Sep 9, 2002 By Mike Ciarochi 3 min read

FOXBORO, Mass. – Tonight’s the night … finally. The Steelers open their 2002 season when they help the New England Patriots christen Gillette Stadium under the bright lights of “Monday Night Football.” Kickoff is scheduled for 9:07 p.m.

While the game also marks the regular-season debut of John Madden in the Monday night booth, the Steelers hope it is another 20 years before they open a season on a Monday night. It last happened 20 years ago, when Pittsburgh opened with a 36-28 win at Dallas on Sept. 13, 1982.

Steelers coach Bill Cowher, even though he owns a 14-4 record on Monday nights, is a little bit less than enthusiastic about the 11-day wait his team will have endured by the time kickoff rolls around.

“You go through training camp, you go through the preseason and you play games,” Cowher said. “Everybody knows that the games are not going to count; that you are going to start 0-0, so you wait for the regular season to get here and then after it is here, you are the last game that has to be played.”

“It’s tougher, definitely,” center Jeff Hartings said. “You’re coming out of camp and you’re ready to play a game. Monday night games are great because of all the excitement and all the other teams are watching, but you like to have them later in the season.”

Consequently, to open the season on Monday night means you go into your first game trailing roughly half the league by half a game.

But this game was quite an obvious choice to be held back a day and a half. It pits the reigning Super Bowl champions against their AFC championship game opponent. The Patriots got to Super Bowl XXXVI by beating the Steelers, 24-17, last January at Heinz Field. Plus, the Patriots will be opening a new stadium and the league loves to showcase its new facilities.

“It’s a big game, Monday night, new stadium and against the defending champs,” running back Jerome Bettis said. “In order to be the champs, you have to beat the champs. They are the defending champs until someone dethrones them.”

As for opening on a Monday night, Bettis said it pretty much comes with the territory. To open on a Monday night means the league, too, expects big things from your team.

“It doesn’t matter,” Bettis said. “We have enough to deal with and we already know it’s a big game. I’m looking forward to it.”

Come Tuesday morning, Bettis will have a different opinion because he and the Steelers will run smack into a short week, as they prepare for the Oakland Raiders to visit next Sunday night.

“That’s when it’s no fun,” Bettis said of the short week to follow.

That, however, won’t make today go any faster for the players or coaches.

“You have to sit around all weekend while everyone else is playing and then you have to sit around all day Monday before you play,” Cowher said. “It feels like that first game is never going to get here.”

It will, of course. It just takes a bit more patience.