Big Ben's Secret Weapon

Every football fan knows that Ben Roethlisberger is leading the Pittsburgh Steelers into Detroit this weekend to play the Seattle Seahawks in the Super Bowl. What most people don't know is how this 24-year-old from Findlay, Ohio, managed to reach the pinnacle of athletic achievement so quickly.

Was it his stellar quarterback rating of 98.6? Maybe. Was it his 17 touchdown passes? That didn't hurt. Was it his TypePad blog? Well, let's go to the videotape: Having started his blog at the end of last season, Ben blogged throughout 2005, bringing his devoted fans stories and images from on the field and off.

Even now, in the thick of final preparations for the biggest game of his career, Ben is using TypePad to share his experiences, day by day. Of course, Ben's secret may be getting out. His divisional rival, Cincinnati's Carson Palmer, started a TypePad blog this past season. The result? Cincinnati's best season since 1988, when they went to the Super Bowl. Our advice to the rest of the NFL: Sign up for a TypePad blog. If you don't, you just might be looking at an AFC North dynasty for years to come. And hey, Shaun Alexander, we can't make any promises, but it only takes a couple of minutes to get your blog started...