(Ben Liebenberg/NFL.com)

Super Bowl XLIII just ended, but the celebration is just beginning for the Steelers and their legions of fans.

Exiting the tunnel, chants of “Let’s Go Steelers! … Let’s Go Steelers! … Let’s Go Steelers!” can be heard from hundreds of fans clad in Black & Gold.

The game ended 45 minutes ago, but the celebration is ongoing. Players and their families are sharing in the win. Most have extremely large versions of Super Bowl T-shirts stretched over their jerseys and shoulder pads. Aaron Smith had his daughter in his arms. Chris Kemoeatu held the hand of his youngster.

On the side of the field near the Steelers sideline, the bottom few rows of the stands are full of fans trying to get just a little bit closer to the action.

Long snapper Jared Retkofsky is doing a snow angel in the confetti as his family takes pictures.

To the victors go the spoils.

A podium was set up at midfield of Raymond James Stadium in a matter of minutes under a flurry of confetti.

As the Steelers celebrated their Super Bowl win around the podium, several gave a few remarks, including majority owner Dan Rooney, coach Mike Tomlin, QB Ben Roethlisberger and WR Santonio Holmes.

“At the end of the day, Steeler football is 60 minutes,” Tomlin said of the comeback against the Cardinals.

Holmes was asked if Roethlisberger said anything to him in the huddle on the final drive. Holmes said he was the one who said something to Roethlisberger.

“I said to him that I wanted to be the guy who would make a play for this team,” Holmes said.

The stadium is slowly emptying out, but Steelers fans have congregated into the bottom few rows off the Pittsburgh sideline, where a few of the players are still celebrating.

We’re on the sideline in the first quarter, and Marshall Faulk is calling plays like Nostradamus. He nailed the pass play to Heath Miller that gave the Steelers the ball at the 1-yard line.

The Cardinals technically are the home team, but the noise level and Terrible Towels indicate otherwise. This is a heavy Steelers crowd.

(Ben Liebenberg/NFL.com)

The lights are on, and the marching band is on the field. Pregame festivities for Super Bowl XLIII are underway.

I’m stationed at the entrance of the tunnel where the Steelers will be coming out onto the field, and it’s simply amazing how many things are happening at once. As the band goes in one tunnel, the flag holders come out another. Everyone is wearing a headset, yelling directions at someone on the other end who, presumably, also is wearing a headset.

They’re getting close to paying tribute to Chesley B. “Sully” Sullenberger and the crew of U.S. Airways flight 1549, which crash-landed in the Hudson River.

Steelers coach Mike Tomlin just weaved through a bunch of the pregame flag people to get onto the field. The Steelers, who aren’t being announced, just huddled in the tunnel for a last-minute chat before bursting out onto the field.

From this vantage point, this is close to a Steelers home game.

Two Steelers fans above me are screaming about nearly everything that happens, and one has almost completely lost his voice already. As one of his screams turned into a shrill, high-pitched whine, an event worker and I looked at each other and said at the exact same time: That’s awesome.

While milling around the field for pregame, Marshall Faulk shared a great story. Cardinals WR Larry Fitzgerald was texting Faulk last night, trying to figure out how to get to sleep.

Faulk’s advice? Picture yourself on the podium hoisting the Lombardi Trophy. You’ll fall asleep.

(Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

The masses are making their way over from the NFL Experience and NFL tailgate party to Raymond James Stadium. The building is almost full now … it’s getting close.

The tailgate extravagance might just be — and very likely is — the happiest place on earth right now. I’ve never seen so many people having such a good time. As we blogged earlier, Journey is sounding good, and I was told the group has been playing for a long time.

Two disconcerting things from my experience: One, the mimes. Mimes everywhere. That’s a bit too much. Two, there must be a thousand seagulls floating above the grounds. There’s just too much food here for there not to be seagulls. It could be an ugly situation later.

There’s also this … getting a text message out of the stadium is almost impossible. There must be too many people on their phones and texting right now. If you’ve ever wondered who all the people on the sidelines are at the Super Bowl, I’m with you. It’s amazing how many people are milling about.

