Ravens fans: looking for a little red meat to start the weekend?
If so, you may want to check out the excellant Sports Illustrated cover story on Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger's travails by veteran sportswriter Jack McCallum, which you can read here.
The title alone will be like an early Christmas present for Steelers haters: "The Hangover: An NFL Superstar's Repulsive Behavior, the Ultimate Expression of Athletic Entitlement Run Amok, Has Forced Even the Most Diehard Fans to Question Their Team and Their Football Faith -- And Made a Small Town in Georgia Wish He'd Never Paid a Visit."
What's most striking about the piece is how Steelers fans have grown weary of Big Ben's antics after the latest sexual-assault accusation against him, this one by a 20-year-old college student, who says he forced himself upon her in the restroom of a bar in Milledgeville, Ga.
McCallum cites one example after another of Roethlisberger's arrogance, sense of entitlement and demeaning treatment of women in recent years, painting a damning portrait of an out-of-control ego in a superstar quarterback that's been grating on the blue-collar sensibilities of the Steel City for years.
"Cynics will no doubt assume that Roethlisberger can reclaim the city, possibly with a few touchdown passes, perhaps with a strong playoff game, probably with an AFC championship and certainly with a third Lombardi Trophy," McCallum writes. "Sports fans are too fickle, too in the moment, for us not to believe that success wouldn't have them climbing back in the Big Ben bus.
"But make no mistake, this schism between superstar and town is a serious one."
And this is a seriously great read. You won't want to miss it.