Since his retirement, there have been many tributes to Ben Roethlisberger and after eighteen years at the top of his profession he certainly deserved it.
Ben’s appreciation society reaches worldwide and fans in the United Kingdom are especially proud to have followed his career from day one. Steeler Nation UK (SNUK) are absolutely appreciative to have enjoyed every step of his long NFL adventure.
The younger Steelers fans will have only known Ben as the team’s quarterback. Many of them won’t be aware of the highs and the lows Steeler Nation endured with Neil O’Donnell, Tommy Maddox or Kordell Stewart. There were other quarterbacks after Terry Bradshaw, but those three deserve a mention as they occasionally flattered to give fans some hope the team would return to the big game.
One team did give fans a brief respite from those empty years when O’Donnell led the team to Super Bowl XXX. Unfortunately, they met a Dallas Cowboys team who were at their peak, and any hope of one for the thumb was smothered.
Dallas had lured Deion Sanders away from San Francisco in a bid to make their run, but it was the Cowboys’ Larry Brown who made the biggest impression on Steeler Nation. His two interceptions earned him the MVP for the contest and a lasting loathing by Steelers fans.
Then along came Ben…
It was the year when the draft was rich in quarterbacks. Seventeen quarterbacks were selected in that year’s draft with the big three of Ben, Eli Manning and Phillip Rivers going early. With the eleventh pick of the 2004 the Steelers selected Ben Roethlisberger and it wasn’t long before he made an impact.
Fans from the United Kingdom regularly travel to Pittsburgh to watch their team. Although some travel over for a long weekend, I usually aim to travel over for back-to-back home games. The year Ben was drafted I chose the week 4 and 5 contests which were against their divisional rivals Cincinnati and Cleveland. I have a soft spot for the Browns as historically they were our biggest rivals before they morphed into the Ravens.
Maddox was the Steelers’ starter when the season began. After he was injured in week two, Ben took over and won the following week in a Miami rainstorm. It was the first winning debut start for a Steelers rookie quarterback for nearly thirty years.
SNUK arrived in Pittsburgh to discover the name of Ben Roethlisberger was at the forefront of local football fans conversation. We were not to be disappointed. We enjoyed two wins and were fortunate to be given a field pass to watch the warmup for the Browns game.
It was an opportunity not to be missed so I purchased my first Roethlisberger jersey. One of my friends, Steelers’ photographer Mike Fabus, gave me the heads up that Ben was just about to leave the field, so I seized the chance to get Ben’s autograph. Not believing the opportunity was going to arise, I had brought nothing for him to sign. That’s when your game ticket comes in handy. Try getting a signature on the digital image on your phone these days.
Ben went on to win out the rest of the regular season and he led the team to the AFC Championship contest when they lost to the Patriots.
The following year, Ben took the team to Super Bowl XL and SNUK travelled over to finally enjoy a Steelers victory in the big one. Flying over into a snowy city, we were lucky to have local Steeler Nation support to help navigate the challenges which included picking up the expensive ticket from the scalpers.
Although Ben didn’t play to his best ability, the victory ensured any obstacles SNUK faced getting to the game were worth the stress. I also managed to get my camera passed the strict security so, for me that was a big bonus.
Three years later, we were back again in Tampa for one of the greatest Super Bowls played. We were present in Raymond James Stadium to witness Ben’s Immaculate Pass. After the Steelers fell behind late in the fourth quarter, Ben led the team on a 78-yard drive. He finished it with the unforgettable 8-yard pass to Santonio Holmes in the corner of the endzone to take the victory and register SixBurgh as part of Yinzers’ language.
Ben comes to London
2013 was a special year for SNUK as Ben came over to London in July to promote the International Series week 4 game against the Vikings. For the Steelers and sports media, it was obviously a top priority to have his photo taken in front of Big Ben. Locally, he was obviously featured on the UK sport channels, and he also took part in an NFL Forum that we were invited to.
Ben talked about football before answering questions from the fans and signing autographs. In addition, for a unique image from the event, he had his photo taken in front of SNUK’s flag.
The weekend of the game, the Steelers flew in on the Friday. They went straight to a practice session that SNUK were able to photograph. On game day, we organised a pub next to Wembley to become a Steelers bar for the day. Despite the loss, Steeler Nation rocked long into the night in London.
Ben makes NFL history
As mentioned earlier, SNUK would always try and visit Pittsburgh for two games. In 2014 we decided to fly over for the week eight and nine games. When we planned the adventure, we didn’t anticipate seeing Ben making NFL history.
The two games we flew over to watch were against the Colts and the Ravens. Ben threw six touchdown passes in both games. An amazing stat that set an NFL record and one that I am proud to have been there to watch. I obviously took a few photos of those games, and they will always be a big part of his legacy for me to treasure.
The following year I was lucky to photograph a Steelers practice on the South Side and had the honor to present Ben with our 2014 MVP trophy. If that wasn’t enough to make the trip worthwhile, SNUK were also blessed with Steelers Unite field passes to be part of the Steelers tunnel when the players emerge onto the field. I manage to take some great photos of Ben emerging onto Heinz Field.
Our 2016 adventure saw us travelling to Pittsburgh via Latrobe. Although it was October when St. Vincent College was quiet, we just wanted to experience the ambiance of where the Steelers train in the summer.
In between watching the Chiefs and Jets when Ben’s passing rating averaged 136, we travelled to his University in Miami to take in the stadium where he played his college games. Ben’s playing ability was forged on the field of Yager Stadium and we wanted to take in Ben’s alma mater.
The following year we relived one of our earlier adventures from the nineties by visiting Cleveland. Our friends the Edinboro Hotel and Bar were our gracious hosts for the season opener. We left Ohio with the win before watching the Steelers roll over the Vikings in Heinz Field.
Our final visit to Pittsburgh before Covid made travelling restrictive, was in the hope of seeing New England beaten in 2018. One of the rare Steelers’ losses we had suffered visiting Pittsburgh was a 2010 defeat at the hands of the Patriots. We sorely wanted to avenge not only that loss, but all the misery the Steelers had endured at the hands of the Brady Bunch.
One SNUK member Scott, who had never visited Pittsburgh before, travelled from Australia while I travelled in the opposite direction from London. As always, we both found Pittsburgh such a friendly place to spend time in and the Steelers produced the win against New England to send us both home extremely happy.
We didn’t get to witness Ben’s final game, but the journey from that first home game against the Bengals through the Super Bowl victories to the win over the Patriots was an experience that will be cherished for a very long time.
It’s been eghteen years from when SNUK were there from the start and we have enjoyed his greatest moments with those two Super Bowl wins in addition towatch him make NFL history. Who would have guessed?
Thanks Ben from SteelerNationUK. It was a wonderful journey and not one that is going to be easy to repeat.
Ben’s photograph before the Browns game courtesy of Peter Ridley.
