SAN FRANCISCO -- Sunday mornings inside the dark sanctuary of San Francisco's Shanghai Kelly's Saloon, devout Steelers fans relentlessly cheer at ear-ringing levels for some divine intervention for their team.

Steelers Sunday at the Irish saloon is pretty darn close to an actual religious experience.

Shanghai Kelly's Saloon is home to many of the Bay Area's most devout Steelers fans, who agree that it's OK to drink beer before noon as long as you're watching the Steelers on satellite TV.

In the well-heeled Nob Hill neighborhood, dog walkers, joggers and Burberry-clad moms pushing strollers pass the front door as rowdy Steelers fans chant while waving Terrible Towels. And when the Steelers win, look out: A sea of black and gold is likely to spill out onto the sidewalk in jubilation, making it plain for bewildered pedestrians to see that this isn't any ordinary establishment.

Outside of the Western Pennsylvania, there are plenty of self -proclaimed "Steelers bars." Shanghai Kelly's, however, is not like those "other" places that claim to be Steelers bars but relegate fans to a television in a corner while 10 others show various events and games. Kelly's is all Steelers all the time.

"It's the closest thing to tailgating without actually being at the game," says Sharon Jacks, Shanghai Kelly's unofficial cheerleader. She wears a black mini-skirt and a Jerome Bettis jersey, with her long blond hair flowing out of her black Steelers cap. From the looks of things -- from the free-flowing spirits to the charred kielbasa on the grills outside on the sloped sidewalk -- Shanghai Kelly's has the look and feel of a party in the parking lot outside Heinz Field. Like Jacks, most people in the bar have Western Pennsylvania roots.

A North Hills native, Jacks moved to San Francisco for a job during the dot-com boom and said the folks who gather for games are a lot like family and friends from back home. When she first came to San Francisco, she did a Web search and found a place to watch Steelers games. It was OK, but she heard of a place with a more blue-collar feel called Shanghai Kelly's. She has been a regular ever since.

To appease the growing throng of Steelers fans, owners Steve Grealish of San Francisco and Mark Jennings of Philadelphia do whatever is necessary to ensure an authentic Steelers experience. Occasionally they rent a bus -- without profit -- to shuttle patrons to games whenever the Steelers play in the Bay Area. They order Primanti sandwiches from Giordano's, a San Francisco restaurant that specializes in the legendary sandwiches.

Shanghai Kelly's owners never planned to run a Steelers Bar when they opened in 1985. The suggestion came from two regulars, Brendan Coine from Point Breeze and Tom Kent from Greenfield, who proposed seven years ago to open the bar on Sundays for Steelers games. Coine, the great grand-nephew of Steelers owner Art Rooney, and Kent, buddies since they went to Central Catholic High School in the 1980s, watched as their small group buddies grew exponentially each week as the Steelers' record improved.

Coine admits that because the secret is out and Steelers Sundays have become so immensely popular, the bar has become overcrowded. The upside, however, is that, "you'll run into someone you know from Pittsburgh," he said. "It's the place to go."

Owners Jennings and Grealish agree that their philosophy on how to run a successful business is compatible with the nature of people from Pittsburgh. "There's no corporate structure, no special sauce, we're real people. Our customers are the salt of the earth."

Paul Moore, a Steelers fan from Santa Barbara, Calif., who came to San Francisco to celebrate New Year's Eve with friends, ended up at Shanghai Kelly's after checking out the Post-Gazette's Steeler Nation Web site's list of Steelers bars.

"My parents are from Pittsburgh," he said. "I've been dressed in black and gold since birth, so I have no choice [but to be a Steelers fan.]"

As fans brace to watch the Steelers play Indianapolis in the AFC divisional playoff game Sunday, one thing is for certain: A loyal congregation will flock to Shanghai Kelly's in their Sunday best -- black and gold jerseys and caps. They will be waving Terrible Towels and doing their best to bring down the house and the Colts.