From Findlay to Fort Duquesne and Everything in Between
I’m a crier. I cried on the train to work when Andrew McCutchen — the man who brought playoff baseball back to Pittsburgh — said goodbye. I was overcome with emotion (and tears) when 3-time Stanley Cup Champion, Marc-André Fleury left for Las Vegas. But this…this was like nothing I’d ever experienced.
In all my life watching sports, I have never seen anything like this at a football game. A quarterback embracing his city, just as the city has embraced him for 18 straight seasons. But the best was yet to come.
That’s some heavy stuff. The pinnacle. 18 years of sacrifice, and this right here is what it was all for.
So I cried again.
Benjamin Todd Roethlisberger Sr. has retired, and that sentence still hasn’t sunk in yet. Not even close. It probably won’t set in until that first snap. Heinz Field. Mid-September. A sunny Pittsburgh afternoon with a fall chill in the air.
I grew up in the friendly confines of the Allegheny River, in the town of East Brady, PA. Home of Hall of Fame Quarterback, Jim Kelly. And I can honestly say there is no better time of year in Western Pennsylvania than early fall.
To quote the 1999 MTV classic Varsity Blues, “Football is a way of life.” Steeler Fridays were a weekly tradition at school. Growing up, Sundays were reserved for Steelers football. If it wasn’t 1pm Steelers parties, it was family dinner around the TV on Sunday and Monday nights. Get the picture?
So when Big Ben went 13–0 in his rookie season after replacing an injured Tommy Maddox, all of Pittsburgh knew there was something special about the kid from Findlay, Ohio.
I don’t think we realized exactly how special until the very next season, when Roethlisberger would miraculously lead the 6-seed Steelers to three playoff road wins. Taking his team — and an entire city — back to the promised land.
Pittsburgh 21, Seattle 10.
One for the thumb. City of Champions. And boy, did we celebrate like it. An estimated quarter of a million yinzers packed downtown for the Super Bowl parade. People called in sick to work, students (me) who had school that day just…didn’t go. What a time.
But this — this moment. This was it for me.
Big Ben directing traffic, less than 4 feet away from me. A day I’ll never forget.
The quarterback would follow up his first championship with an (arguably) even more significant Super Bowl win in February of 2009 against the Arizona Cardinals. Playing under newly hired coach Mike Tomlin, Roethlisberger would throw the greatest touchdown pass in Super Bowl history. Leading the Steelers to victory once again.
If you can honestly watch that play and say with confidence that it isn’t the greatest play in Super Bowl history, then you’re in total denial.
Pittsburgh 27, Arizona 23.
As we all know, there were dark days ahead. It’s the stuff that Steelers’ fans don’t like talking about.
In July of 2009 a lawsuit was filed by a woman named Andrea McNulty, a Lake Tahoe hotel worker. The suit claimed that in July of 2008, Roethlisberger was staying at the Nevada hotel while participating in a celebrity golf tournament. McNulty stated that the quarterback had asked her for assistance in fixing the television in his room, and that he then forced himself on her.
She also filed suits against multiple co-workers, stating that they prevented a full investigation, and were telling lies about her.
In 2012, 4 years after the alleged assault had taken place, it was reported that both sides had reached a settlement. Although no specific amount of money was ever disclosed.
Instead of “Here we go Steelers” it was “Here we go again.” In March 2010, Roethlisberger was accused of assaulting a 20-year-old college student at a bar in Milledgeville, Georgia. The unidentified woman accused Ben of following her into a bathroom and sexually assaulting her.
Charges were never filed due to lack of evidence.
Both accusations are truly hard to ignore, especially given the on-field consequences handed down by the NFL.
We tend to forget that Ben was suspended 6 games, yet had the suspension reduced to 4 games. Through it all, he would still lead the Steelers to another Super Bowl appearance.
Green Bay 31, Pittsburgh 25.
In July of 2011, Roethlisberger married Ashley Harlan. They now have three children together. On the surface it seems like the quarterback did what the Steelers, fanbase, and honestly the entire NFL wanted him to do…Grow up.
All I can say is, I hope so. For the victims’ sakes. And for the sake of Roethlisberger who now has a daughter of his own.
On the field it’s been a wild ride to say the least. One that, as a fan I wouldn’t change for the world. From nearly impossible scrambles, to injuries, to 5 interception games, to the best QB/WR tandem we may ever see in Pittsburgh…
Another one I’ll never forget. Christmas Day. Baltimore Ravens. For the Division. Ben — > AB.
If there’s one thing that holds true in life, it’s that all good things must come to an end. It was true with Jerome Bettis, Heath Miller, Troy Polamalu, Antonio Brown, Le’Veon Bell, and countless others. We can now add number 7 to that list.
I grew up in Pittsburgh, but at this point I’m a New Yorker. I’ve been in NYC for over 10 years and there isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t bleed black and gold. It sounds ridiculous that a grown man would root for another grown man the way that I did for Ben Roethlisberger. Every game. For 18 years. The way he would leave everything out on the field, so I would somehow have to “match” that passion as a fan. The way I would get chills every time he ran through the tunnel at Heinz Field. The classic ‘Ben’ celebrations after turning a broken play into a touchdown, just like magic. You know the one…
The keyboard warriors of Twitter are already moving on to the draft, free agency, and who will take over the reigns as quarterback of the Pittsburgh Steelers this coming season. Rumors of Aaron Rodgers, Mitchell Trubisky, Kenny Pickett, Russell Wilson, and a plethora of others have already begun to swirl. None of it matters. Not yet.
Maybe I’m not ready to move on. 18 years is a long time. We grew up with number 7. From high school, to college, into adulthood. Ben was my quarterback. So forgive me if I’m not ready to let go just yet.
Because it still hasn’t fully hit me that Ben won’t be back, I’ll just say this — from the East Brady kid who loves the game of football…
Thank you, Ben. I’m not there yet, but the tears I cry will soon be tears of joy. We’ll see you in Canton.
