Jerome Bettis while working for www.triblive.comJerome Bettis struggles to get up the stairs in his Hampton, PA home the morning after a Pittsburgh Steelers game Oct. 11, 2004.
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PHILIP G. PAVELY PHOTO

Hanging out with Pittsburgh Steelers great Jerome Bettis the day after a football game for a story on how NFL players feel the day after a game was eye-opening, literally, as I greeted "The Bus" at his home the moment after he woke up. From his eating a bowl of cereal to sitting on the couch and watching ESPN from the previous nights game, which I photographed for www.triblive.com , to the moment when teammate Hines Ward stopped by to drop off his kids, the day was quite memorable. But the most memorable moment came when the running back ascended his steps on all fours because of the beating he took the night before.