The Bartges family of Murrysville was back at its favorite hillside spot at St. Vincent College in Latrobe yesterday, a half-year after watching the Super Bowl victory and joining the throngs for the Downtown Pittsburgh victory parade.

		Multimedia Slideshow: Drills begin Video: First peek for the fans

Taking part in February's celebration was a wild memory, but the annual ritual of visiting Steelers training camp is automatic for Corey and Kim Bartges and their children, win or lose. It made no difference that the Steelers' drills were on a football field so far away from their perch it could have been St. Louis instead of St. Vincent.

"That parade was cold and insane. This is warm and relaxing," said Corey Bartges, 42, whose 11-year-old daughter, Marissa, on a Steelers blanket nearby, seemed able to still feel the shivers of that Feb. 7 party, some 60 degrees colder than yesterday. "This is so picturesque up here, where you can enjoy a day with your family for relatively no expense."

The Bartgeses joined thousands of other Steelers fans on the first day of public training camp, turning the pastoral, academic setting into a mini-city of autograph seekers, merchandise buyers, amateur football scouts and portable potty users. The crowd was considered bigger than for the camp opening in most years, but security and traffic officials said it created no significant problems.

No attendance figures are kept since tickets aren't sold and the crowd is so scattered, but one traffic attendant who had been waving cars onto a hillside commented: "It seems like a million to me."

The afterglow of the first Steelers Super Bowl victory in 26 years has drawn predictions for bigger training camp crowds for the whole month ahead, but almost everyone interviewed yesterday said they make the trip annually. "I'm hoping to get my Roethlisberger rookie card signed," said an upbeat Amy Upholster, 36, of Luzerne County, as she joined an aunt, sister and nieces, who use training camp as the meeting point for a Latrobe-native family that has dispersed to Florida, Maine and the Poconos over the years. Many fans were happy to see quarterback Ben Roethlisberger taking part equally with teammates in the drills following his recent motorcycle accident.

The post-practice autograph frenzy, however, had 9-year-old Austin Barnes of Ellwood City looking forlorn. He held an empty sheet of paper as hundreds of bigger people shouted at players from behind railings.

"Elbow your way in there," urged his mother, Jenny, who was overseeing another son, just 16 months old, in a stroller.

"I tried," Austin replied with a shrug, then made another foray into the crowd.

Nearby, Denise Pletz, 36, of Williamsport, said she came only because her 7-year-old son heard about training camp while they attended the Pirates game Friday night, and he insisted on visiting.

"What you don't do for your kids, huh?" she said, waiting for Brady, his sister and father to return from autograph hunting. Her 14-year-old daughter, Jenna, was converted to a Steelers fan on the spot, enthralled by the training camp experience, Mrs Pletz said.

It was no place to be rooting for another team, as 13-year-old Steven Marks of Bowie, Md., found out when mentioning his passion for the St. Louis Rams. He was promptly ridiculed by his cousins.

"He was dropped on his head when he was a baby," one explained.

While family groups of all kinds were abundant, it was clearly a scene for fathers and sons, including Rob Bayne, who was tossing spirals to his 6-year-old son, Davis, who threw the football back awkwardly on the big green lawn where kids take part in interactive Steelers Experience games. Rob and Heather Bayne adopted their two boys as toddlers in Russia, and their upbringing has been black and gold ever since.

"The first thing they learned was they could talk during commercials, not during the game," Mr. Bayne explained.

He and others young and old, male and female, ex-jocks and non-athletes, spoke of the thrill they get from seeing players up close, able to take note of their size in person. Some bring rosters with them that show the numbers worn by rookies as well as more familiar veterans, so they can follow the action more astutely during drills.

"I wanted to see what Santonio Holmes looks like, after all the news about him," said Guy Mellott, 61, of Bedford, smoking on a hillside and referring to the Steelers No. 1 draft choice's legal troubles.

Others gave a glance to the two hours of mid-afternoon action but were primarily pleased to be part of Steelers Nation once more. Many said it gets them in the mood for the more intense competition to come in the fall.

Cory Jones and Emily Sosko, a dating couple from Norvelt, held a Terrible Towel a Steeler signed for her at the end of the day. They couldn't make out the signature for sure -- she just thrust it blindly over some outstretched hands -- but which player it was didn't really matter.

"Just to see them again makes me happy," Mr. Jones said as they walked off.