By Teresa Varley
Steelers.com
The Steelers are looking forward to home sweet home on Monday night when they host the Baltimore Ravens at Heinz Field.
Heinz Field has been a friendly place for the black and gold where they hold a 45-17-1 record since it opened in 2001.
And when it comes to Monday Night Football, there is definitely no place like home as the Steelers have an all-time 22-5 home record in those contests, including winning 13 straight Monday night home games.
There is no doubt that Steelers fans help to provide that home field advantage and that is something that the team will count on against the Ravens.
"We look forward to playing in front of our fans particularly on Monday night, especially after what happened to us playing on the road against a good football team last week," said head coach Mike Tomlin. "We are going to need our fans to be at their best and we know that they will be. They will be ready. We better be ready to deliver for them."
Expect Terrible Towels to make Heinz Field a sea of gold and that's something that pumps the players up.
"They play a huge role. They always play a big role," said wide receiver Hines Ward. "We feed off their energy. They know when we need them. They are going to be behind us 100% and we have to go out there and put on a good show for them."
The Steelers are coming off a disappointing 15-6 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles and will face a tough AFC North rival in Baltimore, who lead the division with a 2-0 record and the home crowd can held wreck havoc for the Ravens.
"Hopefully it is something we can capitalize on," said Tomlin. "They are 2-0, leading the division. We have a home game, so we are excited about that. Hopefully our defense does feed off of the home crowd. I am sure we will."
It will be a festive atmosphere as the team will be wearing their throwback uniforms on Monday, the first of two games they will wear them this season. And they will be wearing them in front of some Steelers alumni as players from the 1980s and 1990s, including Carnell Lake, Yancey Thigpen, Calvin Sweeney and Dennis "Dirt" Winston to name a few, who will be at the game as a part of the team's alumni weekend. The alumni, who also will attend the Taste of the Steelers on Sunday night at Heinz Field, will be introduced to the crowd before the game.
