I've gotta admit, I'm not upset (at all), but merely a little shocked that Ben Roethlisberger would put himself on display like he did at a piano bar last night, singing, drinking, and buying rounds of drinks.
I would think that he knows he's under the microscope in public this week, so I'm a tad surprised he would make such an appearance. There were no incidents or anything along those lines, and from the reports, everyone was having a very good time. I know he's entitled to do whatever he wants as long as it fits within the team's schedule this week, and it's none of my business; but I just wonder why he would create any sort of opportunity to allow the TMZs of the world into the picture during Super Bowl week. If he has a bad game, rest assured that Piano Man Night will be brought up in the conversation by talk-show callers as an illustration of a "lack of focus". If you think I'm nuts, a TMZ public poll asking if Ben's "boozy pregame was stupid" currently has 61% of voters saying "yes", with over 70,000 votes tabulated.
Say one thing about most of these Steelers: they're certainly not ones to enjoy a quiet dinner and fly under the radar. Jumping on stage with the dancers at a strip club and singing Billy Joel songs at a piano bar would seem to illustrate that point rather emphatically. I think I can safely say that these guys love the spotlight.
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12 comments:
I agree that I'm not upset, but I think this is almost more of a PR thing than getting out and having a good time. Consider it from this perspective:
- It's a piano bar. Chances are these guys were the only ones there under 40. It's not a wild "scene" club with a 300-pound bouncer guarding the door and tossing out drunks.
- He bought rounds for the whole bar -- not just a room full of young women.
- He tipped well (25%!) on his $800 tab, something he has not been known for in the past
- Okay, he's had a checkered past with partying. But this time he didn't go bar-hopping, wasn't sequestering himself and a bunch of women in the VIP room and was generally being a nice, fun guy. No one said he isn't allowed to let loose a little now and then, we all just want him to be responsible -- and it sure sounds like he was.
I think we all are expecting him to become an altar boy, and that's unfair, especially for someone who was never charged with any real wrongdoing outside the Court of Moral Opinion. Can't we all just let the man live his life and re-evaluate where he is in a year or two, instead of scrutinizing his every breath?
This is why two weeks is too much time between Super Bowls. Media and bloggers alike run out of things to talk about, so this becomes a hot topic. No foul was committed, sounds like it was just guys out having fun, let's not worry about something that isn't a big deal at all. Also, I wouldn't exactly consider voters on the TMZ site the bastions of sound judgment.
"Ben's boozy pregame"
A couple drinks almost 5 days before the game is pregame? I'm loving every second of the Ben/Steeler/Pittsburgh hate. Nothing better.
I heard Nate was there. He took the picture!
I'm more offended that he was in a piano bar. I hate those places.
Not sure what the big deal is..."UPDATE: This morning, Ben told reporters about his big night out ... saying, "It was a superstition and tradition on Tuesday night. I take the linemen out to dinner. We went out for barbecue and then we wanted to hear some live music. We just had an enjoyable night."
It wasn't like he was out doing what Eugene Robinson did.
TMZ is stupid.
I can't wait to hear the haters crying about how we just won another Super Bowl sunday night.
I say Ben goes on stage to accept the Lombardi, thein kicks GODell in the nuts and gives him a stunner followed by chugging a few beers. Either that or Ben and Silverback give him a 3D through the Spanish announce table.
Then Ben walks off stage with the GODell twins.......
At least he wasn't at a strip club.
to loosely quote the great "Nate", the real question is do we care?
shit! i missed a comma
/sorry nate
What a boring story. I can't wait until they just play the freaking game so we can talk about that instead.
Burress, that was hilarious. Just mentally picturing Ben giving Goodell a stunner...priceless.
Tomlin said it best, "I'm not concerned about [Roethlisberger going out] one iota. It's normal for guys to eat dinner believe it or not. ... I understand things being reported or viewed differently but that's not our concern. Believe it or not guys live lives."
Trying to make up sensational stories??? ...Try again.
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