For those of us fortunate enough to be able to go on vacation, we know why we like to go vacation don’t we? The general idea is that we get away from our normal lives and the everyday grind and we go relax somewhere. Maybe we go hiking or golfing or just simply do something that makes us feel good like lay on the beach for 10 hours a day. Thus the idea of vacation!
For Pittsburgh Steelers’ quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, his family vacation was his last hurrah before getting down to the business of another grueling NFL season. Roethlisberger recently returned from Europe where he was promoting the Steelers’ week four match-up against the Minnesota Vikings. The game will be played in London’s Wembley Stadium.
The Roethlisberger Family is currently wrapping up a vacation in Virginia Beach, Virginia where the two-time Super Bowl winning quarterback has been able to get in some golf and beach time as well.
According to Roethlisberger’s official website the QB and wife Ashley went to dinner with some friends at Flip Flop’s Restaraunt in Virginia Beach. Flip Flop’s is no slouch either as it has been featured on the Food Network’s Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. Apparently the famous dish is BBQ fish tacos and #7 gave them a big thumbs up.
While it sounds as though Roethlisberger and family had a great time, he found out that it wasn’t all relaxation.
It didn’t take long for Roethlisberger to be recognized and before you could say ‘blitz’ the cameras and cell phone cameras were out in full force. Once maligned for not being a ‘nice guy’ when he was out in public, there was no sign of that here.
Roethlisberger posed for a number of photos including one with his groups’ server and another with the restaraunt’s owner and his kids. Before long, others got into the act including some Steelers’ fans who happened to be there as well.
I’m certainly not going to pretend that I know what it’s like to be recognized every place I go whether it’s in my forties or when I’m 24 and a Super Bowl champion. People of fame understand more than ever today that cameras are watching their every move. Not every famous person handles that situation well or as well as others.
There are of course the Alec Baldwins’ and Lindsey Lohans of the world who are often the target of cameras and fans and who really don’t take those things very well. Again, not everyone learns how to handle fame right away. Just look at Yasiel Puig or if you dare, look at Amanda Bynes’ Twitter timeline.
Roethlisberger has proven that people can change and so can perception. My hope is that Roethlisberger did get some private time with his family and friends and I’m hearing that he did. Either way it’s good to see that he was just fine having his vacation interrupted at various times. I can’t say I would be able to handle such situations as well but then again no one cares what I think of BBQ fish tacos either.
Marc Uhlmann writes for and co-owns www.steelcityblitz.com. Follow him on Twitter @steeldad and follow the website at @SCBlitz. He can be heard Mondays on Trib-Live Radio at 4pm ET talking Steelers.
