TAMPA, Fla. – Ben Roethlisberger arrived here yesterday anxious to exorcise the demons from his last Super Bowl.
Don’t get Big Ben wrong. He’s happy Pittsburgh won Super Bowl XL. He’s happy he could present his father with his Super Bowl ring. And he’s happy that in just his second year in the NFL he accomplished something many quarterbacks never do.
It’s just when he thinks back on that day in Detroit three years ago, the Steelers quarterback shakes his head at his performance – 9-of-21, 123 yards, 2 interceptions.
“After the game you’re so excited you won the game,” Roethlisberger said yesterday. “That was the most important thing. It was the months and years and everything after that you start to think, man I played really bad. I didn’t help this team win the football game. That kind of eats at you a little bit. It makes you want to help your team if you get a chance to get back the next time.”
Roethlisberger gets that chance now. The US Airways charter flight carrying him and his Steelers teammates touched down at Tampa International Airport just before noon yesterday.
The 26-year-old Roethlisberger emerged from the plane with his white hat on backward and his camcorder in hand. After being “along for the ride” the last time, Roethlisberger is intent on capturing every moment of this Super Bowl trip.
“This may be my last one,” he said. “I hope not, but you never know. I’m going to soak it all up and absorb every single minute of it.”
When Roethlisberger takes the field Sunday at Raymond James Stadium, he believes he’ll be better prepared for the big game the second time around. He was the youngest quarterback ever to win a Super Bowl at 23 in 2006, when Pittsburgh beat Seattle.
Roethlisberger said that was the first football game he ever played where he was nervous throughout the game. His pregame jitters became opening-drive nerves which stretched into the second, third and fourth quarters. He did score a rushing touchdown, but Antwaan Randle-El completed one more touchdown pass than him in the game.
“The first time around, my play didn’t help the team to win,” Roethlisberger said. “It almost helped them lose it. This time, I’m not going to say it’s all on my shoulders, but if I turn the ball over and I play poorly it’s not going to help our offense and that’s not going to win this game.”
The Cardinals’ defense has been strong during the team’s playoff run. Roethlisberger is aware of what he has to do Sunday, but he stressed the most important statistic to him is the final score.
“To me it’s all about winning the football game,” Roethlisberger said. “I don’t care how I do it. If I throw for 300 yards or I throw for 100 yards, if we win the game that’s all that matters to me. I do want to play better than I did last time because I felt like I let the guys down and didn’t help them win the football game.”
