President Barack Obama welcomed the Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers to the White House on Thursday, celebrating the National Football League squad's record sixth championship.

Obama said before February's NFL title game that he was cheering for the Steelers, whose 1970s stars made a lasting impression upon him, but that his first loyalties will always remain with his hometown Chicago Bears.

"I already told these guys no matter how big they are, I am a Bears fan, but it is no secret that I was pulling for the Steelers during the Super Bowl last year," Obama said.

"This isn't me trying to have it both ways. Growing up in Hawaii when I was a kid we didn't have a local football team.

"When I started playing and started paying attention to football, it was guys like Terry Bradshaw, Franco Harris and the Steel Curtain... Those were the guys that were playing and so I became a Steelers fan."

Two months ago, Obama named Dan Rooney, the Steelers' chairman, as ambassador to Ireland.

"I don't know of anybody who is more of a gentlemen who is more loyal or who is more committed to excellence than Mr. Rooney," Obama said. "And he is humble. This kind of attention embarrasses him but he has no choice."

Obama also praised Steelers coach Mike Tomlin, who joined his successful campaign to win the key swing state of Pennsylvania in last November's general election.

"This is a new team for a new era and that embodied by coach Tomlin," Obama said. "He didn't just win the Super Bowl. He also happened to be NFL Coach of the Year, the youngest coach ever to win a Super Bowl."

The Steelers and US soldiers worked to assemble care packages for US troops during the appearance.

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