…at Wembley Stadium. — Ben






And one from yesterday’s Steelers Fan Rally:





You can see a few more here!

Henry Hodgson, of NFL.com and NFL-UK shared this great photo with fans during this afternoon’s Fan Rally on Regent Street:

“A sea of Steelers fans greet the players on Regent Street.” — Mr. Hodgson

You can see more photos from the Rally & the team’s first day in London here.



Swiss fans happy to see Big Ben LIVE at Wembley Stadium tomorrow:


Sisters Silvia & Eveline Lehmann showing their Steelers pride!

“We are really excited to be able to see the Steelers and Ben in Europe. I’m just glad when it gets some attention that there are fans in Switzerland. We will be showing the flag at Wembley on Sunday. We’ve been fans for many years and never thought it possible to see the Steelers live. That’s just great that they play in Europe for us fans over here. We appreciate it very much. Go Steelers!!” — Silvia

You can see more photos shared by fans this weekend here!

“It’s an awesome honor. I want to represent the black and gold and the NFL. I knew we had fans all over the world, but the last time I was here I got to meet them and see a bunch of them.” — Ben.

The Steelers met with the media this morning in London, just a few hours after their arrival. Some of the highlights from NFL.com:

Cornerback Ike Taylor was in high spirits — or just delirious with exhaustion — as he took his first questions from the assembled media, which largely was a British contingent.

“I love your accent,” Taylor said after receiving the first question at the podium. “Say that again, please.”

The 11-year veteran had the media laughing as he said, “I would love to meet the Queen. She’s the head lady.” Taylor also appealed to the press to toss some British slang words to him so that he could fit in while in London.

Inevitably, Roethlisberger was asked about the famous London landmark with which he shares a nickname.

“People keep asking me how many times I’m going to hear that joke this week,” ‘Big Ben’ said. “I’m supposed to keep count of how many times people mention it.”

For all the fun, though, the Steelers made it clear that they aren’t in London for anything but a victory on Sunday. With an 0-4 start essentially spelling doom for an NFL team — only the 1992 Chargers have made it to the postseason after losing their first four games — the novelty of playing a game in London will be overshadowed by the urgency of needing that first win.

“For us every game is a must-win,” Roethlisberger said. “That’s the way we approach every game. The only difference this week is that we’re in a different country.”


You can read more here.


And from the British Daily Mail:

The Steelers arrived in England in the unfamiliar position of beginning the season 0-3. It is their worst start in 27 years and, should they lose to Minnesota on Sunday, Pittsburgh face the prospect of falling to 0-4 ahead of their bye week.

‘Its frustrating when you’re not winning football games because it hurts,’ Roethlisberger said: ‘As a leader and a guy who has been around a […]

From Ben this afternoon:

Earlier this week we took my dog, Zeus, to the vet because one morning he didn’t seem like himself. When we got there, they didn’t see much wrong but wanted to run some tests. So, thinking it was nothing big we were going to leave and they were gonna call us when he was done. Luckily for us, we went and said goodbye to him and he was tail-wagging and looking as chipper as ever so we thought nothing of the goodbye.

Ashley, Benjamin Jr., and the boys, Hercules and Zeus welcoming Daddy home from training camp.

We got a call later that day saying he had a bunch of cancer in his intestines and the vet recommended not waking him up from surgery because it could be miserable for him, and there was no treatment for him. We had to make the painful decision to put him down. Taking comfort in the fact that he wasn’t in pain, and we got to see him happy at the end made it a little bit easier of a decision – but not much.

Zeus was with me for 9 years and was my first dog. He was my man and had been there through Super Bowls, tough losses, injuries, snow storms and the heat. He was the best and I feel blessed to have had him in my/our lives for so long. I know he’s in heaven waiting to play tag or just cuddle again soon.

Me and “my man”, Zeus.

Zeus, we will always miss you, never forget you, and always remember the funny, happy loving times you have given us, and yes even some of the bad times like when you were a pup and chewed my night stand, lol. You were even so patient with Benjamin when he pulled a handful of your hair right out and you didn’t even flinch.

