Yep. I know exactly who you're talking about. He was the pre-cursor to Matt Jones with his ugly, long hair and 300-year eligibility.
Most Respected 1-Ben Roethlisberger 2-Peyton Manning 3-Bo Jackson Most Disliked 1-Damon Duval 2-Deion Sanders (Don't know if he ever played against us, but I hate him that much!) 3-Roth from Iowa (he had 2 things to say about LSU)
Good call. I had forgotten about him. But what he did, writing that letter to Saban, that was just awesome. :thumb: I was watching a midweek game on ESPN during his last year at Miami (OH), and one of the commentators (maybe Tirico) told that story. He was talking about how they began making it a point to announce Miami (OH) scores at LSU home games after that letter was run in the paper, and how our fans would cheer especially loud if they won. What Herbstreit said after that was awesome: "...And could he have hand-picked a better group of fans to get on his side than LSU?'
Ben Roethlisberger really made me feel proud to cheer for the Tigers. I also always respected Matt Jones. He was just fun to watch. I dislike Damon Duval for obvious reasons. I also can't stand the white basketball player from Kentucky who looks like Eminem. Sparks, I think.
Don't have the exact letter, but after they played her in '02, Big Ben wrote to Nick Saban, going on and on about how much he enjoyed playing at LSU. He said the fans and experience were so completely unlike anything he'd ever seen, and talked about how much respect he had for us and our program. It was really cool. Nick was so proud to recieve something like that that he asked Ben if it was Ok if he sent it to the newspaper to be published, to which he obliged. He made a lot of friends in Baton Rouge shortly thereafter.
He also talked about how the LSU players played with class. They were knocking him down, but helping him up and never talked any trash. He was impressed with that.
Most respected: Dameyune Craig - Auburn Qb, stote Cecil's thunder in 97 with great 4th quarter drive Most disliked: not sure, maybe Chris Porter - Auburn in basketball
The text to the Roethlisberger letter. "Coach Saban, This is Ben Roethlisberger, the quarterback at Miami. I hope you get to read this ... I wanted to first and foremost congratulate you and the team on the game on Saturday. You guys are the best team that I have ever played against and I think you guys will go a long way this year ... Your defense was very confusing and had us on the run all game. But that is not the main reason that I am writing you this e-mail, I really was impressed with your team after the game. They had the most class out of any team that I have ever played against in high school or college and I commend you for that. Many of the players, including your big name players, came up to me after the game and congratulated me and told us good luck and have a safe trip home. I just want to commend you and your team for all of the class you have ... best of luck and win the SEC. Ben Roethlisberger Quarterback Miami (Ohio) University" link http://www.lsusports.net/index.cfm?md=newsroom&tmp=detail&articleid=4024&category=FB
