Big Ben's Night Out

Simply. Awesome.

 

Outstanding. Given the seriousness of some of the allegations, I hate to laugh about the guy, but I do.

So, now that it looks like the Steelers are keeping him and they were never all that serious about trading him, are they bad guys again? Or was dumping Santonio Holmes enough to stop the comparisons to the Bengals?

 

They could have kept Holmes on the roster, and still wouldn't have touched the Bengals legacy. The Steelers have to deal with the occasional troublemaker. The Bengals seek them out.

 

oop, My last post was probably out of line, and I'm sorry for that.

You actually had me for awhile that this really didn't have anything to do with your fan allegiances and that if this were Romo you'd be making your case just as ardently.

Then you lost me when you said the people who sent their Roethlisberger garb to the Steelers offices need to "grow the fuck up."

First of all, that is a very grown up, ballsy thing to do, in this fan's view. Those people are taking a stand. They're voicing their opinion - same as you - what's wrong with that? Maybe they have kids and don't want an asshole's (and we can all agree he's at the very least an asshole, right) jersey in their house anymore.

But here's the bottom line, oop: You root for the team-- for "laundry" as they say. That's fine, great. A lot of people do that.

But other fans root for people. And they can't stomach rooting for this particular person.

I think you need to recognize those fans' right to root the way they want to root.

 

That applies to me... My 7-year-old has a Roethlisberger jersey. I'm not going to let him wear it anymore, especially to the christian school that he attends.
I have to find him a Troy Polamalu or Hines Ward jersey.

 

Thank you, Luggie. But I do get it. I tick people off.

They have every right to root how they want. Just as I have every right to think they are ridiculous to put individuals high enough on a pedestal to be so upset when he falls off it and lands on his ass.

I am also unsure of how sending Roethlisberger gear to the Steelers' offices is ballsy. How exactly does that require courage? I can see your point about voicing their opinions. I think it is silly, but hey, if it makes them feel better.

My issue is that it seems they somehow assumed that he was a good guy just because he can throw a football. Never mind that there have been hints to the contrary in the past, the most important one being the motorcycle accident.

Yes, I do think that kind of hero worship is a bit immature. Just my opinion. I love sports, but I have long since stopped expecting professional athletes to be good people. Some are. Some aren't. But that's not why I am watching the games.

I have been uncomfortable rooting for certain Steelers for a long time, particularly James Harrison. I am even more uncomfortable with Roethlisberger now. But I'm not going to start ranting and raving and acting as if he somehow betrayed my trust as a fan because he has proven himself to be a bad guy. I'm just not going to like the bastard.

 

You ticking people off isn't some Badge of Honor to be proud of. You're some crusader out there "Unafraid to take the unpopular STAND!!!!" You tick people off because you can't debate without hitting below the belt at the first opportunity, no matter who you're debating with.

As for the pedestal: So some are hating on Roethlisberger because they always hated him and were jealous, while others hate him now because they put him on some kind of "pedestal"?

I don't understand how thinking someone is an ass for committing sexual assault (allegedly) means they were on some kind of "pedestal." Putting an athlete on a "pedestal" means you think of them highly, like think they're a dude who works at the soup kitchen, who gives a lot of money to charity, and who is a mentor to young people.

Ben Roethlisberger wasn't on some "pedestal." Committing sexual assault (allegedly) doesn't make him "Just a normal dude who fell from the pedestal you people put him on!" It makes him a deviant human being.

No "pedestal" is necessary to say "Wow, what an a-hole this guy is."

 

Piotr, that wasn't bragging. That was me taking some blame for some people getting ticked off at me. Your point about hitting below the belt is flat-out wrong. If you want to debate it, take it to PMs. We have been asked to stop with the pissing matches and I think that was a fair request for Moddy to make. (Ok, it was more of an order than a request, but I think you get my point.)

Regarding Roethlisberger, you really are missing my point. I don't know anybody who doesn't think he is an ass. Deviant works as well.

But some of the crying and gnashing of teeth over this goes beyond that. Much of it is from people who idolized the guy, made him out to be something more than he is and now they feel betrayed because he turned out to be a scumbag.

I do believe that many of the Steelers fans who are most upset here are the ones who put him on a pedestal. I'm just saying they were silly to have him there in the first place.

 

You don't need to "idolize" Roethlisberger to think he has shown that he doesn't care about how what he does can negatively affect the Pittsburgh Steelers.

At the very least, he has killed their season unless they can find a good quarterback for the weeks he is out. No "pedestal" required to say, "Thanks, jerk, for getting yourself in trouble . . . AGAIN."

 

Theres no proof that those fed up with Pig Ben put him on a pedestal. Just more made up gibberish.

 

So nobody in Pittsburgh did that? Seriously? Unbelievable.