A Letter From the Editor: Video showed Ben Roethlisberger throwing one football, and I’m pumped

February 21st, 2020 was a date many Pittsburgh Steelers fans had circled on their calendars. Okay, maybe not every fan did, but this editor certainly did. That was the date Ben Roethlisberger had his follow up appointment to see if he was far enough in his rehabilitation to start throwing.

The 21st came and went with no update.

Then in the afternoon on the 22nd, the Steelers released this video on social media:

It was just one pass, but it got me absolutely fired up.

Roethlisberger likely has a long way to go before he is deemed capable of returning to the field of play, but that one pass absolutely made my day, week and offseason. We, as fans, might not see another glimpse of Roethlisberger throwing a football until minicamp, Organized Team Activities (OTAs) and training camp at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, PA, but it doesn’t matter to me.

Don’t think this wasn’t planned. Don’t think the organization, and the quarterback, didn’t hear the rumors of him being done. The rumors of him mailing it in last season. The rumors of the team paying him too much after he is unable to return to his usual form.

It was only one pass, but it was so much more than that. To me, it was hope in the visual form. It was the quarterback who has been under center for the majority of my adult life showing he still is capable of one, or two, final years under the sun before it is all over and done with.

Some might call me a homer, and I am definitely guilty as charged with this title. However, I am also someone who realizes the only chance the Steelers have of winning a Super Bowl in the next few seasons is if Roethlisberger is under center.

This was the first step in the process of Roethlisberger’s return, and fans should be excited.

Be cautious, setbacks can occur, but for the time being, be ecstatic. After suffering through the Mason Rudolph and Devlin Hodges experiments, hope seems to be on the horizon. The gun slinger is shining his side arm and ready for at least one more battle before he holsters his weapon for good.

Enough analogies.

Ben Roethlisberger is back, for now, and fans should be pumped up!

HERE WE GO STEELERS!