Prior to the Philadelphia Eagles-Pittsburgh Steelers game on Sunday, Gov. Ed Rendell announced that he would ask NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue to have the Super Bowl in State College if the Eagles and Steelers make it to the big game.

The Super Bowl is scheduled for Feb. 6 in Jacksonville, Fla., and is not likely to change because of the extensive advance planning involved.

NFL officials were unavailable for comment yesterday.

The Steelers (7-1) are coming off a convincing 27-3 win over the Eagles (7-1), handing the Birds their first loss of the year. The previous week, the Steelers made headlines by defeating the defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots (7-1), breaking the Patriots' record 21-game winning streak.

"Obviously, the Eagles and the Steelers are Super Bowl contenders, and they've both done an incredible job this year," Kate Philips, a Rendell spokeswoman, said. "The governor's excited at such a prospect because of the excitement it would bring to fans and since he is such a big sports fan himself."

Philips said Rendell thinks State College would be the ideal location if the teams make it because it is a neutral location and about an equal distance from the two major cities. She also said Beaver Stadium was capable of supporting the numbers of fans that go to the game each year.

"Right now, it's too much of a hypothetical situation," Philips said. "It's too early in the season to say who would make it, and also, the commissioner has to approve of the location."

Penn State spokesman Bill Mahon said a lot of things would have to happen for the Super Bowl to be held at Penn State.

"We would love to have Beaver Stadium hold the Super Bowl," Mahon said. "But we realize that the location of the Super Bowl is booked years in advance and that the places have warmer climates than us and have thousands of hotel rooms."

The closest the two teams have come to being in the Super Bowl was in 2001, when both teams were only one win away.

That year, the Eagles lost to the St. Louis Rams 29-24 in the NFC championship, while the Steelers fell to the ultimate Super Bowl champion New England Patriots 24-17 in the AFC championship.

The Steelers' last trip to the Super Bowl was in 1996, when they lost to the Dallas Cowboys 27-17.

Meanwhile, the Eagles have lost the NFC championship game for three consecutive years. Their last trip to the Super Bowl was in 1980, when they lost to the Oakland Raiders 27-10.

Both teams, however, are off to strong starts this year, and the chance of both teams advancing far in the playoffs is again a definite possibility.

Philips said there are several benefits to an Eagles-Steelers matchup, including great fan excitement and economic benefits to Pennsylvania.

"It would be one of the greatest matchups in Super Bowl history, and fans would come to State College all across the state and even country to cheer on their team," she said.

Jessie Krautbauer (senior-secondary education and chemistry) agreed.

"It would be awesome," Krautbauer said. "It would definitely be good for businesses bringing in over a hundred thousand people."

Lincoln Carpenter (graduate-electrical engineering) is not hopeful of a State College Super Bowl.

"They'll never have a Super Bowl in a northern state because of the cold weather; the commission would not allow it," Carpenter said. "As much as I would love for it to happen."

Mahon said that if somehow everything falls into place and the NFL decides to break with tradition, he'd welcome holding TV's biggest event of the year.

"We'll roll out the red carpet," Mahon said.