returning to his hometown of Detroit for the Feb. 5 Super Bowl for what might be his final game, sported a Tigers jacket and cap at the rally.

“I want to thank everybody here for believing in us,” he said. “When we were the sixth seed going into the playoffs, nobody thought we could get it done. But everybody out here and everybody in Pittsburgh, from the bottom of our hearts, all of us on this stage, we want to thank you guys because you are just as much a part of us as everything we do.”