As the NFL season is set to kick off this week, we in the Pittsburgh market must admit we have it pretty good.

After 40 years of futility, the Steelers have had an incredible stretch of success since the early 1970s.

Consider this:

• Five Super Bowl championships in six tries.

• Countless division titles.

• Only seven losing seasons since 1972.

• The 5-11 record in 1988 was the smallest win total the Steelers accumulated in that span.

That's a pretty healthy track record.

Imagine being a fan in, oh, let's say:

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Cleveland: No Super Bowl appearances and no major run of success since the days of Otto Graham, Marion Motley and Jim Brown of the 1950s and '60s.They've won no division titles since 1989 and have had only three winning seasons since that year, including last year's 10-6 record.

Cincinnati: Where to begin with the Bengals? They've had two Super Bowl appearances, both tough losses to San Francisco,but in the past few years have been an underachieving team with a lot of offensive firepower.They've been no consistent threat in the division in nearly two decades and only one winning season since 1991: They were 11-6 and made the playoffs in 2005.

Oakland: The team has its share of Super Bowl wins and historical presence, but since the 2002-03 season, in which the team lost in the Super Bowl, the Raiders are an NFL worst 19-61 and have five seasons of at least 11 losses.

Detroit: Take away a 9-7 record in 2000, and the Lions would not have had a winning season since 1998, when they was 9-8 overall.

Arizona: The Cardinals have not had a winning season since 1998, the only time it has finished above .500 in the past 24 years.There have been other teams that have struggled recently, such as San Francisco and Atlanta, but the Steelers have not had any major stretches of losing.So, if you were born since the mid-1960s, you do not have a recollection of a truly bad stretch of Steelers football.In a complete reversal, those aforementioned teams are likened to the Pirates, who haven't enjoyed winning more than losing since 1992.Imagine that the Steelers were the Pirates and had 17 losing campaigns in a row. That waiting list for season tickets would get pared down pretty quick, and you'd finally find yourself a little bit busier on Sundays.Pittsburgh has been very fortunate to have a great pro football fan base, a family ownership with the Rooneys, who, hopefully, will still in place for the unforeseeable future, and a lot of talented players.With Cleveland looking stronger this season and hoping to build off that 10-6 record of a year ago, Baltimore looking to rebound after last year's meltdown and Cincinnati's offense could pose a challenge, the Steelers could have their hands full in the AFC North, as well as with the rest of the AFC.Keep one thing in mind when you're watching the Steelers this year: Things could be so much worse.