Once a year my wife and I sit down and actually watch the Super Bowl together. I used to watch a lot of NFL, but for some reason I lost my interest after people getting paid millions of dollars to play a game became unable to put two coherent sentences together. Additionally, it became equally nauseating to watch these same multimillionaire players dance around in the endzone for doing the job for which they were paid.

But, like childbirth (so I am told), I eventually forget the pain and we watch one game a year for all of the marbles. I still end up feeling nauseated but I just blame it on all of the junk food I eat during the game.

Anyway, while watching this year’s game and not being able to forget all that is going on in this country, I couldn’t help but think about what the game would be like if we treated it like we do businesses. I’ll call this concept “crony football.”

Under the operating rules of crony football, by the end of the first quarter the San Francisco 49ers would have to hire a significant number of new lobbyists in order to convince the league officials that Baltimore had an unfair competitive advantage. These lobbyists would push to have the league start taxing the Ravens’ points so that the score would be more even and ultimately more fair.

Second, it would have been obvious that Baltimore was taking advantage of “loopholes” in the rules that allowed them to score more points and prevented San Francisco from scoring as many. These loopholes need to be closed now, before the entire league goes off the gaming cliff.

Third, because of the obvious disadvantage the 49ers had in the first half of the game, some special rules need to be put into place. These rules would include: The 49ers should be allowed to have 12 players instead of 11, they can have two guys in motion at the same time and we will move the out-of-bounds lines out a couple more feet just to make it fair.

Fourth, at the end of the game we should tax the winners’ income at a 50 percent higher rate than the losers, just to be fair.

Finally, no winner should be declared because that divides us instead of unites us. We don’t want any of the children who support either team to feel badly about themselves by declaring their team the loser. It is obviously more important for children to feel good about themselves than to be aware of reality and how the world actually works.

As long as we are fantasizing about crony football, I think that it would help everyone’s self-esteem and certainly be fairer if the Lions were declared the winner of the Super Bowl even though they weren’t there. The Lions were at a distinct market disadvantage through no fault of their own. They certainly need more or better lobbyists.

Unfortunately or fortunately, whichever way you want to think about it, I don’t have room in this column to get into the commercials. Suffice it to say that there were several that I greatly appreciated and a few that I could live the rest of my life and never see again.

I hope you appreciate this analogy and let me leave you with this guiding thought: “No worries, mon! Every-ting is gonna be all right!”

Gary L. Rathbun is the president and CEO of Private Wealth Consultants, LTD. He can be heard every day on 1370 WSPD at 4:06 p.m. on “After the Bell” on the Afternoon Drive, and every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evening at 6 p.m. throughout Northern Ohio on “Eye on Your Money.” He can be reached at (419) 842-0334 or email him at garyrathbun@privatewealthconsultants.com.

Tags: A View from the Gulch, crony football, Gary Rathbun, Super Bowl

This entry was posted on Friday, February 8th, 2013 at 3:02 pm and is filed under A View from the Gulch, Money Matters, Special Section, Toledo Business Link.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Fumble! Whenever this cry is heard in a football game, there is a mad scramble for the ball. Players are diving to the ground and wrestling each other for the football. The fans hold their breath as they wait to see who emerges from the pile with the ball. While the referees pull players off the pile, both teams usually point in the direction that indicates their team has the ball. This is usually wishful thinking. The player that made the recovery typically jumps up and raises the ball triumphantly for all to see. He is fired up about what can be a game changing play.

What is especially heartbreaking, is if the fumble occurs just short of the goal line. It can be devastating to see the team you are rooting for about to score a touchdown, only to fumble the ball. Hopes for victory can be dashed. A famous (or infamous) occurrence like this (sorry to bring up bad memories, Cleveland Browns fans) was when Earnest Byner, as he was about to score a game-tying touchdown with 1:12 left in the game, fumbled on the 2-yard line in the AFC Championship Game in 1988. Unfortunately for Byner and the Browns, this play is remembered as “The Fumble.” The winner of the game would go on and play in the Super Bowl.

This was a crushing defeat for the players and the fans because the Browns have never appeared in a Super Bowl and had not won a championship since the days of the great Jim Brown in 1964, before the game was even referred to as the Super Bowl. To add insult to injury, the 1988 defeat was bitter considering the Browns had had a chance to go to the Super Bowl the year before but lost to the same Denver Bronco team in overtime. Some said later that the fumble could not have been helped. Byner did not see the defender coming and was hit so hard there was nothing he could have done. The problem was it was too late in the game to recover and overcome this disastrous play.

