Ben Roethlisberger is a hometown hero in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania who began playing for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2004 and became one of the best passers in the National Football League.
This quarterback is known by his nickname “Big Ben” for good reason, standing at 6’5” and 240 pounds.
Seeing Roethlisberger’s massive figure running down the field is a frightening sight for enemy teams.
Roethlisberger is one of the few players in the National Football League to serve on the same team throughout his entire career.
How Many Rings Does Ben Roethlisberger Have?
Ben Roethlisberger has two Super Bowl rings.
He earned Super Bowl wins in 2006 and in 2009.
His first Super Bowl victory following his debut season showed the rest of the league what the rookie quarterback was capable of.
When the Pittsburgh Steelers went up against the Seattle Seahawks during Roethlisberger’s first Super Bowl, the Seahawks had a statistical advantage over them.
During the 2005 season, the Steelers had gone 11-5 whereas the Seahawks had gone 13-3.
Despite being at the neutral location of Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan, it was clear that the Steelers had vastly more local fans than the Seahawks.
Part of the reason for this favoritism was the Steelers running back Jerome Bettis, who was a Detroit native.
Seahawks fans and neutral fans from the country watched as questionable call after questionable call was made.
One of the most defining of these strange calls was when Ben Roethlisberger barely completed a quarterback sneak from the one-yard line to the third-and-goal line.
However, Roethlisberger was tackled right before managing to get the ball over the end zone, with only his helmet making it to the end zone.
The majority of Roethlisberger’s body was outside of the end zone, but the Steelers were still given the touchdown.
Although some may consider Roethlisberger’s first Super Bowl to be controversial, his second Super Bowl win against the Arizona Cardinals only three years later saw the Steelers win 27-23.
Throughout the entire game, the Steelers maintained a steady lead and never saw a moment where the Cardinals had the advantage.
The Cardinals could have taken the victory at the last moment, but LaMarr Woodley was able to stop Kurt Warner from scoring.
This caused a fumble that defensive end Brett Keisel was able to recover, firmly securing the victory for the Steelers.
Is Ben Roethlisberger Retired?
Yes, Ben Roethlisberger announced his retirement from the National Football League as a quarterback in late January 2022.
Following his 18 seasons as a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Roethlisberger felt that his time in the professional football league had come to a peaceful end and he was grateful for his career.
According to Steelers president Art Rooney II, Roethlisberger will go down in their team’s history as one of the greatest players of all time.
Rooney felt that it was Roethlisberger’s toughness, competitive nature, and determination that allowed the Pittsburgh Steelers to go to the Super Bowl twice within the same decade.
When Roethlisberger first joined the Steelers, he was the temporary replacement for an injured Tommy Maddox in 2004.
The rookie quarterback quickly proved that he could be more than just a replacement when he led his new team to a 15-1 regular season before losing to the Patriots.
Ben Roethlisberger retired at 39 years old and holds the record for the fifth most passing yards in the history of the entire National Football League at 64,088 yards.
Between this record and his Rookie of the Year honors, many football fans and officials see Roethlisberger entering the Hall of Fame.
Although the Pro Football Hall of Fame has announced that Roethlisberger won’t be eligible for selection until 2027, even his former coach Bill Cowher has stated that he does not doubt that he will see Roethlisberger in Canton before too long.
Ben Roethlisberger may have lost his last game as the Steelers’ quarterback when going up against the Kansas City Chiefs, but he still claims that he had throughout the game and his entire career.
Roethlisberger hopes that the example he felt behind for future generations of Steelers will carry them to the Super Bowl once again.
Is Ben Roethlisberger In The Dark Knight Rises?
Yes, Ben Roethlisberger appeared in an uncredited role in The Dark Knight Rises, the final installment of Christian Bale’s Dark Knight trilogy.
Roethlisberger was one of 13 veteran Pittsburgh Steelers to serve as Gotham City’s hometown team.
The players who got to stand alongside Roethlisberger on their fictional team included Willie Colon, Hines Ward, Mike Wallace, Heath Miller, Casey Hampton, Aaron Smith, Ryan Clark, James Farrior, and Troy Polamalu.
The football stadium scenes from The Dark Knight Rises were filmed at Heinz Field, the hometown turf of the Steelers.
Filming began on July 29th of 2011 all over Pittsburgh, with filming at the stadium taking place the following Saturday morning.
The role of the Gotham City football coach was given to Bill Cowher, who had retired from the team in 2006 to work as an analyst for CBS Sports.
Gotham City’s assistant coach was played by Kevin Colbert, who was the director of football operations at the time.
Thousands of local Steelers fans made appearances in the film as well, filling Heinz Field with plenty of color-coordinated extras.
The filming of The Dark Knight Rises became a part of Steelers’ history, with everyone from the players to the fans coming together to create a unique shared memory.
Ben Roethlisberger was able to land the role after becoming friends with the film’s executive producer Thomas Tull, who had joined the Steelers’ leadership team only two years prior to filming.
Tull was a major reason why director Christopher Nolan decided to make Pittsburgh the next Gotham City.
