Robin Rombach, Post-Gazette A fan reacts as the Steelers fall behind 24-3 in the first half of the AFC Championship game. Click photo for larger image.

The Steelers' crushing loss to the Patriots yesterday may rattle around the area's psyche for years.

For a team that had set a conference record for wins, for a city that had dreamed of celebrating its first trip to the Super Bowl in nine years and for a region that had hoped -- and prayed -- for a victory as a salve for years of depressing economic and civic news, yesterday's game was a rude slap.

A fumble. Three interceptions, including one for a touchdown. Penalties. A replay that overturned a fumble recovery. The most points the Steelers had given up the entire season. Their quest for "one for the thumb" ended like a sharp poke in the eye.

At least we know now, it wasn't quarterback Ben Roethlisberger's glove.

Braving 13-degree temperatures -- the second coldest Steelers' home game in history -- the Heinz Field crowd of 65,242 began the game with a delirious Terrible Towel twirl, and there were still positive vibes after the Steelers fell behind 10-3 in the first quarter.

Even down 17-3 eight minutes later, there was plenty of bluster and belief in the stadium until the Patriots' Rodney Harrison returned a Roethlisberger interception 87 yards for touchdown and a 24-3 lead. So much oxygen hadn't been sucked out of the North Side since the implosion of Three Rivers Stadium nearly four years ago.

"Obviously, the whole city gets behind the Steelers," said Pittsburgh Mayor Tom Murphy after the game. He declined to comment directly about the impact of the deflating loss on the city, saying, "We need to focus on the fact that the Steelers had a great season."

The 41-27 loss marked the fourth time in five conference championships under head coach Bill Cowher that the Steelers lost at home. The win sends New England to its third Super Bowl in four years, and keeps coach Bill Belichick undefeated as Patriots head coach in the playoffs.

It also means that Super Bowl XXXIX will not feature an intrastate match-up of Pittsburgh against Philadelphia, which beat Atlanta, 27-10, earlier yesterday to advance. It had happened twice before: in 1995 when the San Francisco 49ers and San Diego Chargers played, and 1991 when the New York Giants and Buffalo Bills met.

"Seeing those guys celebrate on our field, that's the worst feeling," said wide receiver Hines Ward. "I don't ever want to feel that again. I feel sorry for the players and the city of Pittsburgh. It's disappointing."

Yesterday's Steelers' self-destruction had some fans leaving Heinz Field at halftime, when Pittsburgh trailed 24-3. David Marks and his 8-year-old son, Ben, may have left because the boy's feet were "frozen," but the third-grader allowed that the game to that point had left him "a little bit" disappointed.

"This would have been big for the city," said Marks as the pair sloshed through the slush to their car.

Instead, not even a halftime fireworks display over Point State Park and a trio of second half Steelers touchdowns could lighten the sense of gloom on the North Side. The trickle of spectators leaving Heinz Field increased to a steady flow from the third quarter on.

There would be no miracle escape as there had been in overtime a week earlier against the New York Jets. Hopes for a comeback dissipated in the arctic air like hot breath. And the outcome guarantees a long, bleak winter's worth of second-guessing and venting.

"We're all like devastated," Nick Hoban said after the game. Hoban, who lives on the South Side, said he already had purchased six airline tickets, six Super Bowl tickets and several Jacksonville, Fla., hotel rooms for him, his two sons and three nephews. Total cost: $25,000.

Now, Hoban said, he'll try to unload everything. He's hopeful of recouping most of his money. But the lost opportunity, he said, was priceless.

"It's all we talked about," he said of the Steelers and the chance to go to the Super Bowl. "We ate it, slept it and drank it."

In the end, the throngs leaving Heinz Field grumbled about lost chances and empty promises.

"It's about the worst disappointment you can imagine," said Natalie Schiffer, who traveled from Albion, N.Y., with her husband and son for the second straight week to watch the Steelers. Originally from Pleasant Hills, they planned to spend the night with her parents, who still live there.

Schiffer had even bought a Steelers dreadlocks hat for the game, along with several face decals.

"You know what?" she said, while leaving the stadium. "There's always next year."