The history:

In the waning moments of last year's AFC Championship game, tears rolled down the battered cheeks of Ben Roethlisberger's tired face. The rookie quarterback known for his composure, moxie and quickly developed pocket presence had shrunk from his towering 6 foot five inch, 240-pound frame to nothing, in a mere sixty minutes.

Big Ben wasn't broken up over missing the Super Bowl; he was broken up over his three interceptions that helped New England to a 41-27 win. A win that cost Jerome Bettis and the Steelers the glory they deserved.

Since his high school days, that has been the anecdote for Jerome Bettis.

 A day late, a buck short. Or more appropriately, a year late, a game short.

In 1989, Bettis carried Detroit Mackenzie high school to its first playoff game in school history and first Detroit Public School league title in nearly twenty years. This was a feat that NFL stars and Mackenzie alumni Pepper Johnson, Gilbert Brown and Sylvester Wright were unable to accomplish. Unfortunately, the Stags had the pleasure of playing perennial powerhouse Birmingham Brother Rice in the opening playoff round. Rice was a team known more  for their football than Seattle is known for its lattes. Despite Bettis's best efforts, the Stags fell 27-14, ending their unblemished season, and Bettis's high school football career.

  In the fall of 1990, Bettis took the field for a Notre Dame  football  program coming off its only two twelve-win seasons, not to mention a storied National Championship run in 1988, when the Fighting Irish went 12-0. Hundreds of attempts and countless rushing yards later, Bettis took off his gold domed helmet for the last time- once again unable to reach a championship game.

Bettis arrived a year too late for a chance to play in a championship game; and so the story continues.

The closest Bettis came to a National title was in 1992 when the Fighting Irish went 10-1-1.

Selected tenth overall in 1993 by the Los Angeles Rams after oafs like Marvin Jones and college teammate Rick Mirer, Bettis amassed over 1,000 yards in each of his first two seasons. But after a dismal performance in 1995 season, Bettis was shipped to Pittsburgh, where he once again missed the big game by one season. (Pittsurgh was in the Super Bowl in January of 1996).

While in Pittsburgh, Bettis became the Barry Foster incarnate as he continued his rushing prowess and earned the nickname "The Bus," even though he's built more like a UPS truck. For the next four seasons, Bettis ate his way to 1,000 yard rushing seasons. Meanwhile, his former teammates had moved to St. Louis and had reached the Super Bowl. Twice!

Foiled again. Until now.

The opportunity:

            Bettis spent his first 13 years in the NFL  waiting for the chance he deserved, while keeping his record clean. To this day we don't know of him for  Eugene Robinson-ing a prostitute, or parking in his coaches parking spot. We don't recognize his name because he's a loud mouth, or because he's a holdout, we recognize him because of what really matters. He's a great football player and great role model. Moreover, he's spent the last 10 seasons with the same organization, something rarely seen in modern professional sports. Because of his 13 years of hard work and selflessness, Bettis has helped the Steelers become more deserving of a Super Bowl win than the Seattle Seahawks.

Like I said, UPS truck.

            Sure, there are veteran players  from Seattle who deserve the Lombardi Trophy, and they might get it. Bobby Engram, Chris Gray and Mack Strong have all played in the NFL for at least ten seasons without the chance to compete in the Super Bowl. Still, none have endured the potholes in the road like The Bus. Missing a National Championship by a year, missing a shot at a Super Bowl by a year, and then three more times by one game. Nobody else has come so close to ruining their own destiny (almost retiring after last season's playoff loss, or the fumble in Indy).

           Yes, Seattle has been deprived of a Super Bowl for far too long. I'm from Detroit- so I know how that goes. But, the Steelers are the most deserving of a Super Bowl win for three reasons: The Bus, the coach, and the punter. Although I must say, Bettis is more deserving than the other two. Unlike Cowher, Bettis has never been involved with a game of this magnitude. And unlike Gardocki Bettis actually touches the ball more than five times per game. Regardless, all three men are more deserving of a win than anyone else involved with Super Bowl XL.

       The coach:

        Cowher has spent 14 years with the same NFL organization, something that is unheard of. He has suffered through AFC Championship game losses nearly every three years of his career (1994, 1997, 2001, 2004). Worse yet, he entered his only Super Bowl with Neil O'Donnell as his starting quarterback - and we all know how that turned out.  Even with the rigors associated with coaching a professional football team for over a decade, Cowher still makes time to support his family including his daughter, who plays college basketball for Princeton. Like Bettis, Cowher is a hard working classy guy who makes me believe the Steelers are due for a Super Bowl victory.

Bill Cowher's face has been stuck like that since January 28, 1996.

         The punter:

       Chris Gardocki has been in the league longer than both Bettis, and Cowher  and  he's been on a roller coaster ride as well. Gardocki played nine of his fifteen seasons for the cellar dwelling Cleveland Browns and Chicago Bears, without having a punt blocked! I'll bet you've never heard that before. ( The over under for the Chris Gardocki punt block stat being announced during the Super Bowl stands at 2.5). He might only be a punter, but after a 15 -year  NFL career, Gardocki deserves some credit, and a shot at a Super Bowl ring.

I already said it once. I'm not saying it again. Instead I'm going to tell you a different stat...  Gardocki has been in the NFL longer than any player on either of the Super Bowl XL squads.

Back to what really matters, The Bus:

While Gardocki is the record holder, and Cowher is the leader, Bettis is the backbone of the Steelers - and the heart and soul of the steel city. He's a player who competes week in and week out despite not being able move the morning after a game. He's shown it on the field as a player and off the field as a mentor through his creation of charities such as the Bus Stops Here foundation, which raises money and promotes literacy and leadership skills for underprivileged children. After more than a dozen years of giving so much to the community and the game, it's time the game gave something back to The Bus.

 Super Bowl XL isn't  about Roethlisberger being the youngest hurler to win an NFL title. It isn't about Matt Hasslebeck predicting a victory, or the city of Seattle getting a Super Bowl win. This year it's about The Bus; he is the fifth leading rusher of all-time, but number one  when it comes to most deserving of a Super Bowl victory.

           After all the turmoil, after all the bruising hits, after all the fumbles and after about twenty years without playing in a championship football game, The Bus will have his last ride. The ride he and his Steeler teammates and coaches have deserved for far too long. 

           In only his second game in his hometown since 1989, Bettis will play in his first - and probably his last - championship game, less than eight miles from Mackenzie high school where he began his epic journey. Less than six miles from his childhood home, where he probably scored his first touchdown, The Bus will fittingly hammer the gas pedal one more time.  

            Let's just hope The Bus's Motor City muscle doesn't get in the way of one of Chris Gardocki's punts.

            After all, he's had bad timing before.

Jon Gunnells is journalism junior at  Michigan State University who is certain The Bus makes the Steelers more deserving of a Super Bowl win than the Seahawks. He is determined Bettis will achieve Super Bowl glory even if it's by rushing the ball 12 times for 4 yards and 3 touchdowns. He can be reached at gunnell2@msu.edu