Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger recently talked to Merril Hoge of ESPN about the possibility of winning a third Super Bowl, which would put him in elite company along with Joe Montana, Troy Aikman, Tom Brady, and, of course, Terry Bradshaw. Roethlisberger says essentially the same thing he said today at halftime of the Pro Bowl – that it would be “humbling,” but right now he doesn’t want to talk about it. (Which is tough luck for him, because he’s probably going to have to talk about that about a thousand times between now and the game.)
Less humbly, Roethlisberger says that the reason he isn’t as big a star as Brady or Peyton Manning is that football fandom is oriented around big numbers and fantasy football, and he’s just concerned with winning. Roethlisberger also praises Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, whose quick release reminds Roethlisberger of Brett Favre, and says that if Rodgers “threw a ball through a car wash, it wouldn’t get wet. He literally has got a cannon.” Well, maybe not literally. But it's no surprise to hear Roethlisberger praise Rodgers, not only because it's polite, but because Hoge is on to something when he suggests that Rodgers could easily remind Roethlisberger of himself.