June 25, 2012 - Smiling for the camera in Scotland

Ben poses with Chris McLaughlin, an avid Tennessee Titans fan who couldn't pass up the opportunity to pose with the Steelers' #7.

Chrisâ€™ story:

My day started like any other day. It was a beautiful day, much different than the previous 4 days of torrential rain. As I was standing at the front of the restaurant waiting to seat guests, I noticed four very tall gentlemen approaching. I greeted them, they asked for a table.

From this point onwards, my whole day changed, and even now, I cannot quite believe it.

Iâ€™m 24 years old, and for as long as I can remember, I have loved Titans Football. Iâ€™ve lived in the UK all my life and only visited the United States once a year. Living in the UK, football isnâ€™t a very big thing. Itâ€™s gaining a big reputation, but it will never be as big as soccer. At work, I am the only person who knows anything to do with football. So for my day to take the path it took, well itâ€™s almost unbelievable.

As I turned to lead the gentlemen to their table, I was thinking, â€œThat man looks so familiar. It canâ€™t be him can it? Ben Roethlisberger, here, at my work? thousands of miles away from Pittsburgh? Nah, it canâ€™t be!â€

It was. My legs were like jelly and my heart was going so fast, it would have given Usain Bolt a run for his money (no pun intended). As Ben and his companions were taking their seats, I couldnâ€™t help but mention that he looked so familiar.

His response? â€œI get that a lotâ€. Right there I knew it was him.

â€œYou wouldnâ€™t happen to live in Pittsburgh would you?â€, I asked.

â€œYeah, we all doâ€, replied Ben. He extended his hand and I shook it. It completely engulfed my hand, but I didnâ€™t care. I was so starstruck, you wouldnâ€™t believe.

â€œIâ€™m Ben, nice to meet youâ€, he continued.

Now, Iâ€™m not 100% sure exactly what I said next but my mind said I know exactly who you areâ€. He must have been a little surprised that I recognized him straight away. I would imagine he thought he would not encounter anyone who recognizes him in Scotland.

For the rest of the afternoon, I was beside myself. I couldnâ€™t believe it at all. I met him after his round of golf and asked how it went and congratulated him on graduating a month prior. I donâ€™t know what I was expecting, but both he and his group were very friendly, and surprisingly easy to talk to.

Meeting Ben really made my day worth remembering. I donâ€™t know how many times my colleagues had been told that he is a 2-time Super Bowl champion and 2-time Pro Bowler. I must have driven them crazy. Put it this way: If they didnâ€™t know who Ben Roethlisberger is, they know a lot more about Ben Roethlisberger now than they used to.

Thank you for sharing your story, Chris!

Rate this file (Current rating : 2 / 5 with 2 votes)

Debug Info

Debug Output: show / hide

USER: 
------------------
Array
(
    [ID] => 64e0084a323b57e7d0a05e54f3d4c88f
    [am] => 1
    [liv] => Array
        (
        )

)

==========================
USER DATA:
------------------
Array
(
    [user_id] => 0
    [user_name] => Guest
    [groups] => Array
        (
            [0] => 3
        )

[group_quota] => 0
    [can_rate_pictures] => 1
    [can_send_ecards] => 0
    [can_post_comments] => 0
    [can_upload_pictures] => 0
    [can_create_albums] => 0
    [pub_upl_need_approval] => 1
    [priv_upl_need_approval] => 1
    [access_level] => 3
    [disk_max] => 0
    [disk_min] => 0
    [has_admin_access] => 0
    [group_name] => Guests
    [can_create_public_albums] => 0
    [can_see_all_albums] => 0
    [group_id] => 3
    [allowed_albums] => Array
        (
        )

)