As we help our clients plan for retirement, Nolan and I (Mark) often refer to what we are trying to do in these same football terms. We want to keep you from fumbling in the red zone (from the 20-yard line to the goal line). When a team gets inside the red zone it is in a good position to score. If you are older than 50, you may be in the retirement red zone. Your “blind spot” may be exposed. You might be at a stage that is crucial in the game and a fumble at this point could be disastrous. Let us give you a few examples:

O Reaching retirement and entering the phase of having to take money out of retirement accounts and not knowing what the rules are. This could be an income tax time bomb disaster.

O Making “The Big Social Security Mistake.” This is what we call it when folks decide to start taking Social Security, but cost themselves thousands and tens of thousands of dollars by making the wrong decision. (A free Social Security calculator is available at www.retirementguysradio.com.)

O Taking income from stock market accounts in a declining market. This can rapidly accelerate losses and cause you to potentially run out of money sooner.

O Not having an exit strategy or “circuit breakers” on stock market accounts. Do you know when to get out? A down stock market could devastate your retirement plans.

O Not protecting your assets from a health care crisis. A long-term care spend-down could wipe out or severely damage your life savings. One of the biggest fears we see is running out of money.

O Not having your estate plan done. If you do not take steps now, your children could pay a dear price later.

O Not planning for how an unexpected death can cause loss of income. If you are making a high level of income, you are a moneymaking machine. What kind of shape will your spouse be in if the machine breaks?

There are more examples of how “the big fumble” could occur as you approach or begin retirement. It may be late in the game with only 1:12 left on the clock like it was for Earnest Byner and the Browns as they tried to get to the Super Bowl.

What to do?

1 + 1 = 2. Information + action = results. You know what to do. O

For more information about The Retirement Guys, tune in every Saturday at 1 p.m. on 1370 WSPD or visit www.retirementguysnetwork.com. Securities and Investment Advisory Services are offered through NEXT Financial Group Inc., Member FINRA / SIPC. NEXT Financial Group, Inc. does not provide tax or legal advice. The Retirement Guys are not an affiliate of NEXT Financial Group. The office is at 1700 Woodlands Drive, Suite 100, Maumee, OH 43537. (419) 842-0550.

Tags: Retirement Guys, Super Bowl

This entry was posted on Saturday, February 2nd, 2013 at 10:00 am and is filed under Retirement Guys, Toledo Business Link.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

I really wish I could go into this Super Bowl weekend talking only about the game, but society dictates that the NFL championship weekend is about everything besides football, so I must talk about the storylines, the halftime show, the commercials, Phil Simms’ tie and if Boomer Esiason will have any voice left at the end of the radio broadcast (which you can hear on 1370 WSPD and Fox Sports 1230! Cha-ching!)

Heading into Super Bowl XLVII, the first thought that comes to mind is that they have to ditch the Roman numerals soon. While nothing was cooler than seeing the letters “XL” plastered over everything in Detroit, I pity the city that has to host Super Bowl L. There’s just no way to make that letter look cool.

If you’ve watched any coverage of the Super Bowl up to this point, you know by now that Jim Harbaugh coaches the San Francisco 49ers, and that his brother John Harbaugh coaches the Baltimore Ravens. If you’re paying attention, you also know that both were born in the Northwest Ohio area; their father Jack played at Bowling Green State University and was an assistant at Perrysburg High School when both Jim and John were born. From there they moved around (as a football coach is bound to do), with John eventually graduating from Pioneer High School in Ann Arbor, and Jim graduating the next year from Palo Alto High School in California. If that’s not enough sports in this family, the Harbaughs have a sister, Joani, who’s married to Tom Crean, the head men’s basketball coach at Indiana University. Pfft, basketball … am I right, fellas?

