Super Bowl XLIII Most Valuable Player Santonio Holmes proudly displayed his new ring following a much-anticipated ceremony Tuesday night at Heinz Field honoring the players, coaches and executives who made it possible.

"I'll probably wear it the whole night. I'll probably end up sleeping with it,'' said Holmes, who caught the game-winning touchdown pass from Ben Roethlisberger in the Steelers' 27-23 victory against the Arizona Cardinals.

Holmes said his ring differs somewhat from his teammates' because "MVP'' is engraved inside.

"I've always wanted to be part of some championship team where I had a major role in it,'' Holmes said. "I played in two state championship games in high school. I won a national championship (at Ohio State). Winning the Super Bowl, this is the first time I actually had a chance to contribute, and I'm very proud of myself.''

There were stories galore among the players who appeared as happy last night as they did following the franchise's record sixth Super Bowl victory in Tampa, Fla., four months ago.

Roethlisberger was the first player to leave the ceremony, making his way to Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final at Mellon Arena. As he hurried to his car, Roethlisberger was asked if winning Super Bowl XLIII was better than winning Super Bowl XL in his second pro season.

"A little bit,'' he said.

Roethlisberger is among 22 players on the roster who have rings from Super Bowls XL and XLIII.

"You think about winning two Super Bowls, the schedule we had and what we had to go through, this one is really special,'' said cornerback Ike Taylor, one of 10 players to start in both Super Bowls.

Former Steelers Larry Foote and Nate Washington, who were members of both Super Bowl teams, also attended the ceremony.

"I'm just happy to see these guys, happy to see it all pay off,'' said Washington, who signed a free-agent contract with the Tennessee Titans.

The ring can best be descibed as a combination of flash and class.

Nearly twice the size of the previous Super Bowl ring, it features six diamonds surrounding the Steelers' logo, which rests atop a football-shaped design with 32 diamonds.

One side of the ring features six Lombardi trophies rising from Heinz Field and the score of Super Bowl XLIII. The other side has each players' name and jersey number along with the Steelers' helmet and NFL shield.

"(Defensive captain) James Farrior helped design it," safety Ryan Clark said. "He said it was big, maybe too big. I think it's perfect.

"You saw a bunch of grown men act like kids. It was kind of like Christmas. You know what you're going to get, but you never know how excited you're going to be until you open that box.''

There are a small number of people in the organization with six Super Bowl rings. That group is headed by team chairman Dan Rooney.

Hall-of-Famer Joe Greene, entering his sixth season in the personnel department, is the only person to play with the Steelers to have six Super Bowl rings. College scout Bill Nunn, who has been with the Steelers since 1968, also has six rings.

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