Steelers Throwback Thursday: Funny “Big Ben” Tweet drew wrong conclusion

Steel City Underground takes fans back in time to feature events, special moments, and historical times and players in the world of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Steelers Nation. Join us as we revisit these moments in our “Steelers Throwback Thursday” series.

With the NFL training camps nearly upon us this summer, we thought it would be fun for fans to go back to a moment in “Big” Ben Roethlisberger‘s career with the Pittsburgh Steelers where a little fun hijinks were involved that was, in itself, a bit of a retrospective.

During training camp in 2022, a year after Roethlisberger hung up his cleats, the Steelers were back at Saint Vincent’s in Latrobe (Pa.) getting prepared for the upcoming season. One Tweet from his official Twitter account, run by his representative Erin Cox, made 93.7 The Fan perk up and state,

“During his career, Roethlisberger took some flak…for not participating in every practice, especially later in his career.
Roethlisberger wasn’t known to have the type of regimented workout routines that a player like Tom Brady did with the avocado ice cream and other health foods.”

The emphasis by The Fan appeared to be that Roethlisbether may have been having a little fun with himself, and his habits.

That’s not the real story, though, behind this Tweet:

#ThrowbackThursday: May 22, 2012 – OTAs

"1, 2, 3…here comes Coach T! 78, 79, 80…"#Steelers#SteelersNation pic.twitter.com/9uWlQ6GHvC

— BigBen7.com (@_BigBen7) May 19, 2022

After a brief conversation with Cox about the real story behind the social media post, it turns out it was not Roethlisberger having the fun. When I asked for background on the Tweet, which I’d remembered had caused a small kerfuffle and found hilarious, she told me,

“No, those captions are all from my weird sense of humor.”

Roethlisberger was often the object of jokes surrounding his training regimen and attendance in practice sessions. Some were very lighthearted teasing, like Cox’s Tweet. Unfortunately, other comments and opinions were often shared by critics – fans and “experts” – that were rather derogatory.

Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Many times, Roethlisberger – like other veteran NFL players – was simply given time from practice by the Steelers staff whether it was to heal up for the next game or train on his own. Yet, in spite of that being factual, the detractors used it as a way to place heat, or create a narrative that fit their opinion, that “Big Ben” wasn’t all-in on doing what other players – including his teammates – were willing to do in the NFL.

The phrase, “It’s Ben’s fault,” became a type of drum beat for those who wanted to find fault. Those closest to Rothlisberger knew that was far from true, though.

As further proof that she did, indeed, have a sense of humor (obviously approved by the future Hall of Fame quarterback who allowed her to manage his website and social media accounts), Cox shared these gems with me for this Steel City Underground article:

credit: Erin Cox of BigBen7.com

credit: Erin Cox of BigBen7.com

97.3 The Fan has garnered its own attention over the years for not always being very fun-loving towards the local, hometown team that is the Pittsburgh Steelers. And, in the case of the Tweet they analyzed, drew the wrong conclusion.

As we wrap this throwback, it is a goodhearted reminder that it’s easy to make assumptions based on limited information or what is seen but not truly in context. Roethlisberger was a generational player that had many successes and wasn’t averse to having some fun while being a professional football player.