Big Ben's Best

 

Ben Roethlisberger officially retired today.

I'm not here tonight to talk about his legacy. On the field, it's rock solid and legendary. He's not better (my opinion) than Terry Bradshaw but he holds his own and will waltz into Canton in five years.

Off the field, we know it's messy, though I think we can all agree that it's been clean as a whistle since 2010.

No, I'm here because when I think of Big Ben, I think of a few things. I think of that excitement of the Steelers drafting a quarterback in the first round after years of middling players.

I think of going to my one -- sadly, one -- Steelers game in Pittsburgh, in Ben's rookie year, 2004. The "Stillers" beat Washington (I don't dare use their name at the time), 16-7. Ben was a pedestrian 9 of 20 for 131 yards. He was sacked four times. Jerome Bettis -- forever, "The Bus" -- ran 31 times for 100 yards and a touchdown.

Of course, I think of Ben in the playoffs, making the AFC Championship in his first year and winning the Super Bowl in his second. 

But it's his second Super Bowl, on Feb 1, 2009, that stands out. Maybe he should have been the MVP but it's irrelevant. He was the man that night.

And, personally -- that's where the story is going -- I needed the Steelers to win that night. Bad.

Oh, you can go through the archive and find the posts I wrote from that time.

For those of you who don't know, 2009 wasn't a shiny, happy time in my life. The process towards the end of my marriage was slogging along. We still lived in the same house but it was, at best, ice-cold.

I slept in my office on a twin futon from Ikea.

Life went on every day and I'll let those couple of paragraphs stand as the quickest representation of what it was like. A topic for another time.

Sean and I had actually awakened on Super Bowl Sunday in Pennsylvania. My baby great niece Emma was having a birthday party.

Oh, let's throw in that I got a ticket on the New Jersey Turnpike and the cop questioned Sean as if he might have been abducted. He was doing his job and I get that but it was awkward and, frankly, it freaked Sean out.

So, yeah, I needed that Super Bowl. It's dumb and it wouldn't have mattered if the Steelers weren't in the game. But they were.

We drove back home on Sunday afternoon and made it in plenty of time for the game. His mother would not be joining us. She spent the weekend where she would eventually move and get married.

Sean hung in with me for quite a while, watching the game and getting excited (for as much as his almost seven-year-old brain could process).

He made it into the second half before he began to drift off. I helped him to bed and said goodnight.

On the field in Tampa, the Steelers had built up a 10-0 lead. The Arizona Cardinals cut that to 10-7 and were heading towards a score as time ran out in the first half. Kurt Warner tried to force a pass into Anquan Boldin two yards deep in the end zone.

James Harrison intercepted the pass at the goal line over the middle and rumbled 100 yards for a touchdown.

In Carmel -- where we lived at the time -- I was unhinged. Despite what you think, I'm normally not like this.

I danced..."Go...Go...GOOOOO!" before throwing my arms up in exaltation.

It was 17-7 at the half. The lead stretched to 20-7 in the third quarter.

A 13-point lead! A great defense of Harrison and Troy Polamalu and LaMarr Woodley and James Farrior and Ike Taylor...swaggin. How could they lose?

And then?

Then?

Larry Fitzgerald -- truly an all-time great -- caught a touchdown with 7:33 to play. 20-14

OK, no need to panic.

The Steelers went three-and-out. Still, trust the defense.

The Cardinals drove to the Pittsburgh 36 before they punted. They pinned the Steelers on their own one with 3:26 to go.

But they've got this! Pound the rock with "Fast" Willie Parker! Throw short passes! Keep matriculating the ball down the field, boys!

Ben hit Santonio Holmes on a gutsy call on third-and-10 at their own one. First down, baby! Move the chains! Arizona would have to use their timeouts (two remaining)! The sixth Lombardi trophy was on the way.

And then I saw it.

A flag.

Holding. Justin Hartwig. In the end zone. 

That's a safety, two points for Arizona, and they get the ball. 

20-16 with 3:04 to play. Trust the defense.

Sean, thankfully, is a deep sleeper. That could work against him but, in this case, it was a good thing, as his maniacal father paced the house on Collier Drive. 

1st and 10 at the Steelers 36: Warner threw incomplete. I took a deep breath.

2nd and 10 at the Steelers 36: Warner dropped and threw over the middle. Fitzgerald was matched up with Harrison. The throw was on the money.

"Thirty, twenty, TEN!" Al Michaels said on NBC. "Arizona has the lead!"

23-20.

I was sick.

This wasn't happening.

There was 2:47 to play and the Steelers had two time outs. They needed a field goal from Jeff Reed to tie it and possibly go to overtime.

They had Ben.

As sick as I was, there was hope.

They started the drive with 2:30 to play.

When the Steelers had a holding penalty on first down, my sickness grew. They were now back at their own 12. But Ben, avoiding the rush near his own end zone, hit Santonio Holmes for 14. Few -- ever -- were better buying time in the pocket (sometimes too much time) than Big Ben.

