Love him or hate him, win or lose, Ray Lewis will be the center of attention on Super Bowl Sunday.

Coming into the week, it seemed the media had already milked every ounce of intrigue from Lewis’ month-long retirement party. I was wrong.

The Baltimore middle linebacker might have needed a little more than the Bible’s help in returning from his torn triceps, as Sports Illustrated reported Lewis was allegedly given a deer-antler spray — which contains a banned substance — to aid the recovery.

That’s right, deer-antler spray. Hollywood couldn’t make this stuff up.

Lewis denied the allegations and has never tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs. The controversial or motivational — depending on who you’re asking — 13-time Pro Bowler might walk away from this story with his reputation intact. But if nothing else, the allegations suggest God has a sense of humor.

I think it’s safe to say most Pittsburgh fans will have a hard time rooting for Lewis on Sunday — a game that will sting Steelers fans regardless of the outcome.

So, to make America’s unofficial holiday slightly more tolerable, here are some guys I believe are much easier to cheer for:

• Andy Lee and NaVorro Bowman — The San Francisco teammates represent the major colleges around here. Lee, an All-Pro punter, went to Pitt and Bowman, an All-Pro linebacker, is a Penn State product.

• Clark Haggans — The reserve 49ers linebacker spent his first eight NFL seasons with the Steelers and tallied 25 sacks in his final four years with the black and gold.

• Frank Gore — Over the past seven years, the bruising running back has started 101 of a possible 112 regular-season games on some terrible teams in San Francisco. He’s racked up 11,470 yards from scrimmage and 61 touchdowns in his career, while patiently sticking by the only NFL team he’s ever known.

• Matt Birk — A longtime center for Minnesota, the 36-year-old Ravens lineman finally earns a trip to the Super Bowl after coming tantalizingly close as a rookie when the 15-1 Vikings fell short in the 1998 NFC Championship.

• Michael Oher — Baltimore’s right tackle was the inspiration behind Disney’s “The Blind Side” and he might be in line for a sequel if the Ravens win on Sunday. If that means more Sandra Bullock, I’m OK with that. Might as well call it “The Bright Side.”

• Torrey Smith — I’ve become a big fan of his this season.

Less than 24 hours after his younger brother tragically died in a motorcycle accident, he hauled in six catches for 127 yards and two touchdowns on Sept. 23 in a 31-30 victory over the Patriots. I started keeping tabs on him through Twitter — shameless plug: follow me @JasonOrfao — since that night and he seems like a genuine, kind-hearted guy.

• Ed Reed — Not the most popular player among Pittsburgh fans, but I’m happy to see the ball-hawking safety reach the NFL’s biggest stage after nine Pro Bowls and five first-team All-Pro selections.

Reed will certainly be enshrined in Canton someday and could even follow Lewis into retirement, except without the fanfare and far more humility.

Cheers to that.

Jason Orfao is a staff writer for the Butler Eagle.