“Footbahlin’ with Ben Roethlisberger”, Episode 54
Celebrity Puck Drop with Big Ben & Da Beard!
October 19th, 7pm.
Wait! Is that Team Pennsylvania’s #4 on Saturday’s highlight reel?
“It was a Saturday to remember at PGA Frisco and the National Car Rental PGA Jr. League Championship. Check out the Best of the Best highlights with these Choice Shots Driven by National Car Rental.” — PGA Jr. League, via Facebook & Twitter/X.
“Two dads, a rookie and a caddie….”
“Every one of these young men and women are fighting for each other, not just themselves. Don’t put so much pressure on yourselves. Go play with your teammates, but have fun doing it.” — Ben.
That joke isn’t quite all it seems. In fact, these four are household names depending upon your age, favorite sport and media of choice.
The panel, moderated by America’s Caddie, ESPN analyst and former standup comedian Michael Collins, included three fellow multi-hyphenates: Tony Finau, the six-time PGA TOUR winner, Team Utah Assistant Coach and dad to team member, Jraice; two-time Super Bowl champion, Pittsburgh Steelers legend and Team Pennsylvania dad to Benjamin, Ben Roethlisberger; and an on-fire PGA TOUR young star with three wins under his belt since he earned his card just two years ago, Tom Kim.
In front of a crowd of 96 junior golfers, their coaches and family members, the panel spoke about their experience with the media, teamwork, winning and losing and, most importantly, food.
“One thing I’ve learned being in media and social media is that the hatred people give you … they don’t hate you. They hate where they are in life,” said Kim. “A lot of times, it has nothing to do with you.”
While he didn’t come of age in the era of social media and has chosen to forgo it all together, Roethlisberger’s advice was universal.
“When we talked back in the day, it was a newspaper article and it was gone,” he said. “Now it’s around forever. Be aware of what you say, since you’re representing yourself, your family, your faith or whatever it may be.”
Day One for Benjamin Jr.
“They really played wonderfully together. Good for them. They had one blip there at 14, but other than that, they had a great back 9.” — ESPN PGA analyst & professional golfer, Suzy Whaley.
“Benjamin Roethlisberger Jr., local team to compete
From Colin Beazley at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:
A Roethlisberger and his team are about to represent Pittsburgh and compete for a championship on National TV, and it’s not Big Ben this time.
The former Steelers quarterback’s son, 11-year old Benjamin Roethlisberger Jr., and seven other local children will be competing for the PGA Junior League national championships started Wednesday in Frisco, Texas. The tournament runs through Sunday and will be broadcast live on the ESPN networks on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
The team, based out of Diamond Run Golf Club in Sewickley, advanced through multiple levels of qualification to reach this point. They competed for various different clubs throughout the PGA junior league season, then became an All-Star team in early June. The team competed as four two-person scrambles and won the Tri-State sectional event at Willowbrook in early August, then won the regional championship against three teams from New York in Syracuse in mid-September. Only 12 teams made it to Texas, where Diamond Run will compete as Team Pennsylvania.
The team is full of excellent golfers, but their coach, Adam Morrison, believes the team is special.
“The talent level obviously speaks for itself,” Morrison said. “… Golf’s a sport where it’s typically individual, but at the end of the day, you’ve got to have a teammate here and they’re all good teammates. They’re great kids.”
Sitting around a table after a recent practice, it’s clear both that the team genuinely likes each other and that they’re not nervous for the upcoming tournament.
They’re only a little bit worried about being on ESPN, but they’ll get used to it. They’re all excited to watch their own highlights on YouTube.
It’s also cool that the team doesn’t really care that the son of the former Steelers quarterback is on the team — he’s just Ben. From his scramble partner Bush, to Rittler, Ameredes, Hendrick, Miller, 12-year old Elijah Stewart, from East Liverpool, Ohio, and 11-year old Avella native Logan Gamrod, no one treats Little Ben any differently.
It’s the same way for the elder Roethlisberger. He often caddies for his son, but he’s not seen as a celebrity here.
“He’s just a normal dad,” Morrison said. “I think that’s the best way to say it. … He’s a great dad at […]