Although none of the players’ characters got to interact with Christian Bale as Batman, Roethlisberger was eager to do the movie just so he could have something to show his children when became old enough to watch the movie.
What Kind Of Accident Did Ben Roethlisberger Get Into?
Ben Roethlisberger got into a serious motorcycle accident that nearly took his life in July of 2006, leaving him in serious but stable condition.
In order to repair his broken jaw, nose, and several facial fractures, Roethlisberger had to undergo seven hours of surgery performed by the chief of oral and maxillofacial surgery at Mercy Hospital Dr. Daniel Pituch.
Luckily for the Pittsburgh quarterback, his surgeon was able to successfully repair all of the facial fractures and found that he had narrowly avoided serious damage to his brain, spine, chest, and abdomen.
However, Roethlisberger suffered a nine-inch laceration across the back of his head, clipped multiple teeth, and incurred minor injuries to his knees.
Ben Roethlisberger was only 24 years old at the time of his motorcycle accident and was known for his habit of riding his motorcycle around the city without a helmet.
At the time, Bill Cowher was the head coach and had to cut his vacation short to check on his star rookie.
When Cowher heard what had happened, he immediately began lecturing young Roethlisberger about not wearing a helmet.
Unluckily for Roethlisberger, he was completely conscious before entering the operating room and heard every word of his head coach’s safety speech.
Roethlisberger had decided to drive his black 2005 Suzuki Hayabusa to the multiple radio interviews he had to do around Pittsburgh and was heading towards an intersection when a silver Chrysler New Yorker that was traveling in the opposite direction went to make a left turn and smacked into Roethlisberger.
The quarterback was hit with such force that he flew into the Chrysler’s windshield before crashing into the ground head-first, causing a pool of blood to form around his body.
Roethlisberger wasn’t moving or speaking, causing witnesses to believe that he had died.
Why Does Ben Roethlisberger Always Wear Gloves?
Ben Roethlisberger prefers to play with gloves on because he feels that they make some throws easier for him while also keeping his hands warm in colder climates.
However, some Steelers fans have worried that gloves have gotten in the way of Roethlisberger catching crucial passes.
Roethlisberger has admitted that his gloves tend to get a bit sticky when the colder weather begins to set in.
He claimed that the only reason he wears gloves is that it’s cold out, but he also believed that his choice to wear gloves shouldn’t be as much of an issue for fans as it was.
Even in the locker room, Ben Roethlisberger got plenty of strange looks and comments about his gloves.
Roethlisberger had been wearing gloves since he started playing football in high school and continued to wear them despite what others thought.
When Tommy Maddox was asked about Roethlisberger’s tendency to wear gloves, Maddox felt that the young quarterback had a lot of growing up to do at the time.
While Maddox ensured that fans would never find gloves in his locker, he felt that Roethlisberger’s gloves were something he would grow out of in time.
Although Roethlisberger claimed that the gloves helped his hands in the cold weather, most professional players prefer to use their pouch for warming their hands up.
The pouch can normally be found around a quarterback’s waist.
Instead, Roethlisberger would take the Pittsburgh Steelers to the Super Bowl while still wearing his gloves, joining the likes of Tom Brady of the New England Patriots and Jim McMahon of the Chicago Bears to be the only players to wear gloves to the championship game.
Is Ben Roethlisberger Married?
Yes, Ben Roethlisberger is married to his wife, Ashley Roethlisberger, with whom he has two sons and a daughter.
The couple first met back while Roethlisberger was still at training camp at Saint Vincent College in 2005 when a fan walked up to the quarterback.
Roethlisberger was so taken aback by the fan’s sister that he decided to ask her out.
For the next five years, the pair saw each other periodically and began dating on and off.
Following the sexual assault allegations from 2009 and 2010, Roethlisberger’s personal life had taken a turn for the worst.
Things didn’t seem to lighten up for the quarterback until 2011 when he decided to marry Ashley Harlan.
Prior to even buying the engagement ring, Ben Roethlisberger made sure to ask both her father and her brothers for their permission to marry his future wife.
Despite the problems that had arisen in Roethlisberger’s life, the Harlan family’s local reverend felt that Roethlisberger had made a quick turnaround in his behavior.
Had Roethlisberger not gained this approval, Dave and Jeannie Harlan might never have allowed him to marry their daughter.
The couple exchanged vows at Christ Church in Grove Farms, Pennsylvania.
Only a year after getting married, the Rouethlisbergers welcomed their first child, Benjamin Roethlisberger, Jr.
Their second child was their daughter Baylee, who was born in 2014.
The youngest child of the trio is Bodie, who was born in 2016.
Together, the Roethlisbergers get to enjoy raising their children in Sewickley Heights, Pennsylvania where they own a 22,464-square-foot mansion.
The Steelers’ former quarterback originally purchased the property—which features eight bedrooms, seven bathrooms, and a pool—for about $2 million in 2015.
The family also shares the home with their two dogs, a Vizsla named Remy and a German Shepherd named Kota.
