This often was a time for celebrations among the Steelers organization, a time to look forward to the playoffs and a time to pick up accolades from all their Pro Bowl selections.
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Now, it's mostly time to look forward to Christmas, and even part of that will be taken from them because they must play at 4 p.m. Christmas Eve in San Diego.
Their playoff chances remain linked to the kind of parlay it would have taken to put Al Gore into the Oval Office. Getting a player onto this year's Pro Bowl team might be just slightly less difficult.
"Unfortunately," said Jerome Bettis, a four-time Pro Bowl selection, "without a great record, some of our guys kind of get lost in the shuffle."
The NFL will announce its Pro Bowl team today and the Steelers believe their best bet to avoid consecutive all-star shutouts is linebacker Jason Gildon.
Gildon's 10 sacks are more than any linebacker in the league and rank fifth among AFC defenders. Joey Porter is second with nine.
Gildon also has returned a fumble for a touchdown, blocked a field goal and leads the team with four fumble recoveries, 71/2 tackles for losses and is tied with four forced fumbles.
He has done all this from the left side, considered not as pass-rush friendly as the right, which is the blind side for a right-handed quarterback.
"I don't know who might make it," said linebacker Levon Kirkland, the captain of the defense who has made the Pro Bowl twice. "It all depends, but I really think Jason probably deserves to make it this year."
That was the unanimous opinion of a handful of Steelers canvassed on the Pro Bowl selection yesterday.
"It's really not up to me," Gildon said. "If you're asking if I felt like I had a Pro Bowl-like year, yeah."
They believe others should be considered, but that it will be difficult because of their 7-7 record this season, coming off consecutive losing seasons. Last year, no Steelers player made the Pro Bowl for the first time in a half century. Only Dermontti Dawson made it for the 1998 season. But in 1997, six Steelers were elected, the sixth consecutive season in which at least five from the team made the Pro Bowl.
Last year, Kirkland, tight end Mark Bruener and punter Josh Miller were named alternates.
Dawson, who has made seven Pro Bowls, won the fan balloting this year to start at center for the AFC. He was the only Steelers player to win that vote. Last week, the coaches and players cast their votes. Each group's picks count one-third toward selecting the all-stars. Two teams are picked from each conference for the game, which will be Feb. 4 in Hawaii.
Missing the past five games with a hamstring injury might hurt Dawson's chances, even though he was at the top of his game before that.
"You don't know how guys will perceive it," Dawson said. "Maybe I needed to be in there more, but I don't know what guys base it on.
"I'd been playing well, and dealing with the hamstring all year long, which made it even more, you know, better for me that I lasted as long as I did. Unfortunately, I got hit the wrong way or I still probably would have been playing."
Other Steelers considered who might have attracted some votes but likely will come up short are offensive tackle Wayne Gandy, guard Alan Faneca, Bettis, Bruener, Kirkland, linebackers Earl Holmes and Porter, nose tackle Kimo von Oelhoffen, cornerback Dewayne Washington and safety Lee Flowers.
"I don't think my stats are the way they should be," said Kirkland, who has one interception, no sacks and is third on the team with 96 tackles. "I think I've played better than the last two years. If you want to look at injuries and being an unselfish player, I think I played better than I did. I think I'll get back there, maybe the next few years."
Kirkland was bitterly disappointed when he did not make it two years ago but has become philosophical about it.
Said Dawson, "I think Levon got snuffed out again last year and should have made it. What can you do? Then again, with winning comes reward and everything else and when you don't win on a consistent basis, of course that hurts your chances sometimes."
Bettis is tied as the AFC's sixth-leading rusher with 1,186 yards.
"I think at running back they go by numbers pretty much," Bettis said. "If you're not in the top three you probably have a hard time getting in."
Bruener has never had the numbers at tight end, yet he was an alternate in each of the past two seasons based on his blocking skills.
"I think that was a tribute to my contribution in the blocking," Bruener said. "Individual honors don't mean that much to me, but to be voted to all-star game by your peers is a great tribute."
Gildon best bet as Steelers all-star pick 
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