It’s also Ray Lewis’ last game playing professional football. It’s a heck of an honor for Lewis, a man who was once implicated in the stabbing deaths of two men, to be able to go out on his own terms like this. It’s going to be truly special to see a player who’s a 13-time-pro-bowler, who won Super Bowl XXXV MVP, and who provided testimony against two men who were ultimately acquitted of their murder charges in exchange for a lesser charge of obstruction of justice, to have another shot at the Vince Lombardi Trophy. Most players try to extend their careers a little too far, but not Lewis. Much like how he reached out-of-court settlements in both wrongful death suits brought against him in civil court, Lewis knows when it’s time to get out of the game. What an inspiration.

I haven’t heard buzz surrounding this year’s advertisements like I have in years past. I’m going to assume that’s because the era of the overhyped Super Bowl spot is over. They’ll still cost a lot of money, but we’ve seen more and more companies air any old commercial they have on tape. These used to be spotlight entertainment, the best of the creative minds at advertising agencies across the nation rubbing their heads together to write the funniest, most memorable spots. I think they ran into two issues, the first being that too often, the creativity of the spots far outweighed the commercial value of them, and nobody could remember what the advertisement was actually advertising. Secondly, the level of creativity and funny is not just reserved for Super Bowl Sunday anymore  — you can watch anything at that level of humor come up on YouTube twice a week.

Controversy surrounds the halftime show as Beyoncé is set to … you know, I can’t even fake enthusiasm for this. I don’t care if you resurrect John Lennon and brought The Beatles back together to play at the break, no halftime show is ever going to come close to Prince in 2007. He literally played “Purple Rain” in purple rain, and it was amazing. I don’t know what they hope to accomplish by bringing Mrs. Jay-Z in a year after Madonna played the half, but I don’t care for it. More of The Who, less of The Why-Is-This-Person-Playing-At-Halftime.

With all that out of the way, can I now talk about the game itself? Despite the Baltimore Ravens having to get through Peyton Manning and Tom Brady to get to the big game, the good folks in Vegas are still giving San Francisco 3-and-a-half points. I think that’s because everyone’s enamored with Colin Kaepernick. The brains from Nevada came in to take over for Alex Smith when he went down to injury, and impressed to the point that he got the starting job over Smith, leading the team all the way to New Orleans. It’s a fun story (well, fun for anybody not named Alex Smith), but the real story is San Francisco’s defense — second in the league in scoring defense, fourth in rushing defense and fourth in passing. Not that the Ravens have been bad on that side of the ball, they’re just not that high. If Joe Flacco can do what he did against Denver, though, then anything is possible.

Final word: Ravens 23, 49ers 17. I’m not making that pick through some knowledge divined from the stats; I’m just still angry that San Fran traded Joe Montana to Kansas City.

Matt “Shaggy” Culbreath is sports director at 1370 WSPD. Email him at shaggy@wspd.com.

Tags: Matt Culbreath, Shaggy, Shaggy Culbreath, Super Bowl

This entry was posted on Friday, February 1st, 2013 at 2:00 pm and is filed under Opinion, Pro Football, Shag on Sports, Sports.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Although I maintain political independence, my guess is that most people would peg me as fairly conservative on a personal level, and I would agree for the most part. I co-lead a nuclear-type family and I’m a big fan of order. I have no qualms about taking personal responsibility and I love me some good old-fashioned tradition. That being said, I’m not bothered by things like middle fingers and exposed nipples. I’m just not.

I suppose I’m expected to be all up in arms that rapper M.I.A. showed my three innocent children her middle finger during the Super Bowl. I should probably be declaring my disgust on Facebook and vowing that our family will never fork any of its hard-earned money over to the likes of her or anyone who supports her. I suppose I should be banging down the doors of NBC and the NFL until my voice is heard.

Instead, for my voice to be heard on the matter, I need only quote Jerry Seinfeld circa 1990: “It seems like such an arbitrary, ridiculous thing to just pick a finger and you show it to the person. It’s a finger. What does it mean? Someone shows me one of their fingers and I’m supposed to feel bad? Is that the way it’s supposed to work?”

Indeed, a middle finger did seem highly offensive to the young me being raised in a society that was highly offended by being shown a particular finger. However, after thinking about it years later I fail to see the merit in trying to protect my own children from such a thing. If we want to be a thinking society, we need to take a minute and consider the true horrors set in motion by an extended digitus medius. I can’t really think of any, can you?