They were at their own 26 and in hurry-up mode. No need to panic. Nate Washington couldn't hold on to a deep pass to the right side as the clock dipped to the two-minute warning.

It was third-and-six at the Pittsburgh 26. Facing a blitz by Arizona, Ben threw high and Santonio pulled it down at the 39. Thirteen yards and a first down.

Breathe, Rob.

Nate Washington took in a quick pass for 11 yards and another first down but couldn't get out of bounds to stop the clock.

1:15...1:14...1:13...

"And it's become a little bit windy here," Michaels said. Those aren't words you want to hear when you need a field goal to tie the Super Bowl.

Ben ran for four yards on first down to the Arizona 46. Timeout, Steelers, with 62 seconds remaining.

I picked the wrong night to stop sniffing glue.

Realistically 20 yards would get Reed in place for a 43-yarder. Still, nothing wrong with being greedy. Ben, head coach Mike Tomlin, and offensive coordinator Bruce Arians decided to get greedy.

Roethlisberger took a four-step drop. He pumped. Then he threw and hit Holmes at the Arizona 35. At that point, they were looking at a 52-yard field goal.

But Holmes wasn't done. Defender Aaron Francisco fell and Santonio turned the sideline. He kept running as he broke back inside.

He was tackled at the six yard line. Oh, they were in field goal range now. 

The Steelers took their last time out.

I aged.

Life flowed through my brain. So many emotions.

This was no longer about a field goal.

Go win the Super Bowl, Ben.

He emptied the backfield with five wide receivers on first and goal at the six. He looked right and pumped. Then he threw high -- seven yards deep -- towards Holmes, who Arizona simply couldn't seem to stop. He had eight catches before that play.

But nothing is ever easy and the ball sailed incomplete.

Second and goal at the Arizona six with forty-three seconds remaining. 

The house was empty and quiet, as Sean slept. Michaels, John Madden, and 70,774 nuts in Tampa were the soundtrack.

Plus me.

Hoping.

The play started with Ben in shotgun and Mewelde Moore lined up next to him in the backfield. He would peel out as a check-down receiver, creating five options for Ben. Moore went to the eight as Ben dropped back.

Washington worked over the middle. Heath Miller streaked along the left hash marks. Hines Ward turned near the three and waited.

Holmes went towards the right back corner of the end zone.

Al Michaels -- calling a brilliant game -- spoke:

"Roethlisberger. Has time..."

Ben held the ball out in his right hand. Then he pumped. He directed traffic with his left hand. He danced to his right.

Then he cranked and let it go.

"Throws to the back of the end ZONE..."

I watched Homes. It's what I would normally describe as "climbing the ladder" but it was more than that.

Three Arizona defenders were nearby. The pass had to be perfect. Ben, arguably, never threw a better ball.

Santonio reached and tapped.

"And it is..."

Come on. Do this.

"CAUGHT FOR A TOUCHDOWN," Michaels growled. 

A brief moment passed.

"BY HOLMES!"

Santonio hugged the ball like a long-lost friend.

A few seconds passed before Madden -- calling his last game -- could only muster one word: "Unbelievable."

"Incredible," Michaels added.

In Carmel, I didn't care who heard me. They could hear me rattle the house from the Moon for all I cared.

As the eight-play, 78-yard drive concluded, I let loose.

"YYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS"

Like the classic cork, I popped. It all rushed out of me. 

I was out of breath.

There were still 35 seconds but, with the extra point, the Steelers now had a four-point lead. Warner and company needed a touchdown to win. If that happened, all I could do was tip my hat.

People will always talk about "the Helmet Catch" the year before and Lynn Swann's magic in Super Bowl X. This catch -- Holmes tapping both feet down while snagging a ball that only he could catch -- stands right there.

Still, there was time. The Steelers gave the Cardinals the middle of the field and Warner exploited that to get to the Pittsburgh 44 in two plays. Arizona burned their final two time outs.

Fifteen seconds. That was it.

Warner scrambled but couldn't avoid LaMarr Woodley, who knocked the ball loose. It rolled forward and Brett Keisel -- always fear the beard! -- recovered it.

But.

Wait.

A flag, fortunately, after the play on Woodley. So the fumble stood but there was still a review to confirm that Warner's arm wasn't moving forward (thus an incomplete pass).

The fumble was confirmed. Ben gathered the crew in the victory formation, then took a knee to end it.

Pittsburgh 27, Arizona 23.

I smiled. I exhaled. Eventually, I'd sleep.

The house would get emptier a few months later, then fill up as Emma and family moved in with us for a fun stretch. We were all gone by the spring of 2010

But that night -- Feb 1, 2009 -- the Steelers were on top of the world. 

The roller coaster of emotions came back into the station with euphoria.

It took a while before I got any sleep.

Thanks, Ben, for a wild ride.

See you in Canton.