“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”.
Watch Ben live….
Love seeing Ben Roethlisberger win the Uncommon Award. Future Hall of Famer. Great story about his spiritual growth. pic.twitter.com/03GyrGa45S
— Jon Gordon (@JonGordon11) April 23, 2022
#RetiredLife
“Our Baylee’s birthday tradition picture.” — Ben & Ashley.
Big Ben & Steelers Nation: It’s an International Thing!
From Jeff Hathhorn, Sports Director at 93.7 The Fan:
Seven steps off the bus from the airport, I sat one of our bags down in the hotel lobby. Quickly a 35-to-40-year-old employee comes over to grab our luggage. We had arrived in Mexico just minutes earlier.
As he was putting a tag on our suitcases, Ernesto asked. “Where are you from?”
“Pittsburgh,” I replied.
A smile grew on his face like running into an old friend. He said ‘ah yes’ and started pumping his fist.
“I love the Steelers,” Ernesto said. “What are we going to do about no Roethlisberger?”
Thousands of miles from Pittsburgh in a country where you would think football means soccer, here is Ernesto. A quick reminder of how international the Steelers brand is.
It appeared as though a lot of the English Ernesto knew revolved around the NFL and specifically the Steelers. He would go on to tell me how he watches every game, either requesting off or for a later shift on Sundays, unless of course, there is a night game.
He said he knew many people in Mexico that adored the black-and-gold. The impression he had of our entire region, if not our country, formed by his viewing 53 football players.
Three days later, at a family-style dinner, we start talking to the couple next to us. The man, 55-years-old or so, works for the University of Zurich. Yeah, the one in Switzerland. After discussing his job and beautiful country he asked where we were from.
“Pittsburgh,” I said as Leslie added, “it’s in the United States” just in case. There was no descriptor needed. Much like Ernesto, a smile grew on his face.
“I’m from Switzerland,” he repeated. “Ben Roethlisberger is Swiss. We (pointing to his wife) love the Steelers. Did you know Roethlisberger visited our country after one of his championships?”
I did remember his trip there as he went on to explain how he watches all the Steelers game. The one o’clock starts are seven pm starts in Zurich, 10:15p for the later afternoon games. He even watches the night games, but laughed he may go into work a little late. The university employee also noted he’s not the only Steelers fan in Switzerland. […]
Did you miss Ben’s appearance at the 2022 Ignite Conference?
“The coolest thing about that whole night, even more than the win, was having my family there. I had so many friends and family that came to that game. I looked to the tunnel and all three of my kids ran out and tackled me. And Ashley was there. And my parents, my sister, my agent – the people that mean the most to me. And then we walked out. So that meant the most to me.” — Ben, on what transpired after the win over the Browns at Heinz Field on January 3rd.