Steelers fever might be approaching an all-time high, but cold weather might reduce the cost of tickets for fans who are trying to scalp their way into Heinz Field for the AFC playoff game against the New York Jets Saturday.

"The market is horrible because of the weather," said a Steubenville, Ohio, ticket broker who declined to give his name.

Temperatures are expected to dip into the low 20s, or lower, during the game, which, for the benefit of West Coast television audiences, won't begin until 4:30 p.m.

Such temperatures are the norm for January in Pittsburgh, but compare unfavorably to the warmth of a living room. That's not to say tickets are selling for face value or less.

Old Man Winter still can't get the best of Steeler Nation.

Anthony Mignogna of Oakland advertised the availability of two tickets in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette classified section and heard from 20 interested customers the first day.

"It was amazing," said Mignogna, who sold two tickets for a tidy profit to a woman from Wexford.

Steelers fan Frank Steinle, also advertising tickets for sale, shares Mignogna's perception that the cold weather in the forecast isn't diminishing demand.

"This is Pittsburgh. We love cold weather," he said. "The colder it is, the more snow there is, the more we like it."

Steinle, a season-ticket holder, intends to go to the game himself unless a buyer offers "the right price. I'm just testing to see what the market is."

Consumers could pick through more than 60 ads from sellers of Steelers tickets in classified ads yesterday, an indication of an ample supply. Hundreds of tickets for sale can also be found on various Web sites, such as the popular eBay.com auction site.

Asking prices on eBay yesterday ranged from $300 for singles to $3,000 for seven and a parking pass. Under state law, scalpers cannot ask for more than 25 percent above face value, but that law is seldom obeyed -- or enforced.

The face value of tickets for the game range from $72 to $255, a fraction of what scalpers are asking. Ticket-hunting fans who procrastinate or who don't find anything to their liking in the classifieds, on the Internet or at ticket brokerages can always deal face-to-face with scalpers Saturday outside Heinz Field.

But buyers run some risk that the tickets for sale are counterfeit, Pittsburgh Police Chief Robert W. McNeilly Jr. warned at a news conference yesterday.

Nonetheless, judging by the amount of tickets for sale, it's safe to assume that a fair number of the fans in the stands Saturday will have entered Heinz Field with scalped tickets.

While the temperatures will be in the 20s, Steelers fever will make it feel a little warmer.