It’s Alumni Weekend in Pittsburgh. Plenty of ex-Pittsburgh Steelers are in town to watch the 2023 unit take on the Green Bay Packers later today. That includes Hall of Famers like Alan Faneca, who spoke during the team’s Alumni Dinner Saturday night. There, he shared one of his favorite stories of his storied Steelers career. It wasn’t a bone-crushing block. It wasn’t opening the lane for RB Willie Parker in Super Bowl XL. It wasn’t hoisting that Lombardi Trophy. It was the moments before the 2001 AFC Championship Game, one win away from the Super Bowl.
“It’s ’01, we’re finally in the playoffs,” Faneca told the group. “We’re in the tunnel…they call everybody out. Normally I’m like every other o-lineman. Except Marvel Smith. You just run out. You run out, let’s go play some football. Let’s go do it. But the crowd is pumping. You’re hearing it in your chest. The crowd is going crazy. You just feel it. I just stood there for a minute. I was like, ‘This is what I’ve been waiting on. This is the moment. This is what I’m here to play football for in the NFL.'”
Of course, that’s referring to the 2001 AFC Championship Game against the New England Patriots. Faneca and the Steelers had won in the Divisional Round, beating the Baltimore Ravens, 27-10, as the Steelers ran for 154 yards and two touchdowns. Drafted in 1999, these were the first two playoff games of Faneca’s career, and he had a chance to go to the Super Bowl in just his third year.
Obviously, that didn’t happen. Pittsburgh fell to New England, 24-17, doomed by several special teams miscues, including a punt return touchdown (made possible by a penalty on WR/gunner Troy Edwards) and a blocked field goal returned by the Patriots for a touchdown. The Steelers’ running game was held in check, rushing 22 times for 58 yards, and four turnovers by QB Kordell Stewart was enough to do Pittsburgh in.
Despite the loss, it’s a pregame moment Faneca remembers fondly. Like a true offensive lineman, the highlights of his career were in the details and the little things.
“Just a small little moment, man,” he said. “But it was one of those moments.”
Faneca would get back to the AFC Championship Game in 2004, losing again to the Patriots. But 2005 was the year where it all worked out, Pittsburgh making a historic run to become the first sixth seed to win a Super Bowl. And his block to spring Parker for his record touchdown played an integral role. Hopefully the 2023 Steelers can honor Faneca with a healthy running game against the Green Bay Packers.
