Do you remember where you were when Bart Scott steamrolled Ben Roethlisberger in one of the most iconic plays in Baltimore Ravens history?
I certainly do.
On that day in 2006, with the haze of our recent Thanksgiving feasts still hanging over us, the Ravens hosted the defending Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers. It was the first crack the then 8-2 Ravens had gotten at their arch rivals since the refs had handed them…I mean since they had “earned” their fifth Super Bowl ring, with Roethlisberger as a rookie.
The 27-0 beatdown Baltimore handed those scumbags at M&T Bank Stadium is quite memorable for me not only because of the score, but because of my company. My younger sister, home for Thanksgiving from college, had invited her new boyfriend to watch the game with us. Said boyfriend? You guessed it: Steelers fan.
Now, this man has since become my brother-in-law. He is an outstanding person, wonderful husband, great father to my three nieces, amazing uncle to my son, accomplished career man, etc. etc.
That out of the way, in 2006 he was just “Steelers fan.” And it still chaps me that he cheers for…them.
But cheer for them he does, and my sister warned us all to “be nice, please,” when inviting him to watch that game with us.
We were nice…ish (more on that in a bit).
The game is memorable for anyone in Ravens Flock of a certain age, and younger fans have since become familiarized with it mainly due to one particular play: the one where Bart Scott nearly took (not yet) Fat Ben’s head off.
In a video posted yesterday by the Ravens’ social media team, Scott talked about the hit.
"I decapitated him and 𝙩𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙤𝙪𝙡."
Untold Stories: @BartScott57 on playing the villain vs. Big Ben pic.twitter.com/WkRnKZMR8v
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) April 2, 2024
(But wait, Terrell Suggs told us that God could have his soul?)
The above video is well worth the five-minute watch. At the start, there’s a clip of Ben on his own podcast.
He hit me so hard…and I remember laying there like…I don’t know that I’m alive.
Bart seems surprised and excited that the Ravens still show that hit, which they do all the time. He goes through the play call, explains why it works, and even talks about his decision to NOT try to end Ben’s season or worse.
Enjoy the memory, Flock. I certainly did.
Oh, and as for my brother-in-law?
With the game solidly in hand, I snuck out during the fourth quarter and gave his car a new decoration:
Personally, I thought it really pimped his ride. He didn’t seem to agree.
There’s no accounting for taste.
One Response
Where was I? In my lower bowl seat right across from the action. As Bart swept in to crush Big Ben, there was a momentary pause in the roar of the crowd, and you heard the crunch of the pads as Scott decked Roethlisberger. Then pandemonium. One of my favorite memories out of 25 years as a PSL owner.