Courtesy: CBS Sports
As an awkward middle school boy in a city without a football team, I followed the NFL from afar. No favorite team, no favorite player; just a sports fan and casual football watcher. All that changed in 1996 when the Baltimore Ravens became the first NFL team to call Baltimore home, since a herd of horseshoes left town in a couple of moving trucks late one night in 1984. I entered high school that year with a team of my own and decided to make a rookie middle linebacker, taken as the #26 pick in the draft, my new “favorite player”.
Today, I am a 31 year old father of three, with a wife, a home, and two college degrees on my wall. And Ray Lewis is still a Baltimore Raven…at least for one more game. Lewis announced his retirement yesterday after 17 seasons in the NFL, all with the team that drafted him in 1996. When the curtain closes on this season (hopefully in New Orleans on February 3rd), Ray Lewis will begin a countdown to the day his name appears on the ballot for the Hall of Fame. He will enter Canton as arguably the best middle linebacker to ever play the game, and his likeness deserves to be carved into the Mt. Rushmore of defensive players all time.
What he has done for the Baltimore Ravens; quarterbacking a defense that has consistently rated in the top half of the league, while winning two Defensive Player of the Year Awards and a Super Bowl MVP, is only equaled by what he has done for the city itself. His charitable work throughout Baltimore is well documented and the legacy he leaves behind stretches well outside the lines of Baltimore’s M&T Bank Stadium.
As the undisputed leader of the Ravens for virtually his entire tenure with the team, Ray’s commitment to excellence in every aspect of the game has propelled others around him to greatness as well. 8 former Ravens defensive coaches have gone on to become head coaches in the NFL, thanks in part to on-field coach Ray Lewis executing their game plans. Those coaches include Marvin Lewis, Rex Ryan, Jim Schwartz, Jack Del Rio, Mike Smith, Mike Nolan, Mike Singletary, and Chuck Pagano.
As a culture that puts great emphasis on statistics, we should be in awe of Ray’s career numbers. 2050 combined tackles, 41.5 sacks, 31 interceptions, 19 forced fumbles, 19 fumble recoveries, 119 passes defended. He was named to 13 Pro Bowl teams and has been an AP All Pro 10 times. Besides being only the 6th player to win multiple Defensive POY awards, he stands as the only player in history with 40 sacks and 30 interceptions.
Free Agency and harsh cap penalties have changed the way teams are constructed in the NFL over the years, but Lewis has remained one of those rare breeds to begin and end a career with one team. The NFL and its fans will look back in the next year or two and think fondly of Ray Lewis and appreciate his contributions to the game. But for young sports fans like me, who grabbed on to Ray in ’96 as a new face for a new franchise and have grown into adults watching him patrol the field, it is hard to put our appreciation into words. I’ll simply say thank you Ray, for your devotion to the Ravens as well as to our great city.
Courtesy: Farmer Stan Productions
On Sunday, I’ll watch as #52 exits the tunnel at Ravens Stadium for what will likely be the last time. He’ll step onto the field, spastically deliver his signature move, and the crowd will great him with a hero’s welcome. His teammates and brothers will gather around him for a pre-game speech that I desperately wish I could be a part of. Then his warriors will strap on their helmets and go to war for the man who has led them into battle so many times before. What time is it? Game Time! We’ll miss you Ray.