The M.I.A. “incident” is being compared to Janet Jackson’s infamous 2004 Super Bowl “wardrobe malfunction” in which she exposed a nipple to my innocent then-9-month-old son. Perhaps I should talk myself down from the middle finger disaster by declaring that at least it wasn’t another nipple. The problem is that, in addition to not caring about a middle finger, I wasn’t really offended or outraged by Ms. Jackson’s supposed impropriety either.

My son was still seeing a woman’s nipple (i.e., mine) several times a day at that point in his life, so I doubt it would have fazed him in the least had he actually spotted it. Even if a nipple had made an encore presentation at this year’s Super Bowl, he still likely wouldn’t think much of it. If anything, after eight years of recognizing that breasts make milk, he would probably just wonder where the nipple lady’s baby was. Yet, if he does eventually find interest in breasts beyond the food source thing, which then allows me some grandchildren on down the road, I’m OK with that.

While we’re talking taboo, might I suggest that we go so far as to let the “F” word have its last three letters back? At this point I’m only protecting my children’s ears from it in observance of historical convention rather than out of it actually bothering me. I suppose it bothers me when someone uses it repeatedly, but it also bothers me when someone (e.g., my 6-year-old) says “apparently” a few too many times a day or I watch too many episodes of “The Smurfs.” The “F” word has as much meaning left as the word “Smurf,” so I’m ready to let it go free-range until the general public loses interest in it altogether.

If memory serves from junior high and high school, where I experienced raised middle fingers, interesting cleavage displays and colorful language on a daily basis, the main point is attention-getting. Considering all of the truly attention-deserving ills of the world, I’m not so sure that policing things like fingers, nipples and F-bombs completely warrants the time and energy it saps from society. I wouldn’t be happy if my own children were the offenders, as I do think a society’s mores deserve respect from its populace. However, I also don’t mind if the conventions that don’t make a whole lot of sense are allowed to simply fade away.

Shannon Szyperski and her husband, Michael, are raising three children in Sylvania. Email her at letters@toledofreepress.com.

Tags: Family Practice, Jerry Seinfeld, M.I.A., Madonna, NFL, Shannon Szyperski, Super Bowl

This entry was posted on Friday, February 10th, 2012 at 6:15 pm and is filed under Arts and Life, Family Practice, Uncategorized.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

For 364 days every year, advertisers do in commercials mostly what advertisers are supposed to do. They craft entertaining little spots designed to increase visibility of the product they represent and demonstrate why consumers should want to buy it.

But one day a year, some advertisers enter into a grand battle royale for supremacy. On Super Bowl Sunday, it’s not just about product visibility, as the commercials on display often seem to have little or nothing to do with the products they are plugging. Instead, the goal is to make the most memorable commercial possible, at any cost. You’re not just fighting competitors. You’re fighting everyone who paid big bucks to get an ad on the show, in an effort to be crowned champion.

This year’s popular favorites included a child dressed as Darth Vader starting a Volkswagon with the Force and a dramatic Chrysler commercial featuring Eminem. But for every hit, there were more that made viewers scratch their heads — and said something very different about their product than what their creators intended.

O Coca-Cola, “Siege”: A CGI race of half-Wookie, half-hamster creatures have their stronghold attacked by marauders with a dragon. Our heroes’ secret weapon: Coke, of course. They pour it down the dragon’s gullet, and suddenly it can only breathe pretty, pretty fireworks. For some reason, this causes the marauders to signal a panicked retreat.

What the ad was trying to say: “Man, Coke sure tastes great, doesn‘t it?”

What the ad really said: “Man, when you have a product that everybody all over the world already knows and loves, you can basically do anything with a Super Bowl commercial and it doesn’t make a bit of difference. Does it bother you people that we spent more on this nonsense than you’ll ever make in your lifetime? Of course not. Because Coke sure tastes great, doesn’t it?”

O Doritos, “The Best Part” and “House Sitter”: The popular corn chip baffled with two separate fan-made entries this year — one featuring a creepy office worker obsessed with eating the leftover crumbs from the bag, including licking them off his co-workers. The other saw a negligent housesitter bring a dead fish, plant and even grandparent back from the dead by sprinkling crumbs on them.

What the ads were trying to say: “Doritos are so awesome, you don’t want to waste even the smallest bit!”

What the ads really said: “Doritos are so awesome, they will inspire creepy, anti-social guys to molest you repeatedly for the smallest morsel. And since our chips have magical, life-restoring powers, that guy will live forever, so you’re stuck with him. Good luck, suckers!”

