[TomWilkinson]

The Seattle Seahawks and the Pittsburgh Steelers won their conference championship games easily on Sunday and will meet on Feb. 5 in the Super Bowl.

The Seahawks beat the Carolina Panthers 34-14 after the Pittsburgh Steelers topped the Denver Broncos 34-17. History is on Pittsburgh's side: The Steelers have four titles, all won during the six seasons from 1974-79. Seattle had not won a playoff game in 21 years before last week and is going to the Super Bowl for the first time in its 30-year history.

Seattle does have some plusses though. They were the top team in the NFC, they have more players with Super Bowl experience, and they have the NFL MVP in Shaun Alexander. The Steelers were the last seed in the AFC, the first sixth-seed to make it to the big game and only the second team ever to get there by winning three games on the road. With all of that said, bettors are pounding the Steelers. The line opened at Pittsburgh –3, quickly went to 3.5 and is now –4 in many places.

The coaches for the game are two of the league’s most respected. Seattle's Mike Holmgren and Pittsburgh's Bill Cowher both became head coaches in 1992. Cowher has been with Pittsburgh for his whole career; Holmgren moved to Seattle in 1999. Holmgren won one Super Bowl with the Packers and lost another. Cowher's Steelers lost the 1996 Super Bowl to Dallas and are 2-4 in AFC title games.