TAMPA, Fla. — The pilot of their airplane stuck a team flag out the cockpit window as the Arizona Cardinals landed in a place few could have imagined.

Ever.

A team whose fans haven't touched ground since the start of a stunning postseason run in early January, arrived in the Super Bowl city yesterday. With many players videotaping the proceedings — the walk across the tarmac, the bus ride to the team hotel, the first onslaught of media — it was clear that just being here meant something to a franchise long considered an NFL doormat.

"It's a great moment," said safety Adrian Wilson, the longest-tenured Cardinal. "To be here, to go through all the teams, to go through all the players, it's big for the whole organization. It's big for the players who are here right now.

"You never know the type of team you have and you never know the circumstances. This team and this group of guys who you have right now, I think we are special."

Not that the Steelers, seeking an unprecedented sixth Super Bowl title, don't have a special feeling about their surroundings. Even though a huge chunk of them have been this route before, the cameras were out, the smiles were wide, and the warm sun was welcoming.

"Are you kidding?" said wide receiver Hines Ward, the MVP of the Steelers' 2006 Super Bowl win over Seattle. "It's very nice to be in Tampa; it was snowing on our way here. They had to defrost the plane there was so much snow on the ground.

"It's the Super Bowl and it's a great event to take part in and, personally, I love the South, everything about being down in the South," said Ward, who grew up in Georgia. "Being in Florida, the weather is something. It definitely beats being back in Pittsburgh."

Ward and his teammates fully expect Tampa to resemble the Steel City by the weekend. No, not weather-wise; but in color, as in black and gold.

Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger envisions a tsunami of Terrible Towels.

"It's awesome," he said. "Every time we go to an away-city, in a way it feels like a home game because there are so many fans. We expect them to be out there and having fun."

For now, with no practice sessions until tomorrow, the players actually can have some fun, too. Not too much, of course.

Neither coach is about to clamp down on his players this early in the week. They promise to keep things reasonable and as normal as possible, so don't look for any early curfews like the ones Dick Vermeil imposed on his 1980 Eagles. Philly's players got tighter as the week wore on, even as the Oakland Raiders were partying across New Orleans.

By game time, the Eagles could barely breathe, let alone play football, and they were routed by the loose Raiders.

"He hasn't put any handcuffs on us," James Harrison, the defensive player of the year, said, referring to coach Mike Tomlin. "We have the same freedoms as if we were staying in Pittsburgh for a week, as opposed to here."

Same thing for the Cardinals, whose coach, Ken Whisenhunt, was Pittsburgh's offensive coordinator for that fifth Super Bowl win. Whisenhunt understands the importance of sticking to the norms, even if this is more than uncharted territory for the Cardinals.

He also believes the week the Cardinals spent in the East in September, with back-to-back games in Washington and the Meadowlands, will be beneficial now. Even if Arizona lost both games.

"This is a week of distractions," he said, "and this is one distraction that is not new to us. It helps us minimize that distraction."

Regardless, both coaches, as well as veterans who have gotten this far — yes, the Cardinals have some players who made Super Bowl teams elsewhere, including quarterback Kurt Warner — can't stress enough the importance of not stressing too much.

"I'm just going to have fun and enjoy it," Roethlisberger said. "I don't know if it's my last one, you never know. I hope not. I hope I can come back to five more of these, but you just never know."

COWBOYS

T.O. GETTING HIS OWN REALITY TV SHOW

Terrell Owens hopes to score with a new cable reality show.

Dallas' controversial wide receiver will star in his own show on VH1 this summer, giving fans a look into his life off the field.

VH1 announced yesterday that the series takes place in the offseason, and T.O.'s best friends and publicists — Monique Jackson and Kita Williams — will help him re-examine his personal life. The two will work as "matchmakers and therapists" for Owens.

ELSEWHERE

Panthers: Carolina quickly filled its opening at defensive coordinator, hiring Ron Meeks yesterday to replace Mike Trgovac. Four days after Trgovac abruptly left after being offered a contract extension, the Panthers turned their struggling defense to Meeks, who spent the past seven seasons running Indianapolis' unit.

Ravens: Baltimore promoted Greg Mattison to defensive coordinator yesterday, a move designed to maintain a sense of continuity on a unit that excelled under the departed Rex Ryan. The 59-year-old Mattison was hired as Baltimore's linebackers coach last February. Although he has only one year of NFL experience, Mattison was defensive coordinator at Michigan, Notre Dame and Florida.

Rams: New coach Steve Spagnuolo hired three coaches for his staff yesterday, including Dick Curl as his assistant head coach/quarterbacks coach. Spagnuolo also hired Paul Ferraro as a defensive assistant and Frank Leonard as an offensive assistant.

In the courts: The widow of Minnesota Vikings lineman Korey Stringer reached a settlement with the NFL over his heatstroke death during training camp in 2001. Under an agreement with Kelci Stringer, the NFL will support her efforts to create a heat illness prevention program. No other terms of the settlement announced yesterday by a family spokesman were released.

In the courts: Former Vikings great Carl Eller was convicted yesterday of assaulting a police officer who tried to arrest him after he swerved and nearly struck a squad car last April. Hennepin County (Minn.) District Judge Dan Mabley ruled Eller was guilty of fourth-degree assault of an officer and second-degree refusing to submit to a field sobriety test. Mabley has seven days to outline his decision in a written order. The 67-year-old Eller faces up to a year on each count when he is sentenced Feb. 23. County lawyer Mike Freeman said any jail sentence would be served in a workhouse, not prison.

Redskins: Washington made a second round of layoffs yesterday, dismissing six employees in the stadium ticket office and four seasonal employees. The six laid off at the stadium worked in general admission sales. The four seasonal employees worked at the Redskins Park training facility.

Obituary: Former NFL lineman Jerry Fowler died yesterday in Baton Rouge, La., of complications from surgery. He was 68. Fowler played in four games for the Houston Oilers in 1964 before moving on to politics.