“Fore” a good cause!
Getting hit by D lineman probably doesn’t hurt as much as David making fun of my golf game. Lol! — Ben. ⛳️
It’s a Fan Friday!
“Channeling her inner Cowher Power face!” — Dad Vincent Candelore, Jr.
“Here is my son representing Steelers Nation on his deployment overseas. He is going into his 2nd in the Air Force and is from South of Buffalo NY. Hoping he will be home in November and I can get him to a game.” — Dad Todd Lawson.
To come from Scotland 🏴 and to be on the pitch @heinzfield stadium for @_BigBen7 last game at home for the @steelers v @Browns was truly a special moment in my life! I’ve been going since 1997 and seen bens 1st and last game at home @NFLUK @neilreynoldsnfl @Jeff_Reinebold pic.twitter.com/f80x5smmaP
— Stewart Love 🏴🏈 (@stewartloveNFL) May 2, 2022
“Just love my Steelers and Ben has always been my favorite player. Was like a member of our household, as corny as that sounds. My sons grew up on him and he’s all they know as a Steelers Quarterback. They are 22 and 20 years old. 18 years is a long time. So proud and happy for Ben. Sad to see him go though.” — Derrick.
‘Faith journey helped Roethlisberger mature’
From Stuart Sudak, Eden Prairie Local News (eplocalnews.org):
Football brought Ben Roethlisberger fame and fortune at a young age. But, it was rediscovering his faith later in his career that completed him.
After becoming the youngest quarterback to start and win a Super Bowl in 2005, the star athlete known as “Big Ben” received many honors and attaboys tossed his way.
Somewhere along the way, Roethlisberger admits drifting away from his faith.
“I was down low and realized that I need something more,” he said.
His parents baptized him as a baby. But in 2018, he decided to be rebaptized “for himself.”
“It just made me feel full again,” he said.
Talking about their spiritual journeys
Roethlisberger, who announced his retirement after 18 seasons with the Steelers in January, talked candidly about his faith with Tony Dungy, the former football coach turned author and broadcaster, at Grace Church in Eden Prairie on April 23.
Both were in town for “Arise With The Guys,” the annual men’s only event hosted by the church in partnership with Dungy, Athletes in Action and Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
About 4,000 men filled Grace Church, with thousands more watching online, to see Dungy and Roethlisberger share their messages of faith, Godly values and legacy building.
2022 Uncommon Award Winner
The morning’s highlight was Roethlisberger, first being honored as the event’s 2022 Uncommon Award Winner and then throwing passes across the stage to three lucky boys pulled from the crowd.
Dungy has given out the Uncommon Award at “Arise With the Guys” since 2013 to honor athletes who are never afraid to follow a higher calling or set a higher standard. Past recent recipients include Dabo Swinney, Ben Utecht, Case Keenum, and Peyton Manning.
According to Dungy’s 2009 book, “Uncommon: Finding Your Path to Significance,” Stoll told him and other players: “Success is uncommon, therefore not to be enjoyed by the common man. I’m looking for uncommon people.”
As an athlete, Dungy said Roethlisberger is uncommon for only playing for one team during his long career and quarterbacking a team to two Super Bowl wins.
But, Dungy stressed just how much Roethlisberger matured as a person over his career. Dungy said Big Ben learned that life isn’t all completions and Super Bowl rings.
“It’s more than that and it’s serving the Lord,” Dungy said.
Roethlisberger […]
Big Ben on WDVE
“We had no clue about Pittsburgh…when that phone rang, we had no clue!” — Ben on Coach Cowher calling him at the Draft.
If you get Willis, you’re gonna be like ‘The new number 7,’” he added.
Of course, Roethlisberger was the 11th overall pick in the 2004 NFL Draft, a class that was deep with quarterbacks.
When asked if he had any idea where he would end up heading into the draft that year, Ben said they were sure it would be New York, but when that didn’t happen, they thought Buffalo would be next on the list.
“The call from Pittsburgh really kinda caught us off guard.”
“Seeing Eli’s face…I’ve never seen a number one overall pick look so mad.”
They also talked about how big the media coverage of the draft is now compared to 2004. Ben said his class went through the same things guys are going through now (like measuring of hands, etc.), but it just wasn’t reported on then like it is these days. Players didn’t have social media back then, either.
A highly debated topic for Steelers Nation leading up to the 2022 NFL Draft has been ‘Will the team select a QB with their 20th overall pick?’ Malik Willis and Kenny Pickett are two names that come up a lot, but Ben questioned whether or not either would be left at that point, but said if they were, it’s possible.
He also added, “If there was really good center out there, I think you could go get him and move Kendrick (Green) to guard.”
And when asked if he would be pulling a Tom Brady and rescinding his retirement announcement, Roethlisberger said, “First off, my coach and GM don’t want me back. Second off, I’m pretty content with where I’m at, being a bus driver, making lunches in the morning…”
“For the Steelers it was 20 years of frustration
….but Ben Roethlisberger was worth the wait”
From Bill Washinski, Staff Writer, SteelerNation.com:
The 1983 Pittsburgh Steelers season was one of the most frustrating and disheartening in franchise history. A promising 9-1 start had Steeler Nation dreaming of one for the thumb. Unfortunately, each week hope was held out for the return of Terry Bradshaw, who was recovering from an elbow injury, to see the Steelers through to that Championship. But the news never came back good and the impatience for QB Cliff Stoudt mounted each week, especially as Pittsburgh lost 4 in a row and championship dreams turned dull.
Down in South Florida, Dan Marino of Pittsburgh Panthers fame was setting new QB standards for the Miami Dolphins, the hometown boy whom Pittsburgh controversially passed on in the 1983 NFL Draft. Marino wanted to play for the Steelers, even wrote letters to Dan Rooney and Art Rooney, with Dan Rooney the advocate to draft Marino, only to be overruled by Chuck Noll.
Bradshaw was finally able to return as Pittsburgh was on the verge of dropping a once all but clinched up AFC Central division. He easily drove Pittsburgh to a 14-0 lead on the strength of 2 TD passes vs. the New York Jets and positioned the Steelers to clinch the Division Championship. However, on that final pass, his elbow popped, and the great career of Bradshaw was over.
The question has been asked many times, how many championships would the Steelers have won if they had Marino in the 1990s? It’s not a question of if, but how many? As it continued into the 2000s, the position of QB exposed the Steelers extremely thin margin of error that existed under Neil O’Donnell and Kordell Stewart. They lost a Super Bowl and chances at a Super Bowl because neither could make the big play under pressure, compounded by the load of interceptions that turned championship dreams into nightmares.
The Steelers have never been the most active players in free agency or by making trades as a general rule, but it was even more underwhelming when it came to pursuing a QB. Under Noll, they traded a 3rd round pick for Woodley, a 4th round pick for Todd Blackledge and had a trade for Jack Trudeau […]
18 years ago today: Big Ben’s NFL Draft Day
“I was in New York. I had my mom and dad with me, my sister was there and my agent. My college coach at the time and his wife were there. Everyone kind of had their speculations of ‘what number’ and what team. The teams we thought were going to take me didn’t, but it ended up working out perfectly for me.” — Ben, from the video, “Recalling Draft Day”.
