Super Bowl XL failed to excel, but what it lacked in technical merit it made up for in emotional charge. After a game of turnovers, penalties and missed opportunities, the Pittsburgh Steelers joined the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers as the only teams to win five Super Bowls, and Bill Cowher, the head coach, and Jerome Bettis, the running back, finally completed long personal quests for success.

Cowher, the longest-tenured head coach in the Natioinal Football League, fulfilled a dream by handing the Vince Lombardi trophy to Daniel Rooney, the Steelers' owner, who has stuck by him for 14 years in which he has been unable to deliver the sport's ultimate prize. "I've been waiting a long time to do this," Cowher said, passing the solid silver trophy to Rooney. "This is yours, man. This is special group of coaches, a special group of players and I was a small part."

The only more popular winner than Cowher was Bettis, the Detroit native known as "The Bus". Having postponed his retirement a year ago in the hopes of winning his first Super Bowl in his home city, he confirmed after the game that he would now bring down the curtain on his distinguished career. "It feels incredible," he said. "My teammates put me on their backs and brought me home. I played this game to win a championship, I'm a champion, and I think The Bus's last stop is here in Detroit. I decided to come back to try to win a Championship - mission accomplished. So with that, I have to bid farewell. It's official, like the referee's whistle."

Bettis, 33, was watched, as always, by his parents Gladys, 59, and Johnnie, 63, who have attended all their son's games since high school. "I'm ecstatic, and I'm still crying," Gladys said. "Me too, although I got over my crying now," her husband added. The victory made up for his peripheral role in the game, his 43 yards rushing overshadowed by the 93 yards on ten carries of Willie Parker. "We were sixth seeds and nobody expected us to do this," Parker said. "Now we're heading back to Pittsburgh for a parade."

Ben Roethlisberger, at 23 years 340 days, became the youngest quarterback to lead a team to victory, but although he scored his team's first touchdown, both he and Matt Hasselbeck, the Seahawks quarterback, had disappointing games. "We got the win and that's all that matters," Roethlisberger said. "I can't even believe it's real right now."

The award for the game's most valuable player went to Hines Ward, the Pittsburgh wide receiver, who made five catches for 143 yards and the fourth-quarter touchdown that sealed the win. He was run close by Antwaan Randle El, the versatile Pittsburgh receiver who also threw for Ward's touchdown, the first thrown by a wide receiver in Super Bowl history. "I couldn't have done it without my coaches," Ward said. "They called a great play at the right time. Antwaan, you threw a hell of a ball."

Although the Steelers were far from convincing on the night, their accomplishment was historic. No sixth-seeded team had previously reached, let alone won, a Super Bowl. The only previous team to win through three play-off rounds on the road, the 1985 New England Patriots, had been soundly thrashed by the Chicago Bears in the big game. But the Steelers, who had beaten the No 1, 2 and 3 seeds in the AFC, then disposed of the Seattle Seahawks, the top seeds in the NFC.

The game itself was an object lesson to any team in any sport of the importance of putting points on the board when on top. The Seahawks failed to do so despite having the upper hand for long stretches, and hurt themselves badly with a series of penalties and two missed field goals.

Even so, they will wonder how they failed to return to Washington State as victors after the first appearance in a Super Bowl in their 30-year history. Fingers will be pointed in the direction of Shaun Alexander, the running back who set an NFL record with 28 touchdowns during the regular season, but failed once again to deliver on the big occasion.

Jerramy Stevens, the tight end, had drawn the ire of the Steelers last week by proclaiming that Bettis would retire without the trophy, but he helped Bettis retire a winner by dropping two catches that would have meant vital first downs. By the time he atoned with a touchdown catch, much of the damage had been done. "We have been sharper," Mike Holmgren, the Seattle head coach, said. "Give credit to the Steelers. They are a difficut team to play against."

Waving their traditional yellow "terrible towels", the Pittsburgh fans turned Ford Field into a home field, outnumbering the Seattle followers by about six to one. Even so, Pittsburgh seemed nervous at first, but despite the ability of Hasselbeck to find Darrell Jackson, the wide receiver, apparently at will, Seattle could manage no more in the first half than a field goal converted by Josh Brown from 47 yards. They paid the penalty when Roethlisberger scored on a one-yard run with two minutes of the second quarter, the ball just breaking the plane of the goalline.

Down 7-3, Seattle attempted to hit back before half time, but again failed to capitalise on good chances. Twice Hasselbeck could not keep passes to Jackson in bounds, and when they settled for a field goal, Brown missed from 54 yards.