By BOB LABRIOLA

Steelers.com

            Just as a total is made up of the sum of the individual parts, an NFL season is made up of a series of events that ultimately come together to define a team.

            The 2005 season began for the Pittsburgh Steelers on the day after the 2004 AFC Championship Game, and it ended with a trophy presentation on the floor of Ford Field on the first Sunday of February 2006.

            The Steelers won the fifth Super Bowl title in franchise history that day, and they did it by defeating the top three seeds in the AFC – all on the road – and then beating the No. 1 seed from the NFC in the Super Bowl. Their run was historic, and it stamped them as a deserving champion.

            As the 2006 NFL season draws closer and the Steelers get closer to reporting to training camp to begin the process of defending their championship, there is an opportunity to re-live the events that came together to create their magical run to a championship.

            The first part begins with the official end of the 2004 season and includes the highlights of the offseason:

            Jan. 24: The morning after is always raw. A day after the loss to New England in the AFC Championship Game, there isn't a dry eye in the locker room at the team's practice facility. Most of it centers around the possibility that Jerome Bettis will retire, but it's also more than that. "We honestly love each other," said Jeff Hartings. "I honestly felt that I would rather lose a game like that with this team than win a Super Bowl with a team I didn't enjoy playing with."

            Jan. 25: His postseason included five interceptions in two games, and Ben Roethlisberger finally acknowledges the toll his first NFL season took both physically and mentally. "No excuses. I think it'll help me be more prepared for next year."

            Jan. 26: The disappointment over a 15-1 season that ended short of the Super Bowl just won't dissipate. "Sometimes we wonder why," said Coach Bill Cowher. "Ours is not to wonder why, ours is to continue to try."

            March 17: Team president Art Rooney II tells the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, "I think for the people who have been around for a while now, I think we all feel like it's time (to win another Super Bowl). We've been close, and we have to take that last step."

            March 21: Cowher agrees with the boss. "I'm tired of coaching Pro Bowls," said Cowher about the job that falls to the losing staffs in the conference championship games.

            April 22: On the day before the NFL Draft, the consensus of opinion is that the No. 1 pick will be tight end Heath Miller, or an offensive lineman. A tight end?

            April 23: A tight end! The Steelers are weak there, and Miller is the best prospect at the position in the entire draft. "We want to put some good players around our young quarterback, and at the same time not get away from what we believe in," said Cowher. Obviously, Heath Miller is going to have to learn to block. The day's other picks are a cornerback and a left tackle, both good positions to choose to fortify.

            May 5: Minicamp opens, everyone attends, and everyone's goal is the same. "We've been to two AFC Championship Games, been close on both occasions," said Hines Ward. "We just didn't show up in the big game."

            June 13: The offseason program ends, and Cowher likes what he has seen. "Certainly what happens over the next six weeks before training camp is critical. There are no shortcuts, and it's not going to be easy, but that's what separates these guys from other players. If they want to be the best, they'll make those sacrifices."

            June 21: The Steelers call an 11 a.m. news conference, and it's big. No, it's not that they signed their first-round pick _ bigger than that. No, Ward didn't sign a new contract _ bigger than that. Myron Cope retires after 35 years as the color analyst on the Steelers Radio Network. Cope may be short, but he's bigger news than just about any of the players he made his living talking about.

            July 30: The Steelers will open camp in 24 hours, and the expectation level is high, very high. "I think there's a greater challenge this year coming back with that same look in our eye," says Cowher. Adds team president Art Rooney II, "In our business, the bottom line is, did you win a championship? So that's still the way you measure your success."