He reps his Steelers #7 with pride!


From Sarah Blumburg at the Capital Gazette:

When word got out that Ray Rice would stop by Davidsonville Elementary School in Maryland, Colton Swank got an idea.

“I had to show my support for Ben Roethlisberger,” he said.

Just like his parents, the 9-year-old has always been a fan of the Steelers, especially the quarterback.

On Wednesday, Ray Rice took notice.

“Thanks for the support, even the ones sporting the black and gold,” he said.

Colton sat up and displayed his jersey proudly!

Rice surprised more than 700 students Wednesday, in an effort to teach students the importance of making healthy choices and staying active.

For more than a year, the school has worked to promote better health choices. For their efforts, the school was named a Touch Down School through the national “Fuel Up to Play 60 program“.

Even though Colton isn’t a Ravens fan, he believes being active is important and was happy to see that Rice was promoting such a vital cause.

“In the NFL you have to be healthy,” he said. “Even the Steelers practice that.”


From Colton’s mother, Amy:

Colton is in the fourth grade at an elementary school near Annapolis where the predominant team here are the Ravens. The photo was taken the morning of Ray Rice’s visit when I dropped him off at school. I watched him walk into the school, and he was immediately greeted with a shove by another student wearing a Rice jersey who told him, “You got a lot of nerve wearing that!”.

It’s always like a Ravens-Steelers rivalry in miniature, but Colton is really good-natured about the whole thing. He admits it’s difficult the day after a loss and facing the Ravens fans at school. He loves it though when we are able to attend a Steelers game once at year around Christmas time when we come back to town and he is surrounded by his fellow fans.

The Steeler Nation is strong and starts young!

The first time Ray Rice tried to hug him, and Colton winced, Ray Rice announced that he, “wasn’t getting the love from Roethlisberger.”

After the event, Ray Rice did succeed in hugging my son. He asked Colton if he was his favorite Raven. Colton smiled, but couldn’t bring himself to say something like that and just […]

“This is our playoff game right here, this is the way it’s been the last couple of weeks and it’s going to keep being that way for us. For me, my mindset is trying to get that first win, I don’t care about the big picture right now, I just care about this week.” — Ben, on their game against the Dolphins this Sunday.

Big Ben met with reporters today and among the topics he was asked about was his new center, Cody Wallace:

“On the plane home from Baltimore, when I knew Fernando was out, I checked with the other linemen, asked them what they thought about Cody. Every single person said the same thing, that he’s a really smart player, there will be no issue, he’ll be good to go. So when I talked to him I got that same confidence, that he’ll be ready to rock with it.”

And whether they’ll use the no-huddle this weekend:

Well, we’ll see how much no-huddle we get into. I think the second half [in Baltimore] we kind of had a little sense of urgency moving the ball down the field. I thought we were balanced pretty well the second half running and passing. So, hopefully, [Bell] is ready to go and everyone’s healthy receiver-wise so we can keep going with that.”


You can check out more from his interview (video) here.

It’s another Warrior Wednesday, and this time we wanted to share the photo & story of one soldier who received a warm and unexpected welcome home last week when he returned from deployment, just in time for Thanksgiving!


A little background first –

PFC Steven Landa sent in his photo in September along with a message for Ben:

“Hello there! My name is Steven Landa, I am 19-years old and in the U.S. ARMY. I first saw Big Ben play when he took over for Tommy Maddox in 2004 – it was my first season watching football. I instantly became both a Steelers fan and a Big Ben fan.

I know he must be going through a lot right now with all the criticism but I truly believe Ben has more than what it takes to make it to the top 5 QB’s. Not a lot of fans might know this about Ben, but I know there is this poem called, ‘Don’t Quit’ that Ben reads before a game. That poem actually helped me not to give up during basic training.

I also don’t mind waking up at three in the morning to watch the Steelers play, win or lose! I have been a huge Steelers fan since ’04.” — PFC Steven Landa, Charlie Battery 1-43 ADA, U.S. Army.

We’ve been keeping up with Steven since that time, and this past weekend he sent in a new photo – this time of the special way he was greeted upon his return to the U.S. last week:

“I got back from a deployment and surprised my family for Thanksgiving. Not only that, but my brother Mike, his wife Briseida, and their son Maximiliano (who knew I was coming home), welcomed my return with their Steelers jerseys and gear on, ready to support me and our Steelers! They also surprised me with a new Big Ben jersey and a Terrible Towel! GO BIG BEN! GO STEELERS!” — Steven

Steven only has a few days to enjoy with his family before reporting to his duty station, but said it was “amazing to be back”.

Steven, we wish you all the best! Stay safe and God bless!


