News

Letterman Gives Big Ben A Shave
Feb. 7, 2006

NEW YORK (AP) - Ben Roethlisberger was happy to get rid of his good-luck beard.

The Pittsburgh quarterback got a shave Monday night from David Letterman while appearing on the Late Show, finally ridding himself of the scraggly light brown facial hair he's been growing since the Steelers lost to Cincinnati in October.

"I was so mad that we lost the game," Roethlisberger told Letterman. "I kind of went into a depression and didn't shave and we ended up winning the next game. And I am kind of superstitious — just a little bit to people who know me — but we won that game and I said I am just going to keep it going until we lose and we kept it going.

"I don't really like the beard you know. But we were winning so I had to keep it going."

Letterman's deadpan reply, "Really? Honestly, I think it looks like a million bucks."

Roethlisberger became the youngest quarterback to win a Super Bowl, when the Steelers defeated the Seattle Seahawks 21-10 on Sunday night. He passed for 123 yards and ran for a touchdown.

"The worst part about winning the AFC championship game was that I had to keep (the beard) for two more weeks," he said. "I didn't want to do that."

After the interview, Letterman asked a woman from Pittsburgh who was in the audience to help him shave Roethlisberger.

"You want to take a little off?" Letterman asked the Steelers' fans