By. Jonathan Clark
SteelerNation.com
For those of you who have been into the Bigger than Ben Youtube documentary, we are given a special inside scoop to share the experience Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger went through emotionally and physically in order to put on a Steelers uniform in 2020. It has already gone through 4 episodes, and given us some amazing insight as to what it actually takes to be the Big Ben Roethlisberger that we all have fallen in love with on the football field.
This week's episode gave us an insight as recent as this past Monday Night Football game against the New York Giants. One of the most interesting quotes that I heard in this episode was the term "football justice". It was quoted by head coach Mike Tomlin, where he says that the Steelers opening up their season in New York City on primetime, with Ben Roethlisberger’s comeback being nationally televised, just seemed too good to be true calling it "Football Justice ''. That quote really got me thinking.
That term "football justice" could be the team motto for not just that one primetime game, but for the whole season.
Hear me out. The Steelers are a storied franchise, obviously having the most Super Bowl victories (tied with the New England Patriots with 6) in the NFL gives that title some justice. With that comes expectations, expectations of providing that Steelers culture we all know and respect. Expectations of leading by example. And most importantly, the Steelers are always expected to win football games. Despite this, the past couple of seasons of Steeler football have fallen short.
For as long as I can remember, the Steelers have done an excellent job of representing themselves in the way that most people would expect, under the respected Rooney family. You never really heard of too much wrongdoing in this organization, there were never any huge drama stories surrounding the team, and they never failed to put a winning product on the football field on Sunday’s. But for the past couple of seasons, that was not the case.
It all started with the drama surrounding the Pro Bowl RB Le’Veon Bell contract situation. Many were questioning how the Steelers value their players when contract time was just around the corner and some accused the organization of “low balling” the star RB. The media was following the team around like puppies constantly asking Bell’s teammates to confess the true feelings they had regarding the situation as a whole. Then came the former All-Pro WR Antonio Brown debacle where he blamed the team for putting future Hall Of Fame quarterback Ben Reothlisberger above everyone else in the organization. That came with Brown criticizing Roethlisberger’s leadership style publicly, shaming Roethlisberger and the Steelers in any way he possibly could on platforms for millions to see. The Steelers stayed quiet throughout in hopes that the play on the field would do the talking.
Obviously Roethlisberger’s injury last season ruined any hope of a “silence the doubters” type of year. But most importantly, he is back and he’s looking for vengeance, and the scary part is, it’s not just him. It’s this team as a whole.
We have heard throughout that this team feels like they are stronger than ever. Obviously the talent is there, but we can't deny that there is something different about this team. From the reports that we heard this off-season, to what we saw take place on the field Monday night, this team just looks unified. And if you ask anyone on the roster, I'm sure they wouldn’t tell you any different. Roethlisberger is the leader of this football team and owns that role better than anyone else could. The team has stated that some would just love to “win for Ben”, clearly silencing the doubters of his leadership style. Could this season be the Steelers own “Football Justice”? Overcoming the obstacles of what these past couple of seasons have brought on in the best way possible -- holding a Lombardi Trophy at the end of the last game of the 2020 season. You can't tell me that this would not be the best way to see this comeback season end, silencing all of the doubters of the past four seasons and doing it with a championship to back them up. Now that is Football Justice.
Watch Bigger Than Ben: Part 4 HERE:
Let us know how you think this season will play out! Comment below!
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