I've enjoyed following the Steelers throughout the season and especially during the playoffs, but not just because I like to watch them win.

Oh, I know that it's been eight years since they've played in the Super Bowl and a quarter of a century since they've been champs and that winning is good for the local economy, but my interest in the Black & Gold's march to Jacksonville centers more on the journey itself, not just on winning the Big Game.

Although I don't consider myself an avid football fan - at least not by Western Pennsylvania standards - I have particularly enjoyed many of the stories surrounding the playoffs, like how Steelers teammates came to rookie quarterback Ben Roethlisberger's defense this past week following his less-than-stellar performance against the New York Jets and also how Roethlisberger donated the $18,000 he received from that game to relief funds supporting the victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami.

I also was touched to learn that the coin used during the opening toss of the game actually came from the 150 Marines and sailors of the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing based at Al Asad, Iraq. According to one newspaper story, the Steelers obtained the NFL's permission to use the coin from the Marine unit, which, by the way, claims among its members Capt. Brian J. Rooney, grandson of Steelers' founder, the late Art Rooney.

The coin was sent as a token of good luck, apparently it did the trick, as the Steelers managed to squeak by - with a stroke of luck - in an overtime victory against the Jets.

And what would playoff games be without luck, and the superstitious practices associated with winning.

I consider myself a superstitious person, always knocking on wood to keep the gremlins at bay, even though many people think superstitions are silly.

Except when it comes to sports.

"Okay, okay, now everyone look at what they're wearing," I said at the end of last Saturday's game to the small group gathered at our friend's house. "Be sure to wear the same thing during next week's game."

Certainly the circumstances of our watching - the Terrible Towels we waved, the clothes we wore, even the long-handled pruner that my husband used during half time to trim the lower branches of our friend's Christmas tree so they could get it out the door - may have had some bearing on Doug Brien's two missed field goal attempts and the amazing transformation of Roethlisberger as he orchestrated the superb overtime drive to victory.

Instead of strange looks, as might normally be expected, my comment about the clothes was received with enthusiasm, as friends checked their attire in order to duplicate it for the AFC Championship Game.

Whatever it takes - a massive waving of the Terrible Towels, a coin from Iraq or a lucky piece of clothing, possibly even a long-handled pruner - Steelers fans are united in their effort to support their team in Sunday's game against the Patriots.

My husband's taking the pruner with him to watch the game, "Just in case," he told our friends.