All of a sudden, it’s gotten a little pricey to go to tonight’s Steelers game. Ben Roethlisberger’s tacit admission that it will be his final game in Pittsburgh surely has something to do with that.
But if you aren’t breaking the bank to be there — cheapest seats are going for $158 as of Monday morning and the median ticket price is $372, a 45% increase since Roethlisberger’s comments Thursday, on secondary website VividSeats.com — ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” broadcast will be very Ben-centric.
The network’s “Monday Night Countdown” pregame show from 6-8 p.m. will include a feature on Roethlisberger, including comments from former teammates, as well as a special all-Roethlisberger top-10 countdown from longtime NFL personality Chris Berman.
On the primary telecast, there will be a piece tying Roethlisberger’s last home game to the late John Madden, who had the television call of Santonio Holmes’ touchdown catch in Super Bowl XLIII against Arizona. You also can expect plenty of cutaways to Roethlisberger on the sideline, former teammates at the game and the quarterback’s family.
For football junkies, the ESPN2 broadcast of Peyton and Eli Manning analyzing the game in real-time also will have a heavy emphasis on Roethlisberger’s career. Former Steelers coach Bill Cowher will be their guest in the first quarter, followed by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, famous Steelers fan Snoop Dogg and Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who vanquished the Steelers in Super Bowl XLV.
The commentary from the Manning brothers alone should be interesting in its own right. Peyton had many memorable clashes with Roethlisberger over the years, and Eli was the No. 1 pick in the same draft class.
Brian Batko: bbatko@post-gazette.com and Twitter @BrianBatko.
First Published: January 3, 2022, 4:08 p.m.