The Steeler wasn't "asking" him to. In one of the replays you can see the ref and he was clearly reaching for the flag as soon as the push happened but missed, first he got nothing then he came up with the blue turn over beanbag (you can see the blue hanging below his hand as he starts the throw before he spots the blue and reverses motion), then he finally came up with the flag. If he's have actually gotten his flag on the first grab it would have been in the air before Jackson caught the ball, but he missed. And so what if he's from Pitt? I'm from Arizona and hate the Cardinals, where someone lives or is born doesn't necessarily dictate their favorite team or even if they have a favorite.
Of course the ref from Pittsburgh didn't have a preference for which team won. That's what I was saying.