Black and gold flowed freely through Joseph "J.R." Ptaszkiewcz's veins.

Joseph Robert Ptaszkiewcz

A few weeks ago, Mr. Ptaszkiewcz, a car sales manager from Brackenridge and a lifelong Steelers fanatic, scored a $2,000 ticket to Super Bowl XL.

After riding high on the magic of three improbable playoff victories, Mr. Ptaszkiewcz and his girlfriend, Jaymi Hrivnak, made the road trip to Detroit Friday with two other friends to watch their team's rendezvous with destiny.

With his spirits in high gear, Mr. Ptaszkiewcz descended Sunday around 9:30 a.m. to the lobby of the Courtyard by Marriott to meet a friend for a walk and collapsed there, just nine hours before kickoff.

Mr. Ptaszkiewcz, who had high blood pressure, died about an hour later at a local hospital. The cause: hardening of the arteries. He was 39.

"They said he had a very, very weak heart and probably his heart just gave out -- the stress, the anxiety, the pumping up of all this, the getting ready," his mother, Bette Cornelius, 63, of Harrison, said yesterday.

"The Super Bowl was the icing on the cake, but he did see the best three games beforehand," Mrs. Cornelius said. "He saw the sixth-seeded team beat Cincinnati, Indianapolis and Denver. This is what he lived for."

	John Beale, Post-Gazette David Ptaszkiewcz, of Edgewood, shows off an autographed football and a photo of his brother, Joseph Robert "J.R." Ptaszkiewcz, that appeared in the Pittsburgh Press in 1977 in which Joseph was called a "mini Steeler." Joseph died in Detroit before the Steelers played the Seahawks in the Super Bowl. Click photo for larger image.

Mr. Ptaszkiewcz's devotion to the black and gold cannot be understated. He grew up in a hardcore Steelers household with a father who had season tickets dating back to 1964.

When he was 2, Mr. Ptaszkiewcz was dubbed "mini Steeler" by The Pittsburgh Press. In a 1994 interview with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, he said he began attending Steelers games when he was 4 and had not missed one since 1986. He had on tape every Steelers game since 1987.

Walking into Mr. Ptaszkiewcz's home was like stepping into a shrine. He had a black leather sofa with gold trim, black-and-gold kitchen cabinets, a framed original Terrible Towel, a picture of him when he was tiny with Jack Lambert and Terry Bradshaw. On a checkerboard, small Steelers and Dallas Cowboys helmets doubled as playing pieces.

"He thought the same of all the Steelers teams -- that they were always going to win the Super Bowl. His degree of confidence never wavered," said Mr. Ptaszkiewcz's friend and Super Bowl traveling companion, Greg Palochak, 37, of Cheswick.

Mr. Ptaszkiewcz graduated from Highlands High School in 1985. He spent a year at Penn State University in New Kensington, then left college to go into sales, first at a sportswear store, then a paint store and at Krebs Chrysler.

Mr. Ptaszkiewcz never married, but he found a Steelers soulmate in Ms. Hrivnak, 40, of West Deer.

They sat in separate sections of Heinz Field -- she in the end zone, he on the visitors 20-yard line -- but drove there and back together and tailgated as a couple.

Ms. Hrivnak said her boyfriend was "the best friend anybody could have wanted" -- not to mention an expert at Steelers trivia.

At 11:30 p.m. Friday, Mr. Ptaszkiewcz called his mother from a bar in Detroit.

"He said, 'Mom, the whole town is Pittsburgh.' He was in his glory," Mrs. Cornelius said.

Two days later, after learning of her son's death, she insisted that Mr. Palochak attend the game. At a gathering that night at Mrs. Cornelius' house, the Super Bowl played on TV, a distraction for a distraught mother.

In addition to his mother, Mr. Ptaszkiewcz is survived by his brother, David Ptaszkiewcz, of Braddock Hills, and sisters Christine Giunta, of Monroeville, and Beth Ann Tran, of Frederick, Md.

Visitation will be from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. today at Cicholski-Zidek Funeral Home in Harrison. A blessing service will be held there tomorrow at 9:30 a.m., followed by a Mass to be celebrated at 10 a.m. in Most Blessed Sacrament Worship Site in Harrison.

Mrs. Cornelius said her son would be buried in a white Steelers turtleneck with a Steelers throw over him, and a football and Ms. Hrivnak's ticket inside the casket. Burial will be at Mount Airy Cemetery.

---

Correction/Clarification: (Published Feb. 11, 2006) This obituary in Feb. 9, 2006 editions about Joseph "J.R." Ptaszkiewcz listed an incorrect date of birth. It was Jan. 9, 1967.