PITTSBURGH — The green room backstage — which is the black-and-gold room here — is brimming with celebrities, including country-music singer Tim McGraw and his wife, Faith Hill; former Raiders WR Tim Brown and 2009 Hall of Fame inductee Rod Woodson.

Plenty of Hall of Fame running backs are in the VIP area to the side of the main stage, too, with Marcus Allen, Eric Dickerson and Thurman Thomas all chatting with fans, and Warrick Dunn, Keenan McCardell and Kordell Stewart also are here. Everything here is black and gold — even the shots, which are dyed vodka and cranberry juice. Talk about going to great lengths.

Brown said he is anxious to see how the Titans’ defense responds without DT Albert Haynesworth, who signed a free-agent contract with the Redskins this offseason. Brown said the defense will be different without the big fella drawing double teams, all of a sudden making everybody on the unit “average.”

McCardell believes the Steelers will continue to be hungry despite last season’s Super Bowl victory. He said starting off with a conference rival will be a big plus for the Steelers coming out of the gate. And really, who can forget Titans RB LenDale White stomping on a Terrible Towel last year?

Woodson whipped the crowd into a frenzy by introducing McGraw a few minutes ago: “You ready to show how Steelers Nation do it?”

– Frank Tadych