VERONA — Steelers fans like to believe they bleed black and gold but Ron Vergerio bleeds for the black and gold.

Vergerio, 57, of Harmar has shed more than a few drops of blood in becoming a living, breathing tapestry of Pittsburgh Steelers images through the work of tattoo artist Chris Blickenderfer.

Thursday at Blickenderfer's shop, American Tattoo along Allegheny River Boulevard, he and Vergerio were at it again. To commemorate the Steelers' appearance in Super Bowl XLV on Sunday, Blickenderfer was preparing to immortalize right offensive tackle Flozell Adams on Vergerio's left forearm.

Why choose Adams, who came to the Steelers in July as free agent, to join Steelers' greats such as Joey Porter, Jack Lambert, Terry Bradshaw, Jerome Bettis and team founder Art Rooney Sr. already enshrined on his skin?

"This tattoo is for the Super Bowl, and when I think of this Super Bowl, I think of him," Vergerio said.

He said when Adams come out of college, he liked him and hoped the Steelers would draft him.

Instead, Adams went on to a stellar career with the Dallas Cowboys but never won a championship. Now in the twilight of his career, Adams is in his first Super Bowl.

Vergerio said he liked the way Adams came in, adjusted to a new position without complaining and quietly did his job, becoming a key contributor to the team's success.

In Blickenderfer's latest rendering, a menacing Adams emerges from behind the stenciled word "Steelers."

"With all the tattoos we have on there, we don't have 'Steelers' written anywhere," Blickenderfer said, pausing from his work. "That's weird."

But even without it, there is no mistaking where Vergerio's loyalty lies. His back is a panorama of Pittsburgh's skyline set in behind images of Steelers players recognizable by their numbers. Rooney smokes his cigar up high on the left side while Porter looms over the skyline on the right side.

"It's a work in progress," Blickenderfer said. "You can see some stuff on the side that we're still doing."

Vergerio's arms and lower legs, chest and rib cage display other players as well as his first tattoo, a football with a Steelers logo, baring teeth like a crocodile.

He got that one in 1999, never thinking he would continue adding Steelers tattoos to the point where he has become something of a celebrity, if not a legend among Steelers players and fans. Nor did he think he would make three appearances in stories done by national networks such as ABC Sports and HBO or in newspaper stories across the country.

"If anyone should be a legend, it should be him," Vergerio said, nodding toward his tattoo artist. "Chris has all the talent; I just sit there."

He said getting the tattoos can hurt but it varies according to the location on his body. He said he is particularly sensitive around the collarbone.

But Blickenderfer said, "Ron's like tattooing a cadaver, he just sits there. He's never cried 'uncle.' In fact, it's me who usually says, 'That's enough for today.'"

Although the images he's created are detailed, Blickenderfer never studied art.

"Everything just came naturally to me," Blickenderfer said.

He said he worked out an agreement with Vergerio to be paid at a rate other than the standard $100 per hour.

So how much would all of Vergerio's ink cost?

"If it was full rate, I think it's safe to say it would probably be between $15,000 and $25,000," Vergerio said.

But Vergerio said he would not allow anyone other than Blickenderfer to create a tattoo for him.

"Him being a Steelers fan helps," Vergerio said. "He has a feel for it; he knows the Steelers."

Vergerio is an old-school Steelers fan who can remember the dark days the franchise endured before the team started winning Super Bowls in the 1970s.

That's evidenced by the tattoo on the left side of his chest: a likeness of Steelers fearsome defensive tackle Eugene "Big Daddy" Lipscomb, who played during the 1960s and epitomized the tough defense the team was known for even then.

"When you think of an intimidating football player, it was him," Vergerio said. "He's the one who got me interested as a kid in the Steelers and football."

He said he is nervous about the upcoming game against the Packers, but said he always is before a Super Bowl.

"I think it's going to come down to someone making a 45-yard field goal," he said, without predicting who it will be.

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