July 2, 2013 - Big Ben in London

Ben with Trevor Martin.

Many Fans of Ben and the Steelers will be looking forward to the international series game in London this year. I have never been able to visit the great city of Pittsburgh to watch my beloved Steelers play but have supported them from across the pond for some 40 years!

NFL UK arranged for Ben Roethlisberger to spend an hour in a fan forum with just 30 invitees to win a place at this one had to sign up on their website and apply for Union Jax membership which states â€Opt-in to the Jaguars Fan Club!:

Yes! I want to join the Jacksonville Jaguars UK fan club allowing me to win some amazing prizes and access to exclusive events.â€ OK I lied!

However the chance to partake in this meet and greet event assuaged my conscience.

Friday morning I got the call from NFL you have been selected to meet Ben on Tuesday would you be able to come?

I wanted to scream, 'try keeping me away' but as I work in a busy office I remained calm..ish. The anticipation for the next four days was huge and I still had to work Tuesday but arranged to leave early to ensure I made it on time.

Members of the Facebook group Steeler Nation UK who had also got the call arranged a nearby Pub to meet in and the seen was set. We walked as a group to the hotel some 15 Steelers fans including 1 who tagged along on the off chance someone would not turn up! â€“ she got lucky and was invited to the meet.

We were shown to the meeting room and were kindly given Photos and Caps and Sky Sports NFL presenter Nick Reynolds arrived to host the meet. About to give Ben a big build up Ben strolled into the room to spontaneous applause that stopped the presenter in his tracks...first laugh of the evening. Benâ€™s honest, open, and thoughtful answers to questions, not just from host Neil, but from the audience of 30 were an insight into a man who whilst at the top of his sport appreciates the fans. Us Brits are not as familiar with the Xâ€™s and Oâ€™s as perhaps those brought up playing in school so Ben demonstrated how it works with a â€œsimpleâ€ play. He seemed genuinely surprised at the knowledge and enthusiasm of those of us attending.

The Steeler Nation UK Flag some 8 foot wide which is the name of the UK fans website and Facebook group certainly made an impact as his signature now graces it. Ben extended the time from an hour to get a Photo with all those attending and the flag! This was filmed for SKY TV (Britains large satellite broadcaster) and when Ben appeared live on Sky Sports News on Friday Morning he repeated his comment â€œThe feeling is we are coming to London to play football, but seeing the fans, Iâ€™m excited to go back to my teammates and tell them weâ€™re not just going there for the NFL, weâ€™re going there because we have fans there.

It makes me happy, itâ€™ll makes the guys happy and I have always said the Steeler fans are the best fans in sports. Weâ€™re playing for the fans and thatâ€™s whatâ€™s exciting. Itâ€™s not just about making money for the NFL, itâ€™s about playing for the fans.â€

That was a comment that made all of us proud to support the Steelers and Big Ben!

Perhaps the most interesting reaction to our most lucky evening was probably on return to the bar to share our thoughts on the event. A gentleman noticing all the Pittsburgh Steeler Shirts came across as a resident of the Burgh to ask why we were there. When he found out who we had met he was rather jealous to put it mildly.

Meeting Ben Roethlisberger still feels like a dream 24 hours later. I was honoured and privileged to meet a superstar of the NFL who plays for the greatest team! -- Trevor

*Thank you Trevor!

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File information
Filename:	Trevor_Martin_with_Big_Ben.jpg
Album name:	erin / The 2013 Big Ben UK Tour
Filesize:	84 KiB
Date added:	Jul 03, 2013
Dimensions:	480 x 384 pixels
Displayed:	1136 times
URL:	http://www.bigben7.com/photos/displayimage.php?pid=8611
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July 2, 2013 - Big Ben in London