Left Lane

Tonight, a little gossip for the locals and football fans.

This evening while dining at Fuel and Fuddle in Oakland with my girl, a rather inconspicuous couple walked in. I don’t make a habit of staring down folks coming into a restaurant, so I paid no attention. That is, until they sat down.

As my girlfriend was facing in the direction of the table they sat down at, she had the best view of their arrival. A few minutes went by, and she started acting strangely. She laughed, and I asked what she was laughing at. “Nothing,” she said, as she shook her head. After a few minutes of my confused prodding, she quietly spilled the beans.

“It’s Ben Roethlisberger.”

I didn’t believe her. Finally after a half minute of me saying “no, it couldn’t be,” I turned around. There sat Big Ben himself. The youngest quarterback to win a Super Bowl. The next Dan Marino. The toast of the town in Pittsburgh. All those superlatives.

Overall, it was satisfying to see him doing something very normal. He’s not up at the LeMont tasting the expensive salmon. He’s grabbing an appetizer at the local watering hole, ignoring his celebrity and blending in for a while.

Cheers, Ben.

Posted in Pittsburgh, Entertainment, Sports.