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PSR Showdown: Big Ben: Hero or Drama Queen?
By Walter Villa
Pittsburgh Tribune Review

So what if he's dramatic?

This is going to be the, "maybe, but so what?" defense.

But before we get to my argument, can we at least agree to call Ben Roethlisberger a drama king instead of a drama queen?

I mean, why must we further denigrate the quarterback who has led the Steelers to two Super Bowl titles in four years, all by the age of 26?

And even odder, all the criticism seems to come from his hometown fans in Pittsburgh. I could understand if all this noise emanated from Cleveland, Cincinnati and Baltimore, who all have nothing to do but be bitter.

But from Steelers fans?

Strange, indeed.

As to the main question here, whether Roethlisberger made up fractured ribs to make his already-heroic performance ripe for a TV movie... who knows?

The "fractured ribs" did not appear in the pre-game injury reports. And since he did not take any big hits in the game, it is fair to ask how or when this injury happened.

And, yes, Roethlisberger has a history of these type of mysterious ailments.

But, again, so what? Roethlisberger is on track for a Hall of Fame career. You could easily argue that after the Colts' Peyton Manning and the Patriots' Tom Brady,

Roethlisberger is the best QB of this era.

Not that Roethlisberger will get much credit from Steelers fans, who have a long tradition of bashing their quarterbacks, including Terry Bradshaw, who led Pittsburgh to four Super Bowl championships.

So if I am Roethlisberger, I recognize that my public is difficult to please and then decide to just have fun with the matter.

After every game, Roethlisberger should disclose the injuries he played with that somehow went undetected - the more creative the better:
o   tennis elbow;
o   golf shoulder;
o   sore fingers from playing Rockstar video game;
o   brain overload from programming his new iPhone;
o   stiff neck from sleeping on a jukebox (don't ask);
o   and finally, eye strain from looking at Bar Refaeli's stunning swimsuit photos in Sports Illustrated.