“A few more players passed by and out hobbled Big Ben. Ben had several people around him but #7 always keeps his eyes down field looking for an open Steeler and Raymond didn’t disappoint!”

Ryan ReBell wanted to publicly thank Lamar Woodley, Coach Todd Haley, and a “dinged up” Big Ben for taking the time after yesterday’s tough loss to make a little fan’s day (not to mention a big fan’s too!):

Yesterday was a monumental day and really a dream come true for me to take my son Raymond to his first Steelers game. Even though he is only 3-years old, I felt he was ready because I would frequently catch him arguing the Steelers superiority with neighbors, friends, uncles (moms side) and anybody with a converse opinion.

We purposely arrived at the game a little late because as any parent can tell you a 3-year old’s “window” is only open so long. Ray was so excited he skipped his nap because he wanted to see “the same Steelers we watch on TV”!


To the Raider fan’s credit, they pretty much all cleaned up their act at the first glimpse they caught of Ray. We were seated in an all Raider section 20 some rows up from the field and they made a consorted effort to watch the profanity….. A task too steep for daddy during moments in the game!

After the game, Ray assumed our Steelers had won because everybody was happy (he can’t fathom not rooting for the Steelers). Being that it was his first game, Daddy didn’t feel the need to correct him! It was a long day for me, having to watch my beloved Steelers lose and tote around my precious cargo, so I was ready to hit the road. Of course I was powerless at Ray’s request of “Daddy, I want to see the Steelers closer!!”

We made our way to where the team exits the locker room to board the buses. We kneeled down so I could point out all the different players to Ray. The first player to spot us was Lamar Woodley. He came right over with a gregarious smile because Ray was dressed for action and insisted on keeping his Steelers helmet on, something that Lamar […]

“It hurts…today in all phases – we didn’t throw the ball well enough, we didn’t block well enough, we didn’t catch the ball well enough, we just weren’t good enough today!” — Ben

You can watch & listen to Ben’s post-game interview here.

“To be the first one outside of law enforcement to win this award, it’s an awesome honor. The award means a lot to my foundation.” — Ben

From Teresa Varley, Steelers.com:

Ben Roethlisberger was honored on Friday afternoon at the 13th Annual Amen Corner Senator John Heinz Law Enforcement Awards Luncheon at the Sheraton Hotel at Station Square.

Roethlisberger became the first non-law enforcement individual to be honored by the Amen Corner, receiving the award for his contribution to K-9 units of police and fire departments in the Pittsburgh area and throughout the country through his foundation.

The luncheon annually honors a select group of police officers for their heroic actions, with 10 officers from the Western Pennsylvania area honored this year. Each of the law enforcement officers will receive a statuette, modeled after the Law Enforcement Officers Memorial near Heinz Field.


Congratulations on this honor, Ben! It is well deserved. Zeus is wagging his tail from Heaven!


You can read about the Heroes that were honored yesterday here.


*Thank you to Mr. Stokey, WTAE news anchor & sports director, for the photos!



Also Today:

Congratulations to Heath Miller, recipient of the 2013 Ed Block Courage Award!

“He is the best. There was never a doubt that he was going to come back. I know Heath, I know him too well. He works so hard and his passion for the game to come back is like nobody else I have seen. I have always said he is the best tight end in the game and he is one of the best, if not the best teammate I have ever played with in my entire life in all sports. I love him to death and am so proud of him that he won the award.” — Ben, from Steelers.com

The award is presented annually to a Steelers player who has fought back from an injury or tough circumstances to return to the field. He will receive the award on November 5th at the 21st Annual Arthur J. Rooney, Sr. Courage House Luncheon which is held at Heinz Field.


You can read more & get ticket information for the luncheon here.

You can check out more on Heath here!

Today, Ben announced the fourth grant of the 2013-14 season from The Ben Roethlisberger Foundation at The Giving Back Fund.


The Foundation will be distributing a grant to the Sacramento Police Department, northeast of Oakland, where the Steelers will play the Raiders on Sunday, October 27th.

Sacramento PD plans to apply the grant to the purchase and training of a new dog, K-9 Rex. Rex is a 17-month-old Belgian Malinois that will be teamed up with Officer Aaron Thompson.

During the 2013-14 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 and will consider a grant to a non-NFL market city in the United States for each playoff game in which the Steelers compete. The foundation invited police and fire departments across the country to submit proposals detailing their needs.

