PITTSBURGH -- Max Starks, possibly the largest Pittsburgh Steeler on and off the field, is only in his third year with the team and already has a Super Bowl ring, two radio shows, a TV spot, and a Chunky Soup mom.

WTAE Channel 4 Action News anchor Sally Wiggin sat down with Starks and his mother, Eleanor.

It was Ben Roethlisberger's tragic summertime motorcycle accident that shoved Eleanor Sparks into the Steelers spotlight, but she said she has been an integral part of her son's football success since high school.

Eleanor Starks said she heaps plenty of praise on Max and isn't afraid to criticize him when he needs it.

The criticism has come hard this season, some pointed at the offensive line after the Oakland and Denver losses, but Eleanor said she takes issue with the Denver complaints.

"I think he only got beat on one play," said Eleanor. "There was one sack and after that, I felt he personally took control of the game and had tremendous staying power up against a guy he went against in Florida, Gerard Warren."

But don't be fooled. Max said his mom calls him out all the time.

"I always ask him if he is in the tape room and ask if he has played up against them before," said Eleanor.

"My mom watches more football then I do," said Max.

"I do, Sally. I really do," said Eleanor. "Got to see who is going to make a spin move."

Eleanor's motherly involvement also was aimed at Max's college roommate, Chicago Bears quarterback Rex Grossman.

"She has always been a team mom," said Max. "Got on Rex in college. 'Why do you scramble so much? Stay in the pocket.' My mom is hilarious."

"Believe it or not, when I was in college, I took a football class," said Eleanor. "Got an A."

Max said his mom is the perfect Chunky Soup mom, and Eleanor said it is always something she wanted to do.

Regrettably, the opportunity arose when Roethlisberger wrecked his motorcycle the day before the commercial shoot and the company needed another mom to replace Mrs. Roethlisberger.

So, Max made the call.

"'Mom, I need you to get to Pittsburgh in the morning,'" Max said he told his mom over the phone. "My mom went crazy. She was in the car with a real estate agent in Phoenix, and she was screaming. 'Oh child. Oh child. I can't believe it.'"

"It was sort of a dream come true," said Eleanor. "Worked one or two jobs. Fed my boys Chunky Soup. Open a can, and they would put it in the microwave, and it was like a meal."

Eleanor said she also gave her three boys the sense of responsibility to give back.

Max is deeply involved in the Pittsburgh community, the Pittsburgh symphony, the Caring Place, cystic fibrosis and the fight against breast cancer, with Eleanor being a 14-year survivor.

"As you get older and realized what my mom went through, she potentially could not be here anymore, and her drive, her competitiveness to stay alive," said Max.

"Sometimes they thought, because I had cancer, I was going to die," said Eleanor. "I told them to forget that. That I was going to be around. They were soldiers. They helped me to heal and persevere."

Besides the Chunky Soup commercial, Eleanor said Max did something else that made her scream. Last month, Max became the first professional athlete elected to the Board of the Pittsburgh Symphony, something else for Eleanor to be proud of.

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