O HomeAway.com, “Test Baby”: An overcaffeinated man in a suit rants about how hotels hate their customers and you should rent a vacation home from him instead. They demonstrate this by locking people in experimental rooms apparently re-creating the hotel experience, climaxing with a fake “test baby” slamming into the glass wall of the chamber.

What the ad was trying to say: “We have scientific proof that the hotel industry is evil! So rent from us, because we’re, um, not!”

What the ad really said: “We were willing to mutilate a silicone baby for you! Funny, yes? Now, RENT FROM US!”

O Mini, “Cram It In the Boot!”: A fake game show demonstrates how roomy the trunk space is on the new Mini by having a contestant stuff an unimaginable amount of stuff in there.

What the ad was trying to say: “Our newest car sure is roomy in the back! That’ll make you forget that our brand used to be hip, right?”

What the ad really said: “If you love lewd, obvious and childish sexual innuendos, this is the car for you!”

O Kia Optima, “One Epic Ride”: It starts with a police officer stealing a car from two people handcuffed to his bike, and gets weirder from there. In the space of one minute, the Kia is swiped by everyone from a diabolical villain in a helicopter, the god of the sea Poseidon, aliens from Mars and an ancient Mayan civilization.

What the ad was trying to say: “The Optima is such an amazing car, everyone wants to get their hands on it!”

What the ad really said: “We should drug test our advertising department before assigning them our biggest commercial of the year.”

E-mail Jeff at PopGoesJeff@gmail.com.

Tags: Coke, Darth Vader, Doritos, Jeff McGinnis, Kia, NFL, Pop Goes the Culture, Super Bowl, Volkswagon

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 8th, 2011 at 11:15 am and is filed under Pop Goes the Culture, Pro Football, Star.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Never a bridesmaid, never the bride

My son, Jack, has defied one in 16 odds; his favorite NFL team is going to the Super Bowl. I am quite certain he has no real sense of the magnitude of his team, the Pittsburgh Steelers, actually going all the way the very first year he fell head over heels for football. As a lifelong Cleveland Browns fan, I can attest to the fact that making it to the Vince Lombardi Trophy round of the contest isn’t the easiest task in the world.

I still remember jumping around my living room as a kid, first in excited anticipation and then in defeat and disbelief, as the Browns just missed going to the Super Bowl in 1987. And then again the next year. And then again two years after that. For a few years, we didn’t even have a team. Actually, since the Browns rebirth in 1999, we still haven’t had much of a team to speak of.

My son, however, may never know or even understand the vicarious trials I’ve endured just by following a can’t-quite-get-there team. Super Bowl XLV will be the third Super Bowl the Steelers have played in since my son was born seven and a half years ago. Despite his aptitude for math and probability, as far as Jack is concerned you make it to the big game every other year or so. He surely can’t even begin to grasp what it’s like to cheer loudest for the Cleveland Browns or the Detroit Lions, our two local NFL teams, and the only two non-expansion teams to never make it to the Super Bowl.

At least the Steelers have a history of dominance. The general public expects them to crush the rest of our dreams now and then. Honestly, it’s when a team like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the New Orleans Saints or, most painfully, the Baltimore Ravens (nee Cleveland Browns) wins it that it stings all the more. If they can do it, why can’t we? Sure the Buffalo Bills lost the Super Bowl four years in a row, but their fans were at least given a little taste, no matter how bitter that taste may have been.

If you can’t beat them, join them

It has taken quite a few years, but I have come to terms with the fact that I am now also a Pittsburgh Steelers fan. The changeover came slowly. I half-heartedly supported my husband as his team, the Steelers, would get the chance to walk down that playoff aisle and reach that Super Bowl alter time and time again. Before I completely realized what was happening, there came a confusing point when I wasn’t even sure who to root for when the Rock ‘n Roll Capital of the World would meet the Iron City to toss around the ol’ pigskin. I obviously had quite a history with the Browns, but it sure is nice to watch NFL football with something at stake all the way into the new year.

