Ben Roethlisberger

[BeyondFedUp]

There has never been a quarterback harder to bring down. Largely because of his size and strength, but also because he was elusive and agile when moving around the pocket.

Big Ben is one of the most under-rated QBs ever. He carried the Steelers for many years, often while being battered behind sub-standard sumo-dominated o-lines. He regularly extended plays and had a strong and accurate arm. He was about winning and never cared about stats. He took the blame all the time when his team lost even though he was often blameless. And for his troubles he was disparaged and called names by players he helped turn into stars like Antonio Brown and Leveon Bell.

I hope the Steelers DWFs give Ben the sendoff he deserves on Monday night, but if the team is losing it won't be surprising if he's booed. They rarely appreciated his greatness and were always quick to scapegoat him for the team's deficiencies.

Big Ben is the last QB standing from the Class of 2004, which makes me sentimental as 2004 was the year this forum got off the ground. Other than Brady, Ben is the last NFL star still around from that era.

Big Ben has been a quarterback that every player should respect no matter whether they played on his team or just against him.

There's nothing really to add to your post as it was thorough and succinct about a fantastic career. It just seems to me that it is bittersweet because he was so great and yet there seems to be nothing he can do to get in the graces of some players merely because of his skin color. Ben always took the high road and had an amiable personality. For him to not be adored by the Pittsburgh fans as a whole is beyond insane. I've always respected the heck out of the guy and I don't see how his own fans could not stand behind him.

 

[Don Wassall]

I will say that Antonio Brown actually apologized to Ben recently via Twitter. But then again, only a fool would believe anything Antonio Brown says.

The pathetic attitude of so many Pittsburgh DWFs toward Big Ben is what bothers me. But I have seen and experienced the irrational dislike, often outright hatred, that so many White sports fans in this area have for White QBs and White athletes in general most of my life. Not that it's much different anywhere else in the good old USA. Just one of the many pieces of evidence of Whites being turned inside out over time via relentless propaganda and indoctrination to reject their own kind and the many countless admirable achievements and accomplishments of Western civilization and the men who made it possible.

 

[sport historian]

I will say that Antonio Brown actually apologized to Ben recently via Twitter. But then again, only a fool would believe anything Antonio Brown says.

The pathetic attitude of so many Pittsburgh DWFs toward Big Ben is what bothers me. But I have seen and experienced the irrational dislike, often outright hatred, that so many White sports fans in this area have for White QBs and White athletes in general most of my life. Not that it's much different anywhere else in the good old USA. Just one of the many pieces of evidence of Whites being turned inside out over time via relentless propaganda and indoctrination to reject their own kind and the many countless admirable achievements and accomplishments of Western civilization and the men who made it possible.

The A Football Life episode a few years ago on Terry Bradshaw said he (even after becoming a popular TV personality) was reluctant to go back to Pittsburgh for many years. When he finally agreed to a ceremony, Bradshaw had his two young daughters with him on the assumption the Pittsburgh fans wouldn't boo with the girls there. As it turned out, Bradshaw was cheered, but it was long after his playing days.

 

[Don Wassall]

The A Football Life episode a few years ago on Terry Bradshaw said he (even after becoming a popular TV personality) was reluctant to go back to Pittsburgh for many years. When he finally agreed to a ceremony, Bradshaw had his two young daughters with him on the assumption the Pittsburgh fans wouldn't boo with the girls there. As it turned out, Bradshaw was cheered, but it was long after his playing days.

Bradshaw was treated poorly by both Chuck Noll and many Pittsburgh DWFs. The "dumb" label given him by Hollywood Henderson of the Cowboys in the run-up to Super Bowl XII stuck for a long time, in Pittsburgh and nationally. Bradshaw's buffoonish but not dumb by any stretch. He's also sensitive, which is why his relationship with the city and the Steelers organization was strained for so long and still is.

With Bradshaw and Big Ben both treated poorly, just imagine how bad it was for run of the mill starting quarterbacks like Mark Malone, Cliff Stoudt, and Neil O'Donnell. Tommy Maddox was also treated very badly even though he was mostly a backup during Bill Cowher's Great Seven Year Kordell Stewart Experiment. The way DWFs treat White QBs here is pathological.

