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Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger knows how to work the media.
His end goal in doing that may have a few questions tied to it, but the two-time Super Bowl champion passer emphatically perched his team's flag on the planet, while conceding the Cowboys' claim to the soil of the United States.
Clearly, there a bit of tongue-in-cheek humor associated with all of this. Or at least, that's how Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo sees it.
"I think Ben knows how to have fun with you guys," Romo said to the media Wednesday. "He's probably talked to you enough. He plays for a franchise that's had great success over the years, for a long time in the NFL. We obviously have had success over the last 50 years as well, and I think you look at a couple of very, very strong franchises that have been around for a long time and it's just great to play for organizations like this. I think that's all he's telling you."
The two teams square off in the regular season for the first time since 2008, when the Steelers defeated Dallas in Pittsburgh 20-13 (Pittsburgh Steelers tickets).
Romo threw three interceptions in that game, the last one being returned for a touchdown by former Steelers cornerback Deshea Townsend.
The Steelers went on to win the Super Bowl that year, while the Cowboys missed the playoffs. They've only qualified for the postseason once in the last five years, and are 2-9 in the playoffs since they defeated Pittsburgh in Super Bowl XXX. They haven't won a game past the wild card round in that time.
Perhaps the Cowboys got even in getting to see the Steelers lose Super Bowl XLV, hosted by North Texas and played at Cowboys Stadium.
They're two of the most linked teams in NFL history, sharing the NFL record with eight Super Bowl appearances (34 percent of all Super Bowls played), with the Steelers having won six to the Cowboys' five.
The Steelers had the 70s while the Cowboys' largest run of success came in the 90s. The Steelers won of the three teams' meetings in the Super Bowl.