Ben with his family in Switzerland - 2006

The U.S. Embassy was never closer to American Football than last Sunday evening: The famous Pittsburgh Steeler quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger (winner of the 2006 Super Bowl), attended a dinner in his honor at the Embassy's Residence in Bern. Before this dinner, the American Employees Association organized a "Meet and Greet" with the superstar. His visit to the Residence was a tremendous success. More than 40 people attended and it is not a surprise that more children hailed "Big Ben" than employees and their spouses. For the dinner, the Chargé d'affaires, Carol Urban invited the two quarterbacks from Switzerland's own football teams: the Bern Grizzlies' Mario Dini and the Bienna Jets' Kevin Keene. Earlier in the day, Ben Roethlisberger watched the Jets and the Grizzlies play a Swiss National Football League game, which was won by the Grizzlies 14-9.