Steelers fans show up early to say goodbye to Big Ben

It would be unfair to term that the typical fan reaction to the announcement of the starting lineup before every Pittsburgh Steelers game as “indifference.” After all, fans unfailingly cheer, taking the cue from the enthusiasm with which public address announcer Larry Richert lists 11 or 12 names from either the offense or defense.

But the every-game ritual is usually, let’s just say, less-than appointment viewing.

Not Monday night.

Not for Ben Roethlisberger’s (likely) final game at Heinz Field.

The announced crowd of 63,624 was one of the Steelers’ biggest of the season and, unofficially, the earliest to arrive.

Most were in their seats well before gametime. And from a higher vantage point, it was striking how everyone had their bodies turned toward the tunnel leading to the field in the stadium’s southwest corner.

That’s where the Steelers take the field from their locker room for lineup announcements.

And for Monday’s game against the Cleveland Browns, Richert concluded his listing of 11 offensive starters by drawing out, “And your quarterback, from Miami, Ohio …”

With that, Heinz Field erupted into a louder cheer than perhaps it had all season — even through a six-game home unbeaten streak the Steelers took into Monday.

By the time Richert said Roethlisberger’s name, it was drowned out by the crowd. The 18-year veteran quarterback, two months from his 40th birthday, sprinted with left arm raised in acknowledgment to the assembled Steelers fans — many of whom paid premium prices on the secondary market to see Roethlisberger’s (presumed) final home game.

“He earned a night, that’s for sure,” team president Art Rooney II said in a pregame interview on the Steelers Radio Network. “But typical Ben, he understands that it’s not about him, it’s about the team and about trying to win a game.”

Before Monday, Roethlisberger had won more games at Heinz Field (91) than all but two quarterbacks in any stadium in NFL history. When he threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Diontae Johnson 4 minutes and 18 seconds into the second quarter, Roethlisberger pointed to the sky — as has been his custom throughout his previous 416 touchdown passes (the eighth-most in NFL history).

Rooney II noted that, among a franchise that’s had more than two dozen Hall of Famers and won six Super Bowls, rare is the occasion a franchise great played his final home game with the fans knowing it as it happened.

“It is nice that the fans will have a chance to say thanks to Ben for — it’s amazing to say — 18 years,” Rooney II said.

Those fans, on several occasions, in unison chanted, “Let’s go Ben!”

While fans cheered him in person but from afar, several former teammates and coaches were paying tribute via social media or the ESPN broadcast.

“He just represents what a Steeler is,” former Steelers coach Bill Cowher said on ESPN2. “The grit, determination. He’s embraced every challenge that’s been thrown at him.

“He’s just such a great competitor.”

ESPN commentator Ryan Clark was Roethlisberger’s teammate for eight seasons.

“He just wasn’t a quarterback,” Clark said during Monday’s broadcast. “Ben is a football player.”

Four days after for the first time tacitly acknowledging he expected to retire at the end of this season, Roethlisberger arrived Monday for what would be his final of 124 Heinz Field regular-season games about 4 hours prior to the 8:15 p.m. kickoff.

Dressed in layers on a seasonably cold early-January night in Pittsburgh, Roethlisberger’s peacoat, underlying quarter-zip, leather shoes and tuque all were black — perhaps fitting for an evening in which so many on hand were melancholy about the end of the line for the franchise’s staple for almost two decades

But with a playoff spot still within reach for the Steelers, the atmosphere was anything but funereal at Heinz Field.

Large “7” cutouts — of perhaps 4 feet in length, probably made of posterboard — seemed to be popular among the gathered fans. One was spotted, adorned with photos of Roethlisberger, being carried by a fan to his seat before the game. Another that had “Thank you Ben” written on it repeatedly was raised to the sky, in rhythm, as music played during a first-quarter stoppage in play.

Another fan held a sign that read: “What a career it has Ben,” with a hashtag underneath that said “#Worth the flight from Texas.”

“I think he’s a first-ballot hall of famer,” former Steelers offensive coordinator and reigning Super Bowl-winning coach Bruce Arians said on the ESPN broadcast. “There’s no doubt about that.”

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