Roethlisbergers refuse to change their ways in spite of Big Ben's stardom
Saturday, January 15, 2005
By Dave Hackenberg, Toledo Blade Sports Writer
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FINDLAY, Ohio -- It was a tough assignment for a photographer. Go to the Roethlisberger house on the south side of Findlay and take a family photo flavored with plenty of Pittsburgh Steelers' memorabilia.
The problem? There isn't any.
Ben Roethlisberger may be the star quarterback of the Steelers, he may be the NFL's offensive rookie of the year, he may be headed for the Super Bowl. But you wouldn't know it to walk through the doors of this pleasant but modest ranch home.
Ken and Brenda Roethlisberger have lived here since Ben was in the fifth grade. The house has about 1,400 square feet and three bedrooms. One belonged to Ben. Another belongs to Carlee, a sophomore athlete at Findlay High School. Neither bedroom has had a TV or telephone.
"It's small, but it has kept our family close," says Brenda, who is Ben's step-mother. "Everything has always happened in the family room and kitchen, or in the front and back yards."
"Lots of games out in the yard," Ken said. "But we've always spent a lot of time together as a family. You only have your kids for a short time."
One of them is gone now. Ben has won 13 consecutive games as the Steelers' starting quarterback heading into their AFC playoff game today against the New York Jets in Pittsburgh.
A lot has changed in his life, and all indications are he has handled it in stride. He is confident without being cocky. He is modest and polite. He may be the toast of the town, but that town isn't Findlay. At least not this particular house on this particular street in Findlay, where the real stars are a golden retriever named Max and a chocolate lab named Casey.
Here, Ben Roethlisberger, 22, is the same son and brother that he always has been, which may be why he is the same person he always has been.
It is a warm and comfortable place, and yes, there is a framed picture of Ben posing in his Steelers' uniform. It's on top of the desk, tucked behind Carlee's photo in her Findlay basketball uniform. But that's it.
The Roethlisbergers, for sure, have not gotten caught up in their son's fame and fortune.
"You can get lost in that stuff," Ken said. "And we have a daughter who is her own person and is following her own path who doesn't need to hear or see that stuff all the time."
Carlee, who stands 6-feet, goes to school and plays volleyball and basketball.
"It's sort of funny at school with a lot of kids walking around with Ben's jersey on," Carlee said. "And away games are different. People are always yelling 'Where's Ben?' or 'Go Steelers.'
"In a way, I'm not surprised what he's done because he has always loved to prove himself. But I really never thought he'd be playing in the NFL. It's kind of weird watching a game on TV and realizing, 'Hey, that's Ben.' "
Ben Roethlisberger never was, in Brenda's words, a Golden Child.
"He struggled through things like everybody else," she said.
Those struggles began when his mother decided she wasn't cut out to be a parent and left Ken and their 2-year-old son. Dad raised Ben by himself until meeting Brenda at the YMCA in Van Wert.
She had played, and later coached, small college basketball in Kansas and Missouri. He had been a two-sport athlete at Georgia Tech, a quarterback on the football team before suffering a knee injury, and a pitcher in baseball.
They met during a lunch-time, pick-up basketball game at the YMCA. She cut across the lane, knocked Ken on his rear end. It was love at first sight. They were married six months later.
Four years later, Ben's birth mother was on her way to pick him up for a weekend visitation. She was driving near Lima when her car was broadsided. She died from her injuries. Brenda has been "mom" ever since.
Ben played on a middle school football team that never won a game. When he reported to Findlay High for ninth grade, the mayor's son was at quarterback, and Ben was a little-used wide receiver on the freshman team. He finally got a shot at the position, threw four touchdown passes in his debut. The team didn't lose again that season.
It is well-documented that he was returned to wide receiver for his junior season before shattering records at quarterback as a senior, the only year he started at that position on the varsity.
"Ben has been through a lot," Brenda said.
"I think that's one of the reasons he has become so popular. He's shown courage and made something of himself."
Ken Roethlisberger thinks back to draft day last April. He rubs his hand over his face and says, "Geez, it seems like three years ago. So much has happened; it's truly amazing.
"But I remember looking across at Ben [as teams passed over him], and he was very calm. I think he already knew that wherever he went he would make it work.
"And when the Steelers, who really hadn't indicated a need at quarterback, took him, I know his attitude was, 'I'll show them what I can do and make those other teams sorry they didn't take me.' "
They can pinch themselves today at Heinz Field, watching Ben start his first NFL playoff game.
But first they met the family's newest member. Ken and Brenda spent last night at Ben's place in Pittsburgh, baby-sitting.
"Ben's nickname with his teammates growing up was Rotty," Ken said. "He even had a stuffed Rottweiler. So he just bought his first dog, and that's what he got. He had him flown in from Germany and named him Zeus."
"I'm so excited, I get to see my grand-puppy for the first time," Brenda said Thursday night.
And is she excited about the game?
"Well sure," Brenda said. "That, too."
(Dave Hackenberg writes for the Block News Alliance and The Blade of Toledo, Ohio
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