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Similar challenge awaits Steelers in new season
Yet no matter what happens tonight at Gillette Stadium against those hated New England Patriots, we'll be in for just a glimpse of what the 2002 Steelers are all about.
They want this one, all right. They want it badly. They probably have since about Jan. 28, which was a day after the Patriots waltzed into Heinz Field and stole the Super Bowl trip the Steelers were convinced they had coming a season ago.
Still, it will settle nothing, this much-anticipated rematch, even if the Steelers turn out to be the team that returns a punt for a touchdown and adds another six via a blocked field goal this time. There will be no amends made, no revenge extracted.
The smart ones among the visiting contingent will have figured that out long before kickoff.
"I wish sometimes this was a boxing match and by us playing them I could get the title back, but I can't," offensive tackle Wayne Gandy said. "They have the ring and there's nothing we can do about it.
"Trying to go out and look for redemption in a game that's not for the Super Bowl is kind of hard. All we can do is go out on Monday night and tee it up."
Once they do, what will be most important is that the Steelers begin to forge again the identity that has served them so well so often in the Bill Cowher era. They'll need to start establishing a consistency of effort, a collective competitiveness and resiliency that can sustain them in good times and bad, a mental toughness and a physical wherewithal that will allow them to take on each challenge as it comes and let the chips fall.
Achieving that will prove more critical over the long haul than figuring out the details of offense, defense or special teams.
One of the newest among them and at the same time the oldest within their ranks believes these Steelers have already grasped that all-important sense of purpose with both hands.
"This is a bunch of guys, from the first guy to the last guy, that has a desire and a hunger to go out and win," wide receiver Terance Mathis said.
Mathis suspected as much when he signed on as a free agent from Atlanta.
His first training camp with the Steelers confirmed the 13-year veteran's initial suspicions.
"The chemistry is so strong," Mathis said. "It's just nice to be a part of something that has that chemistry, that kind of closeness. Nobody has his own agenda. There's just one agenda, that's to win football games and eventually get to the Super Bowl and win it.
"I just enjoy being around these guys. They love each other. They joke around with each other, they uplift each other, help each other out. There are no egos, there's no selfishness on this team at all. That's how you win football games."
That's how the Steelers won them a year ago, 13 in all.
They played together and they played with perspective, whether the previous week had featured a disaster at Jacksonville or a monumental win at Tampa Bay. They oozed professionalism in terms of preparation and concentration. They refused to succumb to distraction.
And more often than not, they knocked people's heads off.
On the rare occasions when they didn't, they simply shrugged it off and moved on. Never was that resolve more obvious than in the aftermath of the debacle against Baltimore on Nov. 4 at Heinz Field. There was no frustration, no resignation. No matter how many field goals had been missed, there was no emotional meltdown. It was business as usual the following week.
Such character, chemistry, what have you made the Steelers one tough team to beat a season ago.
Mathis anticipates more of the same during the season at hand.
"Besides injuries, the only thing that can stop this team is us," he said. "If we don't go out and execute and perform and play with a sense of urgency every week, that can hurt this team. But I don't see that happening."
We'll get an early line tonight on the accuracy of Mathis' assessment.
But we'll learn more next week from however it is the Steelers respond to whatever it is that winds up happening against the Patriots.
Taking any and every eventuality in stride will take the Steelers that much closer to San Diego and Super Bowl XXXVII.
No matter what they believe they owe the Patriots, or how badly they'd like to return the favor.
Mike Prisuta is a columnist for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
