OHIO TOWN EMBRACES ITS OWN SUPER HERO
Everyone knows how much it meant for Jerome Bettis to win the Super Bowl in Detroit, where the future Hall of Fame running back was born and raised. But he’s not the only member of the champion Pittsburgh Steelers to be revered in his home town.
Findlay, Ohio, is a small city of about 39,000 people in the sparsely populated northwest corner of the Buckeye State. In other words, a quiet kind of place. One likely to immortalize one of its own on signs, plaques and such if he ever achieved fame. Or at least a giant billboard. Ben Roethlisberger, a Findlay native and high school football star, became more than just the youngest quarterback to ever win a Super Bowl earlier this month. He became a poster child.
This picture comes to us courtesy of a FFFF (Fantasy Football Files Fan) who happens to attend the University of Findlay. One might even call this person a UFFFFF, if one harbored an unhealthy obsession with acronyms. But no matter. As you can see, some people have much bigger fan bases than we do. And for good reason.
Hideous high school uniform and all, Big Ben now towers over Main Street in Findlay. It’s quite glorious. This is Findlay, people. You have to love the collective pride a local hero will inspire — especially in a region that must be inhabited with die-hard fans of Pittsburgh’s AFC Central rivals, Cleveland and Cincinnati. Things like this really make you appreciate sports and small towns alike.
Roethlisberger, who turns 24 next week, starred at Miami University (Ohio) before being selected by the Steelers with the 11th pick in the first round of the 2004 NFL Draft. He has lost only four of the 32 NFL games he has started, including playoffs, and will be a key factor as Pittsburgh gears up for its title defense — and a shot at a record sixth Super Bowl title — next fall.
As a fantasy option, Roethlisberger is solid. He will probably not put up huge numbers, but you can count on efficiency. His numbers after two seasons in the NFL: 34 TDs, 20 INTs, a completion percentage of 64.7, a rating of 98.3, and a 5-1 playoff record. Certainly enough to warrant mid-round fantasy consideration in your league, as well as small-town pride in northwest Ohio.