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“The mindset is exactly what it’s been the last couple of weeks: let’s get one win. It’s desperation, but it’s still staying focused and giving it everything we’ve got. There’s no reason to quit. We’re going to play until the final whistle no matter what.” — Ben, on the team’s focus this weekend.

“I watch quarterbacks all the time, and I was one of the people that said last year, ‘Listen let’s not jump on the rookie bandwagons too early because it’s only one year, and the media hypes it up.’ I took some flak for that. Then this year, people are coming up to me saying, ‘Boy you sure were right about some of these quarterbacks.’ But I thought that Russell Wilson…there is something about him – the way he plays the game – he’s not just an athlete running around. He’s a good pocket passer, he can make plays with his legs, and is obviously a very smart player. From what I hear he is a great teammate and leader. I’m really impressed with the way he plays the game and I’m a fan. I root for him!” — When asked whether he watches the play of the young quarterbacks, and Russell Wilson in particular.

Ben was on the air this morning on 93.7 The Fan with Vinnie & Cook for his weekly #1 Cochran Ben Roethlisberger Show:

Roethlisberger weighs in on head coach Mike Tomlin’s sideline wandering in Baltimore, saying, “I don’t think it was intentional. I was watching the JumboTron too because that gives you better views. There are certain times during the game I would rather watch that because usually it’s an end-zone view and you can see things better. I know what he’s talking about when he says he gets caught up watching that.”

On Sunday, the Steelers will face the Miami Dolphins and former Steeler receiver Mike Wallace.

“I have talked to Mike,” Ben says of his former teammate. “He gets frustrated because he wants to make plays and he wants to help his team. Mike was a great teammate. I know that some of the fans and the perception was out there, and everyone’s entitled to their opinion. As a friend, he was a great guy. We miss him, not just as a playmaker, but also as a teammate and a friend.”

Roethlisberger also admits […]

Share your photos with us!!

If you are decorating it Steelers Style this year, we’d love to post your photos in Ben’s gallery!


Last year we had five pages of photos of Steelers Christmas trees, wreaths, greeting cards, pups, and of course, the best fans in the world, big & small, all right here.

Can we do it again this year?

Send your photo submissions to us at bigben7website@gmail.com! We’ll post ’em all later this month!


Photos, left to right: Major Sarah Lukes, USMC, showing off the holiday care package she received from her nine-year old daughter last December during her tour in Afghanistan; The Soloe Family Christmas tree all decked out in black & gold in Dinwiddie, VA; and Benjamin “Big Ben” Shank, excited to show off his 2nd grade holiday project – a Christmas ornament-shaped paper designed with a favorite interest, the Steelers (with Big Ben at the top, of course).

“We’ve had to win out for a long time, We’re just going to focus on the next one. We haven’t quit to this point. I know one thing, I’m going to keep fighting my butt off. This is incredibly frustrating. We didn’t do quite enough.” — Ben, post-game.

Ron Cook, Pittsurgh Post-Gazette – “Comeback is too little, too late for Steelers“

Yes, the near-comeback in the fourth quarter from 19-7 and 22-14 deficits was impressive. Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger led two long touchdown drives, completing 13 of 19 passes for 241 yards.

On the 2-point conversion, the Steelers called the same play that went for the Cotchery touchdown. This time, Roethlisberger threw it to Sanders in the left corner of the end zone even though Cotchery and wide receiver Antonio Brown — the best receiver in the NFL this season — later told him they had single coverage on the right side.

“It has to be a quick throw,” Roethlisberger said. “I don’t have time to read it from right to left. I have all the faith in the world in Emmanuel. He was lined up against a corner [Chykie Brown], who had just came into the game.”

Later, Roethlisberger huddled with Sanders in a corner of the Steelers locker room.

“I just told him to keep his head up,” Roethlisberger said. “He’s made too many big plays for this team to get down on himself.”

The final drive was especially impressive because so many of the Steelers’ offensive players were injured. Linemen Fernando Velasco, Kelvin Beachum and Mike Adams were out. So was running back Le’Veon Bell, who left with a concussion on the last drive after taking a brutal hit from the Ravens’ Jimmy Smith and Courtney Upshaw. Guy Whimper had to play left tackle and Cody Wallace filled in at center.

“Those guys battled their tails off,” Roethlisberger said. “I would have loved to get it to overtime to see how they would have done.”


Joseph White, AP – “Steelers fail on 2-pointer“:

Ben Roethlisberger draped his right arm around Emmanuel Sanders after the receiver emerged from the showers in the locker room, the quarterback accepting the blame for a failed 2-point conversion that settled a yes-no-yes-no-yes-no, 22-20 finish befitting the tense rivalry between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens.

“Ben gave me a good […]