Ben Roethlisberger has retired after eighteen seasons of leading the Steelers. There have been many great memories. Two Super Bowl wins, tons of game winning drives, incredible plays, and amazing displays of toughness. Do not get me wrong, there have been many frustrating moments, but I like to think the good outweighed the bad.
I will always remember when he was drafted. This guy we worked with was a huge fan and paid attention to draft stuff more than anyone I knew. I remember a bunch of talking about who the Steelers should draft and a few people kept saying they should trade up for Philip Rivers or maybe he would fall to the Steelers. This guy kept telling us that the Steelers would take this QB from Miami of Ohio, Ben Roethlisberger and that this kid was the best QB of the three. I thought he was nuts. And sure enough, the Steelers drafted him.
I remember that first year when Tommy Maddox got hurt and Ben came in against the Ravens. It was not until the Cowboys game that we really got a chance to see what he could do. It was a flea-flicker and the Cowboys were not fooled. Two defenders come at him and he shrugs them off then flips the ball out to someone (I cannot remember who). Then came the Eagles game. The Steelers had one loss, the Eagles were undefeated. Ben did what he did best in those early years: he managed the game and did not screw anything up. He had two touchdowns and threw an interception, but it was not costly since the Steelers ended up winning 27-3. It is funny looking back at those stats from those early years, he would throw the ball like fifteen times per game. It was cool because I requested that Sunday off so I could watch the game (normally I worked all day on Sundays).
Obviously there are other great memories. The throw to Santonio Holmes in Super Bowl XLIII. The tackle against the Colts. The number of times it felt like he would get sacked and somehow just tossed a linebacker off of himself. Then came the Mike Wallace years, when those two would connect on 40+ yard touchdowns like every week. I remember they set some kind of Steelers record back then. A quick look shows they had 14 touchdowns longer than 40 yards. AB ended up breaking that record with 15. There was a time when Ben could rock the deep ball. It was always impressive to watch.
I cannot discuss my feelings about Ben without mentioning the bad. The sexual assault allegations made me dislike him as a person. Also there were the things I heard from people who worked at bars in Pittsburgh. Young Ben Roethlisberger does not like a good dude. It does seem like he has changed. It feels like he has grown up and I hope that he is a decent family man. It does not change how I feel about his quarterback skills. It does not mean I forgive the mistakes he made, but I also cannot hate the guy. I will not lie, I shed a few tears during that final home against the Browns.
Thank you for all the memories Ben! Enjoy your retirement.
