Actions speak louder than words. We all have heard that a million times. And it’s true, particularly in the case of franchise quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and how he goes about his business not only in the upcoming weeks and months, but for the remainder of his career and even beyond. People will notice Roethlisberger’s behavior, not remember what he had to say on the air to the media during the early stages of his process of rebuilding his tarnished image. For now though, part of that process is making more media appearances and interacting with the fans more – both things he didn’t do much prior to his fallout earlier this offseason.
On Thursday, Roethlisberger joined The Stan & Guy show on 1250 ESPN in Pittsburgh to talk about a host of topics relating to his suspension, the changes he’s trying to make in his life, and what he’s trying to focus on during his limited time with his teammates this preseason before having to sit out the first quarter of the 2010 season. Here’s a few choice quotes from the interview.
On how he’s feeling about how the fans have received him and his return back into the fold with his teammates:
“Well I feel great. Obviously getting on the football field was first and foremost because it was getting back out there with the guys, and getting back doing what I love to do which is playing football. So it was great, the fans were awesome. Yesterday was the last day and there were tons of fans getting autographs, so I thought that was really good.”
On getting caught up in the Big Ben persona:
“Well I think when people keep telling you how good you are, you start to believe it, you know? It’s just something like I said, it’s in my past and it’s something to move forward from.”
On if he thinks he’s a different person since last January:
“I don’t know if I’m a different person. I’m still me. It’s just, I understand myself maybe a little bit better.”