The countdown is down to about 28 minutes. The Steelers have headed to the locker room. The Cardinals are still out on the field going through pregame warmups.

We’re about two hours away from Super Bowl XLIII kickoff, and most of the Steelers have taken the field to warm up — themselves and the crowd, which at this point is about half full but consists mostly of Steelers fans. It’s a sea of Terrible Towels out here, and needless to say, they are primed for this game.

One pregame note: It’s about 66 degrees out here with a slight breeze toward the south end zone. Nice day to be a kicker. Pittsburgh’s Jeff Reed kicked a 56-yarder not long ago.

Pat Kirwan and Gil Brandt are here in the press box, taking your questions in our live chat.

I’m blogging with my laptop resting on the back seat of a golf cart outside Raymond James Stadium, which is a first. I needed a moment to collect my blogging thoughts, with the NFL tailgate party area looming ahead.

Standing in the tunnel where the Steelers pass through on their way to field, I couldn’t help but notice how creepy their mascot, Steely McBeam, is. Not cute, cuddly or goofy in any way … what fun is that? Just creepy. Scares-little-kids-type creepy. Those within earshot of me agreed.

Not more than five seconds later, actress Alyssa Milano caught my eye. And then — this is no joke — gave me a casual but flirty look. And just to make sure I was paying attention (which I was, by the way), she did it again. I can’t remember what my reaction was or if I smiled or anything. I’m caught a bit off guard by this development but had to share, as this is truly part of sharing the Super Bowl experience with you.

Blog on, I say. Blog on.

Just got back from the NFL’s tailgate party, where Journey is entertaining hundreds of well-connected fans and celebrities, including the likes of Alonzo Mourning, Andy Roddick, Brooklyn Decker (Roddick’s swimsuit-model girlfriend) and some much appreciative family and friends here for all the festivities.

As Journey began the set (that new guy really does sound like Steve Perry), it occurred to me that with the Pro Bowl right around the corner, we’re in the midst of the final days of the NFL’s “Believe in Now” slogan. Holding back the tears, I made my way to the press-box elevator, which I rode with none other than Alyssa Milano.

I don’t care what happens in this game. My Super Bowl experience is complete.

(G.Newman Lowrance/NFL.com)

Cardinals owner Bill Bidwill has made his way onto the field. He’s taking a stroll down the Cardinals’ sideline, sporting his customary bowtie. Bidwill’s son Michael, the team’s president, is donning his bright red blazer and a red tie.

A few players are beginning to come out onto the field for some early running. Cardinals DE Bertrand Berry and K Neil Rackers are two of them.

There are competing blogs reporting the ratio of Steelers fans to Cardinals fans is 10-to-1, but it seems more like 15-to-1. There are pockets of Cardinals fans, but you can’t glance anywhere in the stands without seeing black and gold.

The two fans who are in the last row of Section 342 at the top of the stadium have been here for over an hour and have about three more hours to go before kickoff. There’s early, and then there’s that.

About three hours until kickoff. Everybody ready? We might need to get an update about what’s going on at the NFL tailgate party outside the stadium.

Steelers WR Hines Ward just sprinted onto the field and took a quick lap. He didn’t appear to be limited at all by the knee injury he suffered in the AFC Championship Game.

Steelers fans waved their Terrible Towels and cheered on Ward as he sprinted around. Steelers fans in the crowd said that this could be like a home game for the Black and Gold.

Ward stopped his run to hug former teammate Jerome Bettis, who was on the field talking with some players.

QB Kurt Warner took the field a few moments later and shared a hug with Ward. Warner is currently chatting with Tiki Barber and Bettis.

NFL.com’s Gil Brandt is wearing his Super Bowl XII ring. That’s what today is all about: the rings.

It’s three-plus hours before kickoff, and fans are trickling into Raymond James Stadium.

