The Pittsburgh Steelers enjoyed 18 seasons of success with Ben Roethlisberger leading the way at quarterback. They won eight division titles during his tenure which is more than the Cincinnati Bengals and Baltimore Ravens have won in the history of the AFC North. They made the AFC playoffs 12 out of 18 seasons, appeared in three Super Bowls and won two. Roethlisberger was 13-10 in the playoffs and is likely headed to the Hall of Fame.
Credit: Jay Biggerstaff/USA TODAY Sports
Steelers' Ben Roethlisberger (#7) walks off the field for the final time after losing to the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2021 Wild Card round in Kansas City, MO.
The Steelers’ former signal-caller retired after the 2021 season, and it was not without controversy. Many observers felt that he hung on too long and that he was a shell of himself despite leading seven fourth-quarter comebacks to drag Pittsburgh into the playoffs. Roethlisberger himself has hinted that he felt he still had gas in the tank, but was not welcome to come back in 2022 to the Steelers. He decided to retire rather than play football in another uniform.
The Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger podcast released its 25th episode and Roethlisberger shared with co-host Spencer T’eo that he had suffered a herniated disc in his back and was still recovering from the injury he aggravated playing pickup basketball.
“18 years in the NFL, never hurt my back,” Roethlisberger stated. “Retired for a year and a half, try and play a little basketball or something and yeah, it’s like my discs or my vertebrae are like an ice cream sandwich that smooshed. The ice cream’s coming out, so I have like fluid and goo coming out. It’s pushing on a nerve which is why I have pain in my leg.”
Roethlisberger earned a reputation as a diva during his NFL career for never being afraid to share information about the injuries he was dealing with on game day. Most of the time, the injuries did not prevent him from stepping on the field and performing while playing hurt. There is no doubt Roethlisberger displayed legendary toughness on the field, but the root issue for some fans and the media was that it would have been more impressive if he had not pointed it out first.
“Can I still golf,” Roethlisberger asked the doctor. “That is what I care about. I can, I just can’t swing it real hard right now.”
Credit: Jay Biggerstaff/USA TODAY Sports
Steelers' Ben Roethlisberger tees off.
Steelers' Ben Roethlisberger's Scratching Need For Competition With His Golf Game
Golf is incredibly important to Roethlisberger and his oldest son Benjamin Roethlisberger, who recently won the Cleveland Junior Open. The younger Roethlisberger is gaining quite a reputation on golf courses and is displaying a real aptitude for the game. The future Hall of Famer felt up to playing the role of caddy for his son, carrying his golf bag for 36 holes and coaching his son during the tournament.
“I was carrying for him. That probably wasn’t good for my back, whatever. It is for my son,” Roethlisberger beamed with pride. “Just typical Roethlisberger dominating Cleveland again type thing.”
Cleveland famously passed on the Steelers signal caller in 2004 and Roethlisberger who went to school at Miami of Ohio never passes up an opportunity to needle the Cleveland Browns and their fans. T’eo pointed out that his son is one of the best in his age group and the proud father took it in stride, pointing out that his oldest boy loves to play but wants to be careful about pushing him at a still young age in any direction when it comes to sports.
“I keep asking, I’m like, 'Dude, do you want to do this,'” Roethlisberger said. “He’s talking about I am going to go to the Masters. 'Are you sure, because if you just want to play with dad when we go on trips and like father-son events, that’s a different kind of golf. If you really want to be great at this, I think like 12 or 13, it’s like okay we might need to get like almost psycho crazy if you really want to do this.'”
It seems that his son has already decided to pursue golf, despite his dad’s caution about potentially burning out a young kid by specializing in a certain sport too early.
During a difficult run on the second day of the tournament, Roethlisberger related a story about just how focused his son was on performing under pressure and how any kid feels about advice from his parents sometimes.
“There were times I was best in the world at what I did,” Roethlisberger told his son to settle him down. “It wasn’t that I was always that good. Maybe I threw an interception or had a bad game or a bad segment of a game. I wasn’t the best in the world at that moment, that’s where you are right now, just bring yourself back to being the best.”
“I hear you, Dad,” his son retorted while they were walking on the fairway. “But honestly, like this is way tougher than what you did. What did you do? You threw the ball.”
As a parent, you will inevitably have this moment when your kid lets you know that what they are facing is a unique experience that you can’t understand. Even a world-class athlete like Roethlisberger can’t avoid it. Fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, eventually it is going to happen and all you can do is smile and let them learn from their own mistakes.
Ben Roethlisberger Twitter Account (@_BigBen7.com)
Steelers Ben Roethlisberger and family announcing his retirement
Roethlisberger may not have maximized his full potential as a player on the field depending on how you feel about his career, but he is maximizing his role as a father. He will make the Hall of Fame as a football player, but judging by how he is approaching retirement and allocating his time, that is much more important to him than anything he did wearing black and gold.
What do you think, Steeler Nation? Does Roethlisberger have his priorities in line? Please comment below or on my Twitter @thebubbasq.