I’m afraid my own dual-fanship has all but ruined my original plan to raise any boys we had as Steelers fans and any girls we had as Browns fans. Jack was obviously happy to follow his father’s lead in becoming a Steelers fan, but even our could-care-less-about-football 5-year-old daughter, Elaine, has already informed me that she sees little sense in choosing such a mediocre team like the Browns as her favorite and has pledged her allegiance to Steeler Nation.

I will always be a Cleveland Browns fan, but my loyalty is not quite as loyal as it once was. On any given regular-season NFL Sunday, our house is a mélange of unlikely and somewhat nonsensical team allegiances, where Browns, Steelers and even Lions can be cheered on simultaneously in a strange and harmonious state. Brown, orange, black, gold, blue and silver may not be the most aesthetically-pleasing combination, but it works for us.

This Sunday, however, the focus is purely black and gold. Family allegiance trumps all others, and watching my little boy’s big dream come true is well worth making room for new loyalties along aside old ones.

Shannon and her husband Michael are raising three children in Sylvania. E-mail her at letters@toledofreepress.com.

Tags: Family Practice, Shannon Szyperski, Super Bowl

This entry was posted on Saturday, February 5th, 2011 at 10:08 am and is filed under Arts and Life, Family Practice.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

People have different ways of handling stress. Some run from it, some bury it and some find a way to deal with it. Depending on the individual’s position or social status, some are forced to face it head on, often turning to God or a higher power for help in the process. Such is the case with Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback and Findlay graduate Ben Roethlisberger, who in the most tumultuous season of his career said faith has meant everything.

“It’s helped bring a lot of inner peace, and if people know about inner peace, they know how great it is,” Roethlisberger told Toledo Free Press Jan. 27 in the Steelers locker room. “None of this would be possible without Him. It’s an awesome thing.”

From his motorcycle accident in 2006 to allegations of sexual assault that cost him the first four games of the 2010 season without pay after being suspended by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell for violating the league’s personal conduct policy, Roethlisberger’s off-the-field issues have been well-documented. Though Roethlisberger’s character may be questioned long after his playing days are over, his talent and focus on the field will not.

At age 23, Roethlisberger became the youngest starting quarterback in NFL history to win a Super Bowl when Pittsburgh defeated Seattle 21-10 at Ford Field in Detroit in 2006. In 2009, Roethlisberger’s touchdown pass to former Buckeye Santonio Holmes with 35 seconds left in Super Bowl XLIII lifted the Steelers to a 27-23 victory over Arizona, giving him his second championship ring in four years. Even after missing the first four games of 2010 and undergoing mandatory “comprehensive behavioral evaluation by professionals” per Goodell’s punishment, Roethlisberger has been spectacular. In just 12 games, he passed for 3,200 yards with 17 touchdowns and five interceptions, then led Pittsburgh to playoff wins over the Ravens and Jets en route to his team’s third Super Bowl appearance in six seasons.

“I think he’s just being himself,” said Pittsburgh left tackle Max Starks, whose locker has been next to Roethlisberger’s for his entire career. “I think for a long time he kind of felt sheltered and guarded off just because of all the attention people place on him, wanting to see the expectations instead of just letting him be himself. I think now he’s finally just said, ‘You know what? I’m just going to be myself.’ That’s what you want to see in your quarterback.

“You want him to feel like he can be an individual and just relax. I think that he’s done that this year and it shows. He’s a pretty consistent type of person, and we were happy to have him back.”

Since his high school days with the Findlay Trojans, it was obvious Roethlisberger had a gift to play the game. At 6 feet  5 inches tall and 241 pounds, his nimble feet and agility for a man of his size have made him one of the toughest quarterbacks in the NFL to defend. Roethlisberger is a big reason why the Steelers are headed to the franchise’s eighth Super Bowl, tying the Dallas Cowboys for the league record.

“It’s great,” Roethlisberger said. “I love being a Steeler. I’ve always loved being here. I want to play my whole career here, so it’s an awesome thing. The fans are awesome. My team’s awesome. It’s really a blessing to be here.”

Roethlisberger is also thankful to have been blessed with some great coaches. While playing at Miami (Ohio) under the tutelage of the late Terry Hoeppner, Roethlisberger finished his career with the RedHawks as the school’s all-time career leader in total offensive yards (11,075), passing yards (10,829), passing touchdowns (84), passes attempted (1,304) and passes completed (854).