This marks the seventh season that the Ben’s foundation has distributed grants to K-9 units. Their mission is to support K-9 units of police and fire departments throughout the United States with a particular emphasis on support for service dogs in Pittsburgh, PA.

Ben and the Foundation also strive to support Make-A-Wish.

The Foundation distributed more than $135,000 in grants to K-9 units around the country during the 2012 NFL season and has distributed in excess of $1 million since 2007.

Sergeant Steve Oliveira of the Sacramento Police K-9 unit said, “The Sacramento Police Department is proud of its dedicated personnel, including four-legged K-9 members that help protect the citizens of Sacramento and our officers. We highly value our K-9 partners that enable us to do our jobs better in a variety of circumstances where humans alone may not be as successful. We are extremely appreciative that the Ben Roethlisberger Foundation chose to honor our K-9 Unit with a grant toward the purchase and training of the newest member of our department, K-9 Rex.”


You can learn more about Ben’s foundation here.


*That’s Sgt. Oliveira and his K9 partner Sig in the photo above.

Big Ben met with reporters today before practice. Among the topics he was asked about was the use of the wildcat in last Sunday’s game, the running game, field goals vs touchdowns, traveling to the West Coast, and the play of teammates Derek Moye and Fernando Velasco.


Some of the highlights:

The “Black Hole” is a place that can be dangerous for teams, especially from the East Coast.

It’s a great environment. Crazy fans, a lot of history there.

That’s what makes it neat going there, the fans, the history, the things you see on TV and you hear about from other fans and players.


I hear you don’t like the wildcat.

[Laughs] It’s not that I don’t like it. If it helps us win, I’m all for it. I just told Coach, I get actually physically tired running out to wide receiver all the time [laughs again].


Can they take a free shot at you out there?

They can. I’m a little bigger than those defensive backs. I wouldn’t want them to try it. [Laughs]


Are you watching for that when you’re out there?

No, last week I think it was so confusing – I know a couple times the defensive back over me didn’t know what to do, if he should cover me, if he should run in. So, I’ll be alert for it. If a guy comes up and he looks like he’s about ready to hit me, I’ll protect myself.


When was the last time you caught a pass?

I don’t know. It’s been awhile, but I’m ready.


There was a Forbes poll released (1,100 people 13 yrs and older were surveyed) of the most hated players in the NFL. You were number four. Seven of the 10 were quarterbacks. Is there something to that?

I think a lot of people don’t like us because we’re usually the ones that help beat their team, so it is what it is.


Does that bother you at all? Or don’t you really care?

No, I don’t really care.


How much is the emergence of the running game Sunday going to help this team?

A lot. I’ve always [talked] about being balanced and I think if we can continue to be balanced and really utilize Le’Veon [Bell], Felix [Jones] and Jonathan [Dwyer], it helps keep defenses on their toes with play-action, and […]

Followers of both our Twitter and Facebook pages know this is a regular, weekly feature. But this is one of those Warrior Wednesday photos that needs to be shared with the site’s regular readers, who may just remember the story behind it…and enjoy it all over again!

“We Welcomed Our Hero Home yesterday!!! Thank you again to Big Ben for giving our boys such a wonderful experience at youth football camp this summer while Mark was deployed!! It was a GREAT time for our family!!! Go Steelers!!!” – Déna Ziegler

Remember the Ziegler family?

It all started on June 17th, when CDR Zeigler’s wife, Déna sent an email to the website to thank Ben for making her sons’ first day at his football camp such a thrill.

She mentioned in her email, which was posted to the website, that her husband was currently deployed to Afghanistan and this camp was a gift from him to their boys.

While reading the comments posted to his website that evening, Ben saw Déna’s and the next day called both of her sons out of the large group of campers to throw each of them a pass. As it turned out, one of the boys was celebrating a birthday that same day – Steven, shown at left in a victorious moment with Ben after catching his pass!

“It’s the best feeling in the world,” said older brother Andrew Ziegler. “He’s my hero. I didn’t dream of it happening.”

Neither did their dad! But he was able to see the excitement for himself later that night when his wife posted a video from camp online for him to watch!

“My boys had a great time today at camp! My youngest getting to ask Ben a question and my oldest son Andrew catching a 50 yard bomb over the outside shoulder made for lifelong memories. I wish I was there to see it in person, but through the wonders of YouTube, I was able to watch it from Afghanistan. I hope Paul Chryst and Todd Haley were watching!

Thank you to Ben, Ben’s family, and all those who work so hard to put on the camp. You made two, no 500+, kid’s day! My wife and […]