Steelers Great Ben Roethlisberger Finally Feeling Respected Being In The Presence Of Past Teammates

The Pittsburgh Steelers recently celebrated the 20th anniversary of Super Bowl XL during their Alumni Weekend at Acrisure Stadium the night before the pivotal game took place against the Indianapolis Colts. The contest saw the Steelers win 27-20 in an unexpected show of force on all sides of the ball that surely made the alumni who attended the game incredibly happy to see. A good number of former players attended Alumni Weekend, many of them legends in the eyes of most Steelers fans, and one notable former player was former Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. It makes sense considering that he was the starting quarterback in that pivotal Super Bowl against the Seattle Seahawks.

Roethlisberger would talk about his experience at Alumni Weekend on his weekly podcast, Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger, and made some particularly interesting comments regarding how it felt to be reunited with his teammates from that particular Super Bowl, especially some of the veterans who were already established on the team. 

"Some of those guys, they only know me from like, one or two years of playing, and so, it's funny when I see them now, after I played for 18 years, they look at me different than when I played with them," Roethlisberger said. "It felt like I was finally deserving to be in their presence."

Roethlisberger's comments are interesting considering just how far he came from then to now. He felt like he was the one who had to earn the respect of all the older players, particularly the more established players, and he surely earned their respect after the career he had with the Steelers spanning 18 years. Reuniting with all of the players who used to see him as the young and reckless quarterback has to be an interesting experience now that they see what he became: a potential first-ballot Hall of Fame quarterback and one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history. Roethlisberger more than earned their respect after this kind of career, and the reunion of the former players at Alumni Weekend further proved that.

It certainly helped matters for the current Steelers team that Roethlisberger and the other legendary Steelers players were in attendance for the game against the Colts, as the Steelers played one of their best games of the entire season in a 27-20 win in what was seen as a massive upset around the league. Current Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers even gave credit to Roethlisberger's influence, calling the current team a "Big Ben team" at one point in his remarks after the game. That shows just how far Roethlisberger's influence has come and how much he's affected the culture of the team itself. 

Roethlisberger's influence is something the current Steelers team could certainly use as they continue down the stretch of the 2025 NFL season, and with how the schedule gets more difficult, the team could certainly benefit from his example.

Steelers' Current Players Could Be In This Position Decades Later

Regarding Roethlisberger's comments on finally belonging in the presence of other Steelers legends, there are plenty of current players who could definitely find themselves in similar positions many years from now. One player that could have a similar experience is current linebacker T.J. Watt, as his career continues. He could find himself in this same position, reuniting with other players from the former teams and finally being recognized as a Steelers legend by the veterans who saw him as a young, unproven player.

What did you think about Ben Roethlisberger's comments about finally feeling like he belonged in the presence of former Steelers legends? Who will be next to feel that way? Let us know in the comments below, or on X at @SteelersSwamp7.

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