For 11 seasons, Ramon Foster had the opportunity to not only play with future Hall of Fame quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, but also hold down an important role of protecting him as the starting left guard for the Black and Gold.
During his time with the Steelers, Foster had quite a bit of both individual and team success as Pittsburgh had some elite-level offense during that era, though they were never able to get over the hump.
Playing with Roethlisberger and having all that success still resonates with Foster, who appeared on the “Two Percent Podcast” with host Kiambu Fentress. Foster, who is now a media member in Tennessee, stated that Roethlisberger’s ability to win and lead in his own way made him so successful and made the Steelers’ offense fall in line with him.
“You ever met somebody, man, that whether you’re playing basketball in a garbage can, ping pong, cards, throwing darts that they just win? That was Ben. That ability to just win was huge,” Foster said to Fentress, according to video via the show’s YouTube page. “He led with a ‘watch me’ play type of mold, like those types of dudes. He wasn’t real rah-rah. You know how most quarterbacks would be? It ain’t yelling at you or nothing like that.
“So, when you went out there and you battled with him and you saw him either get his ribs hit, referees never really call it, I thought, roughing the passers on him because he’s Big Ben. So, knowing that you had to battle for him because he wasn’t gonna get those types of calls made you want to grind harder.”
Though Roethlisberger undoubtedly had his issues off the field and had some veteran players questioning him in the locker room at times, after he turned things around, Roethlisberger became that tried-and-true leader for the Steelers, the face of the franchise.
As Foster puts it, Roethlisberger wasn’t that rah-rah guy, the guy who would stir up teammates with speeches and demonstrative messages on the sideline throughout games. Instead, Roethlisberger led through his play, dragging his teammates with him, battling through ailments to do everything possible to win football games.
That’s what made Roethlisberger a great leader, not the wins, the individual accolades, the future Gold Jacket he’ll put on in the summer of 2027 to enter the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Those were all great, but it was the day-to-day stuff, the determination to do everything in his power physically to win a football game that revered Roethlisberger to his teammates.
There was playing through a broken nose against the Baltimore Ravens, playing through a broken foot in multiple games, battling through various shoulder and rib injuries, not getting the same treatment and protection from officials that other quarterbacks got, all of that.
Despite that, Roethlisberger — more often than not — was right there battling with his teammates in an effort to win games. He exemplified what it meant to be a Steeler with that mentality, and his style of play fit the blue collar mindset in Pittsburgh, making him and the franchise a perfect match.
Six years removed from retiring, Foster still cherishes those moments.
“He’s a walking Gold Jacket as it stands right now. I never took it for granted, for sure,” Foster said.
Check out the full interview with Foster on the Two Percent Podcast below.
