Exhibit at Hall of Honor commemorates 20th anniversary of Steelers' fifth championship

Art Rooney II and Ben Roethlisberger took a trip down memory lane Saturday night when the Pittsburgh Steelers unveiled an exhibit commemorating the 20th anniversary of the Super Bowl XL season.

Two hours before the Steelers kicked off their second preseason game against Tampa Bay, the team’s president and future Hall of Fame quarterback were on hand at the Hall of Honor Museum to talk about that championship season while introducing the exhibition.

Rooney II called it a “very special journey” and “an unusual season in a lot of different ways.”

Before the Steelers ended a 26-year drought by securing the One for the Thumb championship, they had to win their final four games just to make the playoffs as the No. 6 seed despite having an 11-5 record.

Then, the Steelers made history by going on the road to defeat Cincinnati, Indianapolis and Denver to reach Super Bowl XL in Detroit. There, Roethlisberger fulfilled a promise he made to running back Jerome Bettis a year earlier. In essence, if Bettis returned for one more season, the Steelers would find a way to win a Super Bowl for him.

In Bettis’ hometown of Detroit, the Steelers defeated the Seattle Seahawks, 21-10, to complete the historic run.

“As I get older, I think what a silly, young, dumb thing it was,” Roethlisberger said of his promise to Bettis following the 2004 AFC championship game loss to New England. “Looking back now, it’s a great story.”

The exhibit contains a timeline of the Steelers games that season. One wall of the corner display is devoted to the regular season, the other to the postseason. It will be open to the public starting Sunday and will be a part of the museum through the summer of 2026.

“We’re proud of this place,” Rooney II said, “and we’re looking forward to expanding it.”

Rooney and Roethlisberger reminisced about the quarterback’s game-saving tackle in the divisional playoffs at Indianapolis.

The Steelers were poised to add to their 21-18 lead with 1 minute, 20 seconds left. They had the ball at the Colts 1, and Bettis got the ball to seal the victory. Instead, it was knocked from his grasp, defensive back Nick Harper scooped up the ball and ran free down the field until Roethlisberger made an unlikely ankle tackle at the 42.

“There aren’t too many seasons where one of the most famous plays is your quarterback making a tackle,” Rooney II said.

Added Roethlisberger: “As a quarterback, you don’t usually want to be remembered for making a tackle. Luckily, it wasn’t on an interception, so I can tease Jerome about that.”

The Steelers had to sweat out Mike Vanderjagt’s missed field goal before advancing to Denver for the AFC title game.

“At that point, (we thought), we can’t be stopped now. It can’t happen,” Roethlisberger said.

The Steelers rolled to a 34-17 victory to return to the Super Bowl for the sixth time. In Bettis’ hometown, the Steelers wrote the fairytale ending for the running back, who announced his retirement after the game.

“For it to be in Detroit,” Roethlisberger said, “can you write a better story?”