==========================
Queries:
------------------
Array
(
    [0] => SELECT name, value FROM cpg_config [include/init.inc.php:180] (0.5 ms)
    [1] => SELECT * FROM cpg_plugins ORDER BY priority [include/plugin_api.inc.php:51] (0.08 ms)
    [2] => SELECT MAX(group_quota) AS disk_max, MIN(group_quota) AS disk_min, MAX(can_rate_pictures) AS can_rate_pictures, MAX(can_send_ecards) AS can_send_ecards, MAX(can_post_comments) AS can_post_comments, MAX(can_upload_pictures) AS can_upload_pictures, MAX(can_create_albums) AS can_create_albums, MAX(has_admin_access) AS has_admin_access, MAX(access_level) AS access_level, MIN(pub_upl_need_approval) AS pub_upl_need_approval, MIN( priv_upl_need_approval) AS	 priv_upl_need_approval FROM cpg_usergroups WHERE group_id in (3) [bridge/udb_base.inc.php:353] (0.12 ms)
    [3] => SELECT group_name FROM cpg_usergroups WHERE group_id= 3 [bridge/udb_base.inc.php:358] (0.05 ms)
    [4] => SELECT COUNT(*) FROM cpg_categorymap WHERE group_id in (3) [bridge/udb_base.inc.php:371] (0.04 ms)
    [5] => SELECT aid FROM cpg_albums WHERE moderator_group IN (3) [include/init.inc.php:274] (0.06 ms)
    [6] => SELECT lang_id FROM cpg_languages WHERE enabled='YES' [include/init.inc.php:337] (0.24 ms)
    [7] => SHOW TABLES LIKE 'cpg_languages' [include/functions.inc.php:4250] (0.69 ms)
    [8] => SELECT * FROM cpg_languages [include/functions.inc.php:4257] (0.19 ms)
    [9] => SHOW TABLES LIKE 'cpg_languages' [include/functions.inc.php:4250] (0.43 ms)
    [10] => SELECT * FROM cpg_languages [include/functions.inc.php:4257] (0.18 ms)
    [11] => DELETE FROM cpg_banned WHERE expiry < '2024-11-15 15:31:53' [include/init.inc.php:450] (0.06 ms)
    [12] => SELECT null FROM cpg_banned WHERE ('13.58.161.14' LIKE ip_addr ) AND brute_force=0 LIMIT 1 [include/init.inc.php:466] (0.05 ms)
    [13] => SELECT aid FROM cpg_albums WHERE (1  AND visibility != 0 AND visibility != 10000 AND visibility NOT IN (3)) [include/functions.inc.php:1106] (0.18 ms)
    [14] => SELECT rgt, lft, depth FROM cpg_categories WHERE cid = 9 LIMIT 1 [include/functions.inc.php:44] (0.07 ms)
    [15] => SELECT cid FROM cpg_categories WHERE lft BETWEEN 11 AND 12 [include/functions.inc.php:49] (0.06 ms)
    [16] => SELECT keyword FROM cpg_albums WHERE category IN (9) [include/functions.inc.php:57] (0.09 ms)
    [17] => SELECT pic_rating, votes FROM cpg_pictures WHERE pid = 7225 [include/functions.inc.php:2330] (0.06 ms)
    [18] => SELECT COUNT(*) FROM cpg_pictures AS p
            INNER JOIN cpg_albums AS r ON r.aid = p.aid
            INNER JOIN cpg_categories AS c2 ON c2.cid = category WHERE (c2.lft BETWEEN 11 AND 12)
            AND approved = 'YES'
            AND p.votes >= '1'
            AND (pic_rating > 4000
            OR (pic_rating = 4000 AND p.votes > 2)
            OR (pic_rating = 4000 AND p.votes = 2 AND pid > 7225)) [include/functions.inc.php:2343] (7.57 ms)
    [19] => SELECT COUNT(*)
                FROM cpg_pictures AS r
                INNER JOIN cpg_albums AS a ON a.aid = r.aid
                INNER JOIN cpg_categories AS c2 ON c2.cid = category WHERE (c2.lft BETWEEN 11 AND 12)
                AND approved = 'YES'
                AND r.votes >= '1' [include/functions.inc.php:1761] (7.06 ms)
    [20] => SELECT r.pid, r.aid, filepath, filename, url_prefix, pwidth, pheight, filesize, ctime, r.title, r.keywords, r.votes, pic_rating, hits, caption, r.owner_id
                FROM cpg_pictures AS r
                INNER JOIN cpg_albums AS a ON a.aid = r.aid
                INNER JOIN cpg_categories AS c2 ON c2.cid = category WHERE (c2.lft BETWEEN 11 AND 12)
                AND approved = 'YES'
                AND r.votes >= '1'
                ORDER BY pic_rating ASC, r.votes ASC, pid ASC
                 LIMIT 652 ,1 [include/functions.inc.php:1778] (9.88 ms)
    [21] => SELECT COUNT(*)
                FROM cpg_pictures AS r
                INNER JOIN cpg_albums AS a ON a.aid = r.aid
                INNER JOIN cpg_categories AS c2 ON c2.cid = category WHERE (c2.lft BETWEEN 11 AND 12)
                AND approved = 'YES'
                AND r.votes >= '1' [include/functions.inc.php:1761] (7.35 ms)
    [22] => SELECT r.pid
                FROM cpg_pictures AS r
                INNER JOIN cpg_albums AS a ON a.aid = r.aid
                INNER JOIN cpg_categories AS c2 ON c2.cid = category WHERE (c2.lft BETWEEN 11 AND 12)
                AND approved = 'YES'
                AND r.votes >= '1'
                ORDER BY pic_rating ASC, r.votes ASC, pid ASC
                 LIMIT 653 ,1 [include/functions.inc.php:1778] (7.4 ms)
    [23] => SELECT COUNT(*)
                FROM cpg_pictures AS r
                INNER JOIN cpg_albums AS a ON a.aid = r.aid
