When we lost to the Patriots last week, my resolve to defend the Ravens’ as a victim of over-officiating was deep. Not only did every one of the Brady inspired “roughing” the passer calls cause anger to overcome my love of a good game, but it also lessened my belief that the NFL organization is actually interested in keeping the game of football pure. I found myself repeatedly saying these things to football fans all throughout last week, wrapping up every long rant with, “just watch them next week, it’ll be different”.
Unfortunately I was right. This week was different. This week we lost by giving up yards to legitimate penalties. This week we lost by being outplayed in areas we shouldn’t have been out played in. This week we lost and we have no one to blame but ourselves. And once again a week has come and gone leaving many Baltimore fans wondering what the next step is. Well Raven Nation, I ask you to have faith in John Harbaugh.
Not to bring up any bad memories here but try and remember the Colts v Ravens game last year; the one that ended in a 31-3 loss. Don’t stop there; continue to think back to the Giants game that also ended in a 30-10 loss. Now, do yourself a favor and think about where our team was during that whole season. No bye week. A team with an untested rookie Coach and QB. A 2-0 record that quickly evened itself out to 2-2 and put our team in a position to doubt itself early in the season. Think about what that Raven staff did, against the odds, with a team coming off a 5-11 season.
It’s my true opinion that we needed this loss. