Roethlisberger and his wife Brenda moved to the Western Pennsylvania area to be closer to Ben, his wife Ashley and their three kids, Benjamin, Baylee and Bodie, just enjoying quality family time whenever they can. And a lot of that time for Ken and Ben, is spent enjoying the outdoors, something they have done from day one.
“I would say being outdoors is our favorite,†said Roethlisberger. “We golf together. We enjoy that. But hunting and fishing because I think it gets him away from sports. He has taken us on long trips to get away, we went to Alaska, to Brett Keisel’s place in Wyoming. We went to trout streams in Central Pennsylvania. We hunt around here together. Those are when we connect the best.
“When he was a kid it was all sports, things in the yard. It’s nice to get him away from that. That is where we connect the best now.
“We love to fish. I used to do it as a kid. When I grew up, I had two older brothers and our father would take us fly fishing in Michigan in junior high. I learned to do that. We fished when Ben was a kid. When he was in junior high. I took him to Michigan like my dad did with me and he learned to fly fish. That is something our family has done together.â€
Even Ben’s kids are now fishing, although not fly fishing yet, and it makes Ken thrilled to see the tradition passed down.
“It’s special, especially since it’s something different than what he is known for,†said Roethlisberger. “It’s what God has created for us. It’s been special for the whole family. For my dad to teach me, me teach him and him pass it on to his kids, it’s hard to beat that as a father. That is just what you hope for.â€