 

[wile]

Robert Whitaker described it as a "bully system" here in America, I'd overlay that with the madness of crowds theories and my own America as Jonestown hypothesis but that is basically it weakling little clowns join in against a target.

As for Ben if you were to isolate a Ben hating DWF away from his group then accuse him of something and since they are mouthy they will always slip up and give you an in that DWF can be isolated (Alinsky rule) and then broken. BUT and it's big most normal people of the conservative persuasion are too nice to do anything but plead with the bully to follow some moral decency.

One bright spot in all this, America as a psyop literally spends trillions of dollars per year to psychologically break people and even the hapless conservatives are either pleading with the bullies or howling in indignity but they still stand, I gotta admire that.

 

[Booth]

Ben Roethlisberger retires after 18 years.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nf...l-after-18-seasons/ar-AATcK93?ocid=uxbndlbing

 

[BeyondFedUp]

Great career. One of the all-time greats who hasn't got the respect he deserves even from his own fan base.

He should walk away entirely. He shouldn't have a talking head job. He should tell this joke of a league goodbye forever until Canton and say "Thank you and goodbye".

 

[Leonardfan]

One of my favorite players. Pittsburgh will miss him and if the wrong qb decision is made will become a bottom feeder. Spotlight is on Tomlin now.

 

[BeyondFedUp]

One of my favorite players. Pittsburgh will miss him and if the wrong qb decision is made will become a bottom feeder. Spotlight is on Tomlin now.

Indeed. Tomlin in a normal world would be under pressure to get a real replacement. I look forward to what Don has to say now that it's official. He was a big fan of Big Ben.

 

[Don Wassall]

Making it official was anti-climactic as it's been known for months that this season was it for Big Ben. Always underappreciated and at times treated quite poorly by Steelers DWFs, former teammates and the fake news sports media, at least he's going out with a lot of well-earned good will.

 

[The Hock]

Toughness is an underappreciated attribute in a QB and Big Ben had plenty of it.

 

[Freethinker]

Congrats to Big Ben on a fantastic career. He played at a high level for a long time and kept the Steelers consistently winners, which is something that is supposed to be hard in the “league of parity”. I think Ben was just unfortunate to play in a golden era of quarterbacks. In any given season, he was out-shadowed by Brady, Manning, Brees, Rodgers, Rivers and for a few years Farve, Ryan and Stafford. But in a testament to his durability and longevity, he had more good seasons than some of the guys who’s great season outshined him.

I think Pittsburgh DWFs will appreciate he more after he’s gone.

 

[white lightning]

Congrats to Big Ben on a fantastic career. He played at a high level for a long time and kept the Steelers consistently, which is something that is supposed to be hard in the “league of parity”. I think Ben was just unfortunate to play in a golden era of quarterbacks. In any given season, he was out-shadowed by Brady, Manning, Brees, Rodgers, Rivers and for a few years Farve, Ryan and Stafford. But in a testament to his durability and longevity, he had more good seasons than some of the guys who’s great season outshined him.

I think Pittsburgh DWFs will appreciate he more after he’s gone.

Yes just like in life you don't appreciate what you have till it's gone. Congrats to Big Ben Roethlisberger on a fantastic career!

 

[Don Wassall]

Toughness is an underappreciated attribute in a QB and Big Ben had plenty of it.

This. Big Ben may have been the toughest quarterback ever. Especially in the first half of his career when he took a constant pounding as his o-line was consistently bad and he either stood in the pocket like an immovable oak tree as would-be tacklers bounced off him, or kept plays alive by moving around before eventually locating a receiver and making a play downfield. I've never seen a QB keep plays alive for as long as he routinely did.

He was a great deep-ball passer until the last few years. He was never as fast or elusive as Josh Allen, who's about the same size, especially in the speed department, but Big Ben was a surprisingly agile runner in his own way in his early years. And he was always about winning, not padding his stats, much like Terry Bradshaw before him.

 

[Don Wassall]

 

[Extra Point]

I remember following the 2004 NFL draft. The Browns traded a 2nd round pick to Detroit to move up one spot in the first round.

I thought "smart move!" " They're making sure they're getting Big Ben."

Instead they drafted tight end Kellen Winslow Jr. What fools.

 

[white is right]

An audio tribute to Big Ben...