Roethlisberger and Bradshaw

ESPN has gotten a lot of mileage out of condemning Big Ben for riding that motorcycle. What is particularly funny is that they cite an old interview with Terry Bradshaw talking about the responsibility Roe3thlisberger has to his teammates.

As if TB is some sort of authority on what it means to be a good teammate.

In his book Double Yoi! Myron Cope is highly critical of how Bradshaw has denigrated the myth of the Immaculate Reception in books and “motivational speeches”. Cope saw the game in person and years late reviewed the tape of the play. He is adamant that it was a legal play and, like Chuck Noll, he credits Franco’s hustle for making it possible. Years late John Madden (“the Corpulent Coach”) would spin a web of yarns and lies to claim that his Raiders were robbed.

Here’s Cope on Bradshaw’s shtick and his concern for his teammates:

Terry’s imagination is, you might say, a figment tree. Moreover, his assertion that Swearingen ruled in favor of the Immaculate Reception in order to save himself from mob violence was actually a canard John Madden had spouted and clung to for years. Terry, it’s a cute answer when you are asked if Franco’s catch was legal, but it’s an answer that does a disservice to your teammate. Think about it when you go for a laugh.