Steelers fans are keeping it simple with a lot of black jerseys, mostly representing Ben Roethlisberger, Troy Polamalu and Heath Miller. There are a few LaMarr Woodley and James Harrison jerseys mixed in. Cardinals fans are a little more all over the board. Face painting appears to be popular in Arizona. I saw two fans with red suits, painted faces and Ronald McDonald-like red afros outside the stadium. It’s going to taint someone’s Super Bowl experience to sit behind them.

It’s starting to get cloudy over Tampa.

I’m wondering, what’s going to be the deal with the cannons on the pirate (errrr, Buccaneer) ship today? Are they going to shoot off when both teams score? Not at all? This is clearly important. Need to find the answer to that.

(Charlie Riedel/AP)

It wouldn’t be the Super Bowl without exorbitant concession prices.

A quick rundown of some of the food and beverages on sale around the stadium:

Water – $5

Draft beer – $10

French fries – $7

Nachos – $8

Bacon cheddar burger – $10

And of course, it wouldn’t be the Super Bowl without $7 s’mores or sushi platters going for $25 — the same price as a Super Bowl XLIII program.

If it’s $5 peanuts you’re looking for, you’re out of luck. The recent salmonella outbreak has halted all sales.

Up here in the NFL.com press box, we have the choice of ham and cheese or ham and cheese. Hey, at least it’s free.

One other thing worth mentioning: All revenues from concessions, as well as all tips, are being split between Raymond James Stadium and various local charities. The burgers at one stand are going toward the Gaither High School band, while a Coors Light a little further down goes toward the classrooms at Frontier Elementary School.

For that reason, and the simple fact that it’s the Super Bowl, all stadium employees are exuding an especially cheery demeanor. No matter what religion you follow, this is one of the biggest, most widely celebrated holidays around the country, not to mention the world. Everyone here, from the guy taking your ticket to the person selling you a beer; Steelers fans, Cardinals fans, football fans, sports fans — they’re are all happy to be here.

(Ben Liebenberg/NFL.com)

Preparations are ongoing at Raymond James Stadium.

The temperature on the sidelines is warm but manageable. Even in the sun and wearing a suit, it’s comfortable. There is a light breeze. This will be perfect for football.

On the Steelers sideline, workers are setting up behind the benches. Some of the Steelers staff were just out at midfield, holding helmets to their ears, testing out the communication device that Ben Roethlisberger will have in his helmet. They walked to different points on the field to make sure it worked everywhere.

In the area between the end zones and the stands, photographers are using duct tape and sharpies to mark the territory where they’ll be stationed during the game. Our guy Ben Liebenberg held his own, but they’re a spicy bunch.

NFL Network is set up on the Cardinals sideline. On the smaller podium set, Derrick Brooks and John Lynch have joined Rod Woodson and Adam Schefter.

NFL Films gets a crazy number of shots from Super Bowls. One of the crew guys told me they’ll have 15 cameras getting footage simultaneously during the game.

(Win McNamee/Getty Images)

A couple of early observations. One of the fascinating aspects of an event this size is the number of people it takes to pull it off. Security, in particular, is something to witness.

Going through security into Raymond James Stadium was quick and painless. I hadn’t noticed this earlier, but the photo credential it takes to get into the stadium actually has a bar code on it. A security person scans it with a hand-held device, and it recognizes that your credential is legit, and you are who you say you are. I am who they thought I was.

As we waited for the bomb-sniffing dog to go through the rows of bags that were brought in, another security person told me he estimated that there were 3,000 security personnel in and around the stadium today. That’s a number to think about.

Here’s another: I walked by the stadium kitchen on my way in and there were about 25 cooks preparing food. One of them was rolling sushi. Football and sushi. Go Super Bowl.

Outside Pittsburgh’s locker room, former Steelers RB Jerome Bettis was with others from the NBC game broadcast crew getting ready. I saw Dan Patrick too, another member of NBC’s crew. I was just told NBC has 21 people who will be on camera for today’s broadcast. I can’t imagine there is any part of the stadium they won’t have covered.