                INNER JOIN cpg_categories AS c2 ON c2.cid = category WHERE (c2.lft BETWEEN 11 AND 12)
                AND approved = 'YES'
                AND r.votes >= '1' [include/functions.inc.php:1761] (7.13 ms)
    [24] => SELECT r.pid
                FROM cpg_pictures AS r
                INNER JOIN cpg_albums AS a ON a.aid = r.aid
                INNER JOIN cpg_categories AS c2 ON c2.cid = category WHERE (c2.lft BETWEEN 11 AND 12)
                AND approved = 'YES'
                AND r.votes >= '1'
                ORDER BY pic_rating ASC, r.votes ASC, pid ASC
                 LIMIT 651 ,1 [include/functions.inc.php:1778] (7.35 ms)
    [25] => SELECT COUNT(*)
                FROM cpg_pictures AS r
                INNER JOIN cpg_albums AS a ON a.aid = r.aid
                INNER JOIN cpg_categories AS c2 ON c2.cid = category WHERE (c2.lft BETWEEN 11 AND 12)
                AND approved = 'YES'
                AND r.votes >= '1' [include/functions.inc.php:1761] (7.05 ms)
    [26] => SELECT r.pid
                FROM cpg_pictures AS r
                INNER JOIN cpg_albums AS a ON a.aid = r.aid
                INNER JOIN cpg_categories AS c2 ON c2.cid = category WHERE (c2.lft BETWEEN 11 AND 12)
                AND approved = 'YES'
                AND r.votes >= '1'
                ORDER BY pic_rating DESC, r.votes DESC, pid DESC
                 LIMIT 0 ,1 [include/functions.inc.php:1778] (7.5 ms)
    [27] => SELECT COUNT(*)
                FROM cpg_pictures AS r
                INNER JOIN cpg_albums AS a ON a.aid = r.aid
                INNER JOIN cpg_categories AS c2 ON c2.cid = category WHERE (c2.lft BETWEEN 11 AND 12)
                AND approved = 'YES'
                AND r.votes >= '1' [include/functions.inc.php:1761] (7.11 ms)
    [28] => SELECT r.pid
                FROM cpg_pictures AS r
                INNER JOIN cpg_albums AS a ON a.aid = r.aid
                INNER JOIN cpg_categories AS c2 ON c2.cid = category WHERE (c2.lft BETWEEN 11 AND 12)
                AND approved = 'YES'
                AND r.votes >= '1'
                ORDER BY pic_rating ASC, r.votes ASC, pid ASC
                 LIMIT 0 ,1 [include/functions.inc.php:1778] (7.78 ms)
    [29] => SELECT title, comments, votes, category, aid FROM cpg_albums WHERE aid='31' LIMIT 1 [displayimage.php:420] (0.14 ms)
    [30] => SELECT p.cid, p.name FROM cpg_categories AS c,
                cpg_categories AS p
                WHERE c.lft BETWEEN p.lft AND p.rgt
                AND c.cid = 9
                ORDER BY p.lft [include/functions.inc.php:2939] (0.2 ms)
    [31] => SELECT extension, mime, content, player FROM cpg_filetypes [include/functions.inc.php:5930] (0.32 ms)
    [32] => SELECT null FROM cpg_votes WHERE pic_id= 7225 AND user_md5_id='64e0084a323b57e7d0a05e54f3d4c88f' [include/themes.inc.php:3617] (0.08 ms)
    [33] => SELECT null FROM cpg_vote_stats WHERE pid = 7225 AND ip = '13.58.161.14' [include/themes.inc.php:3618] (0.05 ms)
    [34] => SELECT user_name as user_name FROM `bigbenne_copper`.cpg_users WHERE user_id = '1' [bridge/udb_base.inc.php:57] (0.06 ms)
    [35] => SELECT COUNT(msg_id) FROM cpg_comments WHERE pid='7225' [include/themes.inc.php:3750] (0.07 ms)
    [36] => SELECT COUNT(*)
                FROM cpg_pictures AS r
                INNER JOIN cpg_albums AS a ON a.aid = r.aid
                INNER JOIN cpg_categories AS c2 ON c2.cid = category WHERE (c2.lft BETWEEN 11 AND 12)
                AND approved = 'YES'
                AND r.votes >= '1' [include/functions.inc.php:1761] (7.43 ms)
    [37] => SELECT r.pid, r.aid, filepath, filename, url_prefix, pwidth, pheight, filesize, ctime, r.title
                FROM cpg_pictures AS r
                INNER JOIN cpg_albums AS a ON a.aid = r.aid
                INNER JOIN cpg_categories AS c2 ON c2.cid = category WHERE (c2.lft BETWEEN 11 AND 12)
                AND approved = 'YES'
                AND r.votes >= '1'
                ORDER BY pic_rating ASC, r.votes ASC, pid ASC
                 LIMIT 650 ,5 [include/functions.inc.php:1778] (8.03 ms)
)

==========================
GET :
------------------
Array
(
    [album] => toprated
    [cat] => 9
    [pid] => 7225
)

==========================
POST :
------------------
Array
(
)

==========================
COOKIE :
------------------
Array
(
    [fikker-61vm-nk2N] => MgPGRI6oXLV7DSLWJk4y6wNi63F1ZE0E
)

==========================

File information
Filename:	Chris_McLaughlin.jpg
Album name:	erin / Fan Photos/Fan Stories
Rating (2 votes):
Filesize:	50 KiB
Date added:	Jun 25, 2012
Dimensions:	352 x 441 pixels
Displayed:	1005 times
URL:	http://www.bigben7.com/photos/displayimage.php?pid=7225
Favorites:	Add to Favorites

Big Ben 7

www.bigben7.com The Official Fan Site

June 25, 2012 - Smiling for the camera in Scotland