NBC Sports has sent partial transcripts of interviews that have been conducted by Hines Ward and Bob Costas previewing the Sunday Night Football matchup between the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers.
Former Steelers wide receiver Ward spoke with Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs while Costas interviewed Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roesthlisburger. Here’s what went down in each interview.
HINES WARD INTERVIEWS RAVENS LB TERRELL SUGGS & BOB COSTAS SPEAKS WITH STEELERS QB BEN ROETHLISBERGER ON NBC’S FOOTBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA
“As your opponent, I had to hate you… you would have made one hell of a Raven.” — Ravens LB Terrell Suggs to Hines Ward
“Guys are understanding that this rivalry is something special.” — Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger
A Disguised Hines Ward Surprises Fans in “A Very Hines Halloween”STAMFORD, Conn. – Nov. 2, 2014 – For tonight’s Week 9 edition of NBC’s Football Night in America, the most-watched studio show in sports, Hines Ward interviews former rival Baltimore Ravens LB Terrell Suggs, and Bob Costas speaks with Pittsburgh Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger. Football Night will also preview NBC’s Sunday Night Football matchup between the Steelers and Ravens, and include highlights, analysis and reaction to earlier Week 9 games.
Football Night airs each Sunday at 7 p.m. ET on NBC, with Costas hosting the program live from inside the stadium. He will be joined on site by Sunday Night Football analyst Cris Collinsworth, sideline reporter Michele Tafoya, andWard.
Dan Patrick co-hosts Football Night from NBC Sports Group’s Studio 1, and is joined by Super Bowl-winning head coach Tony Dungy; two-time Super Bowl winner Rodney Harrison; Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk on NBCSports.com and NBCSN,and NFL insider Peter King. Kathryn Tappen will report from Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., on the Broncos-Patriots game.
In addition, Football Night will include a clip from “A Very Hines Halloween,” in which a disguised Ward surprises Pittsburgh Steelers fans on the Sunday Night Football Bus on Halloween night. To view the full segment, click here.
INTERVIEWS: Below are excerpts from Ward’s interview with Suggs and Costas’ interview with Roethlisberger.
TERRELL SUGGS WITH HINES WARD
Note: NBC Sports commentator Hines Ward had a spirited on-field relationship with Ravens LB Terrell Suggs when Ward was a WR with Pittsburgh (1998-2011).
Ward: “Let’s get right to it…do you still hate me?”
Suggs: “Get back to me tomorrow after the game. I can’t answer that right now.”Ward: “Even without the jersey on?”
Suggs: “Even without the jersey on. No matter what Peyton Manning is doing right now with Denver, he will always be a Colt. Tom Brady will always be a Patriot. You will always be a Steeler. I don’t know what it is, I can’t like you. You know what I mean? You seem like a real cool dude right now, but I just can’t.”Ward: “Do you even know my name?”
Suggs: “Oh, I know your name. [Laughs] I have more than one for you, but I know it.”Ward: “Is there someone on the team now that you hate just as much as you hated me when I was playing?”
Suggs: “Oh, there will never be another 86…because you didn’t just do it with your mouth, you did it with your pads and with your playing. You always did something to affect the emotion of the game, and a lot of times, it won the game for you. As your opponent, I had to hate you because it’s a rivalry, but I do respect it…you would have made one hell of a Raven.”Ward: “How do Steelers fans treat 55?”
Suggs: “They do a good job of welcoming me in Heinz Field. It’s very vivid on not only what they would like to do to my team, but to myself. There’s no bigger stadium to me than Heinz Field. I love it every time I come here, and I love the opportunity that I have in front of me.”Ward: “Is the Ravens-Steelers still the best rivalry in the NFL?”
Suggs: “Yeah, it still is. That’s why when the scheduling came out, they gave this the Sunday Night game. Ravens-Steelers, this one is going to stick to you not just the rest of the year, but I bet you can remember every time you beat us and every time you lost to us, too…how you felt walking off of the field. These games are kind of personal. Everything that goes on around you, your whole atmosphere, it’s like, don’t talk to me until after the game…it’s the biggest thing in the world.”BEN ROETHLISBERGER WITH BOB COSTAS
On his failed pooch punt against the Colts last week: “You know what, the crowd was getting extra loud because it was fourth down, and [Maurkice] Pouncey couldn’t hear me give him the snap count. We were a little late with the delay. I told [Kelvin] Beachum I was mad at him because he’s ruining my pooch punt average…he brought it way down…it’s killing me.”
On turning the season around after losses to Tampa Bay and Cleveland: “We don’t listen to ‘elevator music’ as Coach Mike Tomlin would call it. Those outside people talking, we have a lot of people comment and doubt. We just go out and give it everything we have every week and try and get wins.”
On whether he feels overlooked compared to QB match-ups such as Drew Brees vs. Aaron Rodgers and Peyton Manning vs. Tom Brady: “Nah, it’s alright. I know what I mean to this team and the franchise and the organization. Joe Flacco and I will have our game this week.”
On what makes the Ravens-Steelers rivalry so special: “It probably started even before I got here, but I really felt like [it was guys like] Joey Porter, Ray Lewis, Terrell Suggs…I’ve really tried to help carry that on and I think guys are understanding that this rivalry is something special. Two like-minded cities that are tough…it’s a fun rivalry.”
There you have it.
