I have been a Steelers fan since the days of the Steel Curtain. The Steelers are a good team, a team of which a fan could be proud. In the days when the Cowboys were not much more than a band of criminals, the Steelers were principled and disciplined. When the Vikings were condemned for their licentious cruise, the Steelers held their heads high above the fray.
And then along came Ben.
Ben Roethlisberger is, at best, an inconsistent quarterback. But at least he was trying, we thought. After all, he led the team to two Super Bowl victories, didn't he?
But Ben defied his coaches order and his fellow teammates' advice and continued to ride his motorcycle without a helmet. When Terry Bradshaw told him to "park the bike", Bradshaw reports that Ben "got pissed off". As a result of his insolence, Ben was involved in an accident that nearly ended his career.
And then there was that business in Vegas. But the woman was unstable, so there was a likelihood that she was lying in order to maneuver the Super Bowl star into paying her a nice monetary settlement just to get her off his back. So we gave Ben a pass on that one.
Now, there's Georgia. This time, there are more details, more witnesses. Ben was bar-hopping with friends and they kept running into a group of sorority girls. Ben bought them a round of shots, then had one willing girl escorted to a bathroom by one of his bodyguards. He followed and apparently had sex with her while his bodyguards blocked the hallway. Sheesh, Ben, are you that hard up for sex that you have to hump a woman in a public restroom?!
Now the girl in question is 20 years old — too young to drink in Georgia — so why was she being served? The press isn't interested in that one, are they?
The DA milks the incident for all it's worth, trying to stretch out his 15 minutes of fame, and finally announces that he will not file charges because he can't prove that what happened in the bathroom was rape. But he gave us enough details of the events leading up to the bathroom incident to make us wonder if Ben is an order of fries short of a Happy Meal — or, in Ben's case, one can short of a six-pack.
The guy's 30 years old — certainly old enough to KNOW better than to behave like this! He has a responsibility to his coaches, his teammates, his fans and the league to behave in a manner becoming a Super Bowl star. But nobody can tell Ben anything. Ben will do whatever he damn well pleases, thank you very much. And so he stood before the press in an ill-fitting bright red shirt, with his hair in an overgrown Mohawk tied into a pony tail, to tell us that he was sorry. Yeah, right. . .
Today was dress-down day at the office and I grabbed a Steelers T-shirt — and then tossed it aside and wore a plain blue shirt, instead. For the first time in my life, I find it embarrassing to be a Steelers fan.
And then along came Ben.
Ben Roethlisberger is, at best, an inconsistent quarterback. But at least he was trying, we thought. After all, he led the team to two Super Bowl victories, didn't he?
But Ben defied his coaches order and his fellow teammates' advice and continued to ride his motorcycle without a helmet. When Terry Bradshaw told him to "park the bike", Bradshaw reports that Ben "got pissed off". As a result of his insolence, Ben was involved in an accident that nearly ended his career.
And then there was that business in Vegas. But the woman was unstable, so there was a likelihood that she was lying in order to maneuver the Super Bowl star into paying her a nice monetary settlement just to get her off his back. So we gave Ben a pass on that one.
Now, there's Georgia. This time, there are more details, more witnesses. Ben was bar-hopping with friends and they kept running into a group of sorority girls. Ben bought them a round of shots, then had one willing girl escorted to a bathroom by one of his bodyguards. He followed and apparently had sex with her while his bodyguards blocked the hallway. Sheesh, Ben, are you that hard up for sex that you have to hump a woman in a public restroom?!
Now the girl in question is 20 years old — too young to drink in Georgia — so why was she being served? The press isn't interested in that one, are they?
The DA milks the incident for all it's worth, trying to stretch out his 15 minutes of fame, and finally announces that he will not file charges because he can't prove that what happened in the bathroom was rape. But he gave us enough details of the events leading up to the bathroom incident to make us wonder if Ben is an order of fries short of a Happy Meal — or, in Ben's case, one can short of a six-pack.
The guy's 30 years old — certainly old enough to KNOW better than to behave like this! He has a responsibility to his coaches, his teammates, his fans and the league to behave in a manner becoming a Super Bowl star. But nobody can tell Ben anything. Ben will do whatever he damn well pleases, thank you very much. And so he stood before the press in an ill-fitting bright red shirt, with his hair in an overgrown Mohawk tied into a pony tail, to tell us that he was sorry. Yeah, right. . .
Today was dress-down day at the office and I grabbed a Steelers T-shirt — and then tossed it aside and wore a plain blue shirt, instead. For the first time in my life, I find it embarrassing to be a Steelers fan.
© 2010 by Libbi Adams. All rights reserved.
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