Love you buddy! Don’t rest in peace bud, because I know you would rather be chasing chipmunks and squirrels! Gone but never forgotten, ZEUS ROETHLISBERGER!



More photos here.

Followers of both our Twitter and Facebook pages know this is a regular, weekly feature. But this week’s Throwback Thursday will be shared here as well!


September 26, 2004 – Big Ben’s first NFL start.

“We played in a hurricane. I remember it being fast. I don’t think I read any defense all day. I just reacted to everything. It was pretty much a blur to me.” — Ben.

Ben sloshes across the wet field in a driving rainstorm produced by an outer band of Hurricane Jeanne during the game against the Miami Dolphins at Pro Player Stadium in Miami, Florida. The Steelers won 13-3.



From a post-game article on SI.com:

Unfazed by torrential rain, the Pittsburgh Steelers played smashmouth defense befitting their muddy, sodden uniforms.

Pittsburgh forced four turnovers, made a key fourth-down stop and beat the hapless Miami Dolphins 13-3 Sunday night.

“The weather in the first half was not conducive to doing anything,” coach Bill Cowher said. “We couldn’t even hold the ball. Both teams couldn’t throw it. But that’s the kind of football I love.”

Steelers rookie Ben Roethlisberger, making his first NFL start, had his first pass intercepted but otherwise avoided costly mistakes despite the slippery ball and footing. He finished 12-of-22 for 163 yards and one score.

“It wasn’t pretty at times, but we got the win,” Roethlisberger said.

Hines Ward made a diving catch of a pass from Roethlisberger for a 7-yard touchdown. Jeff Reed hit field goals of 40 and 51 yards, the latter coming after the Steelers stopped A.J. Feeley on a fourth-down quarterback sneak at midfield.

Announced attendance was 72,225, but with Florida just beginning to recover from its latest hurricane, the actual crowd was about 30,000. Officials decided Saturday to push the starting time back 7 1/2 hours to avoid Hurricane Jeanne, and heavy rain fell at times.

The showers left standing water in the baseball infield, which made footing especially treacherous on that part of the field. The start of the second half was delayed so the grounds crew could apply additional bags of dirt.

“That was the worst weather I ever played in,” Ward said.

The Steelers allowed just 169 yards and bruised more than just the Dolphins’ pride. A jarring tackle by Chris Hope sent running back Lamar Gordon from the game with an injured left […]

“Every one is a must win for us, but we’d like to get a win before we go into the bye week. Might as well try and leave the country and try something.” — Ben, when asked if this weekend’s game is a “must win”.

Some of the highlights:


Re: The Vikings defense:

They are really good. A lot like last week’s team, they are opportunistic and ball-searching. If the defensive line isn’t getting pressure, they’re getting their hands up in the air, they’re batting them down. Similar to last week, as rushers go by, they’re trying to strip at balls. So, very similar to last week. A good test for us.


Are you excited to get Le’Veon Bell back this week?

Yeah, any time we can get weapons back on our offense we’re excited for it. We are just excited to see what he can do because no one really knows. No one has seen him in game action. Obviously, we’ve seen some great things at training camp, practice and preseason, but that’s different. Even in the preseason, he didn’t get a lot of snaps. I’m really excited to see what he’s going to bring.


How do you keep this like a regular road game? Could it be a distraction at all?

I talked to Minnesota’s media and they asked me if I would have rather gone over on Monday when Minnesota went or Thursday when we’re going, and I don’t know. I’ve been over there a couple times. I know the jet lag does get you. It’s a wasted day when you get over there because you’re so exhausted. But I know Coach wants to treat this as a business trip, so that’s why we’re going over and trying to take care of business.


What are the fans like over there? Is it like soccer-crazy almost?

I’ve heard that during games they are a little soccer crazy – the horns, the thunder sticks, just kind of making noise all the time. Not necessarily situational noise, just noise. But when I went over there I did some fan forums with some of the Steelers’ fans. There is Steelers Nation UK over there, so I got to meet them. They’re passionate. They know their stuff. I wouldn’t say they’re as knowledgeable as everyone over here […]