reminded me of Coach Hep’s favorite poem, and I thought it was worth sharing once again — Ben.

Don’t Quit!

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,

When the road you’re trudging seems all uphill,

Life is queer with its twists and turns,

As every one of us sometimes learns,

And many a failure turns about,

When he might have won had he stuck it out.

Don’t give up though the pace seems slow,

You may succeed with another blow.

When the funds are low and the debts are high,

And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,

When care is pressing you down a bit,

Rest, if you must, but do not quit.

Often the goal is nearer than,

It seems to a faint and faltering man,

Often the struggler has given up,

When he might have captured the victor’s cup,

And he learned too late when the night slipped down,

How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out,

The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,

And you never can tell how close you are,

It may be near when it seems so far,

So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit,

It’s when things seem worst that you must not quit.




The words from Coach Hep’s favorite poem, “Don’t Quit”, written long ago by John Greenleaf Whittier, were not recited just to motivate his players before a game – they were a way of life for him. Ben still keeps a copy of that poem taped to his locker.

First, and most importantly:

Prayers going out to Alex Smith, his family & his teammates! Wishing you a full & quick recovery! God bless! — Ben.

From Teresa Varley, Steelers.com:

It’s true. It’s a fact.

It doesn’t matter how you start, it’s how you finish.

And for the Steelers, they finished in dramatic fashion, coming from behind to defeat the Jacksonville Jaguars, 20-16, for their sixth straight win.

The victory improves their record to 7-2-1, and 15-1-1 on the road in their last 17 games, keeping them on top of the AFC North.

“You just grow when you are faced with adversity like this in a hostile environment and you are not playing great and you find ways to get it done. From that standpoint really excited. We have some lessons to learn. You tip your cap to that group, particularly their defense. We got a big play and that got us back into it. I also tip the cap to our defense. They were put in some tough situations. They were out there a lot of snaps. They didn’t blink. They held the fort until our offense got going. Then with No. 7 you have a chance.” — Coach Tomlin.

The Jaguars dominated in the first half, but while the defense bent, they didn’t break.

Jacksonville had 169 yards of total offense in the half, including 141 yards on the ground. They controlled the clock, with 22:15 time of possession to the Steelers 7:45. But at halftime all they had were three field goals, a credit to the defense.

The Steelers offense managed just 66 yards in the half, with only 13 on the ground. Ben Roethlisberger completed just 8 of 19 passes for 52 yards and two interceptions and a 10.1 rating.

But in the end, it was the Steelers who would win the stats battle.

The Steelers fought back from a 16-0 deficit, scoring 20 unanswered points, to pull out the win.

Roethlisberger more than rebounded, finishing the day completing 27 of 47 pass attempts for 314 yards and two touchdown passes. Antonio Brown had five catches for 117 yards, including a 78-yard touchdown, while JuJu Smith-Schuster had eight receptions for 104 yards.

“I think I actually hurt the team more most of the game. It’s really how you finish. So many guys stepped up today. Guys never quit. We […]

Today, Ben announced the sixth grant award of the 2018 season from the Ben Roethlisberger Foundation at The Giving Back Fund.

The Foundation will be distributing a grant to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, near TIAA Bank Field where the Steelers will play the Jaguars on November 18th.

This marks the 12th season that Ben’s foundation has distributed grants to K-9 units.

His foundation is to support K-9 units of police and fire departments throughout the United States, with a particular emphasis on support for working dogs in Pittsburgh, PA.

The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office will utilize the grant to add a fully trained police dog to their K-9 unit.

“The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office is very appreciative of the Ben Roethlisberger Foundation’s approval of our grant request for a police service dog. This past year, our Canine Unit has suffered the loss of Police Service Dog ‘Fang’ who was killed in the line of duty following an armed carjacking on September 30, 2018. While the community has rallied around in support to honor ‘Fang,’ this award will provide the necessary resources for the acquisition of trained service animals to join our family and continue the pivotal work they do. On behalf of all the members of JSO and the city of Jacksonville, thank you for your appreciation of these valued canines, as they are a tremendous asset to law enforcement and first responder organizations nationwide.” — Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams.

During the 2018 NFL season, The Ben Roethlisberger Foundation will be distributing grants to K-9 units of police and fire departments in the cities and surrounding communities of each regular season away game for the Steelers. The Foundation will also distribute several grants to the Pittsburgh area. The Ben Roethlisberger Foundation invited police and fire departments across the country to submit proposals detailing their needs.

The Ben Roethlisberger Foundation distributed more than $170,000 in grants to K-9 units around the country during the 2017 NFL season, including $82,000 in the Pittsburgh community. The Foundation has distributed in excess of $1.92 million since 2007.


Fans:

You can help support future K-9 grants by purchasing candy on Sarris Candies’ website, (www.SarrisCandiesFundraising.com), using a special purchase code (77-7777). Sarris will donate 25 percent of the purchase price to the Ben Roethlisberger Foundation.


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