Stadium Is Empty, Steelers Fans Dominate Super Bowl Tailgating

TAMPA, Fla. -- Three hours before kickoff of Super Bowl XLIII, the stadium, as you can see from the picture I just took on the right, is mostly empty.

But even though the fans haven't arrived, there's no doubt that this will be a pro-Steelers crowd.

On my way from the Super Bowl media center to Raymond James Stadium, I probably saw a few thousand Steelers fans tailgating and generally engaging in pregame merriment, and only maybe a couple hundred Cardinals fans. Unless the Cardinals fans are planning to arrive en masse closer to kickoff, we could have a 10-to-1 advantage for the Steelers.

That, of course, is what happened at Super Bowl XL, when Steelers fans far outnumbered Seahawks fans at Ford Field in Detroit. Several Pittsburgh players have said this week that they appreciate the efforts of their fans to create a home environment for them at a neutral field, and it's happening in a big way today.

The multitude of media and corporate types at the Super Bowl will keep this stadium from being quite as loud as Heinz Field, but the Steelers will feel right at home.