Super Bowl appears to be an even matchup

SEATTLE — The contrasts between the Steelers and the Seahawks make this a fascinating Super Bowl matchup.

Add a few subplots, and Pittsburgh vs. Seattle could be one of the best ever.

When you think Super Bowl, it's hard not to think of the old Steeler dynasties of Terry Bradshaw, Lynn Swann, and Mean Joe Greene. Going into its sixth championship game, Pittsburgh would seem like a seasoned contender.

Seattle, by contrast, is untested. The Seahawks are going for the first time in their 30-year history and last week won their first playoff game in 21 years.

Consider history, and things look good for Pittsburgh. Consider this season, though, and it works the other way.

The Seahawks entered the playoffs as the NFC's top-seeded team. The Steelers were the last seed in the AFC, the first sixth-seed ever to make it to the big game and only the second team ever to get there by winning three games on the road.

The oddsmakers favor the Steelers by 3 1/2 points for the game in Detroit in two weeks, presumably because they are the STEELERS, with four titles in six years in the 1970s. Seattle is a historically faceless franchise, even with running back Shaun Alexander easily capturing this year's MVP honors.

There's one sure human-interest footnote: Pittsburgh running back Jerome Bettis will get to play his first Super Bowl in his hometown, a fitting conclusion to a 13-year career that is sure to end with Bettis in fifth place on the career rushing list.

And look for other subplots: the coaching similarities, the Seahawks' outstanding rookie linebackers — and a close, hard fought game.

The way these teams are playing now make that seem like a real possibility: Seattle's 34-14 victory over Carolina in the NFC title game Sunday was its 13th win in 14 games. The only loss was the regular-season finale, when the Seahawks rested their starters for most of the game in Green Bay.

And Pittsburgh's 34-17 win in Denver was its seventh in a row, and the Steelers consider every one of them a playoff game — they started 7-5 and needed every win just to get in.

Start with the quarterbacks.

Pittsburgh's Ben Roethlisberger, who had five interceptions in two playoff games as a rookie last season, has only one in three postseason games this year and has thrown for three touchdowns.