Ben Roethlisberger is 25 years old and he’s got it in perspective.
There are those twice his age who haven’t. Many never will.
For many in the Pacific Northwest, today’s Seahawk-Steeler game is the Super Bowl XL rematch. Revenge City. Time to right unspeakable wrongs.
Ask Roethlisberger about it and he snorts.
“Wow!” the Steelers quarterback said on a conference call this week. “They’re still talking about that?”
They are, believe it or not. Like the guy who wandered into the Seahawks office in Kirkland Wednesday and recounted a second-by-second synopsis of the phantom offensive pass interference call on Darrell Jackson in the end zone that brought back a touchdown.
Went on about it at some length, too. I thought, geez, I was there and don’t remember it that well. Clearly, the gentleman taped the game and has rerun it daily for the past 20 months.
Roethlisberger himself represents one of the game’s disreputable moments that sends Seahawks fans into undergarment-bunching fits.
Did he cross the goal line or didn’t he? Did D.D. Lewis occupy enough of the plane of the goal line to keep Roethlisberger out of the end zone?
Gad, who cares?
“I guess everyone is entitled to their opinion,” Roethlisberger said. “I’m just glad it’s in the books and it counts.”
Sure, you say. Roethlisberger can be as smug as he wants, having won the game, 21-10. Doesn’t matter that he played horribly. Doesn’t matter how many Seahawk fans look at Super Bowl XL in the same way they look at The Great Train Robbery.
As Roethlisberger said, it’s in the books. Has been for 20 months. Take deep, cleansing breaths. Accept it. Live it.
Others closer to the perceived injustices than you have moved on.
“The game is in the past,” Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck said. “It happened and they won the game. They’re world champs. I think our ring looks better than theirs, but other than that, they won the game.”
If anyone should be ticked, it’s Hasselbeck. He threw the touchdown pass that came back because of Jackson’s penalty. He made the throws that a brutally preoccupied Jerramy Stevens clanged off his hands. He even had a phantom personal foul called on him that few completely understand — certainly not Hasselbeck.
Yet, Hasselbeck has found a way to leave it in the rearview mirror. And that’s good, because this is an important game, even at this early point in the season. Both teams are 3-1. A victory means Arizona and San Francisco have to beat St. Louis and Baltimore, respectively, to prevent falling two games behind Seattle for the NFC West lead.
But Seattle football fans are a curious bunch. Few are as puffed-up and are cursed with a greater, more illogical sense of entitlement than those who wear purple and gold boxer shorts on Saturdays. It appears Seahawk followers are cut from similar cloth.
And that can’t be good for anyone.
Please, people. Listen to Seattle coach Mike Holmgren, whose postgame blasts of the zebras prompted then-commissioner Paul Tagliabue to direct his staff to draft a letter informing Holmgren to shut up or pay a fine. Tagliabue later ordered the letter not sent, perhaps after having watched the game films.
Holmgren’s focus isn’t on what happened 20 months ago, but he still gets little reminders when he’s out in public.
“There’s nothing I can do that will take away the feeling they have,” the coach said. “People who want to talk to me about that, the first thing I usually say is, ‘Look, we did the best we could. It’s time to move on.’ A lot of them say, ‘I can’t move on.’ Then you say, ‘OK, that tells me you’re a loyal fan and I appreciate you. We’re going to try to rectify the situation at some point down the road.’
“There’s no changing anybody’s opinion, but I think we all must move on.”
That would be nice. Sadly, by that time, our grandchildren may have grandchildren.
Sports columnist John Sleeper: sleeper@heraldnet.com. For Sleeper[`]s blog, click on www.heraldnet.com/danglingparticiples.
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