Under longtime Steelers head coach Bill Cowher, Roethlisberger became the first quarterback in NFL history to guide his team to the conference championship game in his first two seasons, the second of which ended with Pittsburgh’s Super Bowl XL victory. Roethlisberger and the Steelers have thrived under current head coach Mike Tomlin, who in his second year at Pittsburgh became the youngest head coach in league history to win a Super Bowl when he led the team to a championship in 2008.

“Everyone obviously knows — they should know — how close Coach [Hoeppner] and I were,” Roethlisberger said.

Hoeppner was 59 when he died of complications from a brain tumor June 19, 2007.

“That’s one of the hardest things about doing this, is knowing that he’s not here with me to enjoy at least the process, but I know he’s got the best seat in the house. It’s been an honor to be able to play for a Hall of Fame coach like Cowher and I feel a future Hall of Famer in Coach Tomlin.”

If the 28-year-old Roethlisberger can lead the Steelers to another Super Bowl victory when his team takes on the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl XLV on Feb. 6 in Cowboys Stadium, he will become just the fifth quarterback in NFL history with at least three championships under his belt, joining the ranks of Tom Brady and Hall of Famers Terry Bradshaw, Joe Montana and Troy Aikman.

Not bad for a kid from Northwest Ohio. While Roethlisberger’s parents no longer live in the Northwest Ohio area, he said he appreciates the support from local fans, adding that he changed his hometown from Findlay in the player guide because he once attended school at Cory-Rawson and “wanted to show them a little bit of love.”

Love him or hate him, “Big Ben” is the real deal on the football field. Only time will tell if the Northwest Ohio product has changed for the better, but it’s not for us to judge. If Roethlisberger truly is a man of faith and has found inner peace, he knows one day he will have to answer to a much higher judge.

Tags: Ben Roethlisberger, Bill Cowher, Joe Montana, Max Starks, Mike Bauman, Mike Tomlin, NFL, Pittsburgh Steelers, Super Bowl, Terry Bradshaw, Troy Aikman

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 27th, 2011 at 4:32 pm and is filed under Featured, Pro Football, Sports, Uncategorized.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

With Super Bowl Sunday just a few days away most of us ladies are looking forward to snacks and drinks with our friends, and all the men cannot wait to see the results at the end. Super Bowl parties are never a let down, I mean how do you beat all the great savory dishes out to munch on, and the company of friends and family. If there is any reason for a get together count us in, and for one night we are thankful for football.

Did we mention we only like football for the fabulous parties it brings together, not to mention the cute football pants the players wear? This can be a great time to have some fun with your wardrobe and look fabulous serving those snacks. Be creative, buy a t-shirt, and add some football flare to it. To get started decide what team you will be cheering for and go with their colors. You can buy cute beads and sequins at any craft store to create your own style for the big game. If you are feeling super creative, you can add some sass to your jeans pockets to finish the look. If you have no time to be crafty head to the mall to find your winning teams colors. If you are a Colt’s fan, their colors are blue and white. We went shopping to see what we could find that could show some sprit, and be worn again. We found come great cotton blue dresses that look great with a white belt. If you are, the fan that is going to be jumping up and down cheering maybe a great pair of jeans with your team’s shirt is the way to go. To give this look some of your own style find a cute blue hat to top off your look.

For all you Saint’s fans black and gold are the colors for you. If you want an excuse to buy something new, we found some great casual black dresses that you can add some gold accessories to and wear it the next week out to dinner. If you are looking for comfort with some style, buy that great pair of jeans and pair if with a gold shirt. To add some finishing touches to your look buy some little rub on tattoos to put on your cheek. You will be sure to look like a football fan now. If you are hosting the football party, buy some for each team and hand them out to your guests.

All this effort to find the perfect game outfit will impress your special man on super bowl Sunday. Let him know how excited you are for the game even if you have to fake it a little he will never know. Next time it’s time for date night he will take you wherever you want to go. Enjoy the game and the party with all your family and friends. You could even have a contest for the person who has the most fashionable team outfit. Have fun with it and enjoy Super Bowl Sunday.

Ali and Alli are beauty experts at NRGIE Salon & Spa in Rossford, Ohio. To contact them or ask them a fashion or beauty question, write them at letters@toledofreepress.com.

Tags: Super Bowl

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 4th, 2010 at 4:09 pm and is filed under Arts and Life.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.