’Steeler parade’ in Pittsburgh

From infants to senior citizens, fans braved freezing temperatures and crowds so deep that for some even seeing the parade was impossible.

Not that it mattered. Many just wanted to be part of the festive atmosphere and have the chance to revel in the team's 27-23 victory over the Arizona Cardinals in Sunday's Super Bowl. Rousing chants of "Here we go Steelers!" pulsed through the crowd as they waited for the team to make its way along the route.

"We're going to tell the school we had fever - Steeler fever," 12-year-old Rachel Russell said, excusing her absence from school before leading a Steelers chant. Renaming the city "Sixburgh" for the day, Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl made his way through the parade alongside quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, both filming the crowd that painted a gray sky yellow with twirling Terrible Towels.

’Never too cold’

Fans filled parking garages, skyscraper windows, balconies and even climbed trees to get the best view of the team they love and possibly find shelter from the sporadic flurries and temperatures that hovered less than zero degrees Celsius. "It's never too cold to watch the Steelers," said Annette Mowery, 47, who drove from the Pittsburgh suburb of Mars with her children, Lexie, 12 and Lucas, 10.

Even police got into the spirit, waving Terrible Towels from atop horses as they led the parade. Coach Mike Tomlin followed behind in the back of a red convertible, while players holding video cameras cheered and waved from the back of trucks.

Tomlin couldn't stop smiling as he was greeted on stage at the end of the parade route with thunderous applause. "What do you say to this?" Tomlin asked the massive crowd. "Steeler Nation, you leave us all speechless, man, we just appreciate the love. How about the Steelers? How about the greatest fans in the world? How about number six? Thank you, we love you guys."

Police spokeswoman Diane Richard estimated more than 300,000 people attended the parade - more than the 250,000 fans who attended the 2006 parade celebrating the team's previous Super Bowl victory, which is really close to the city's population of 311,000.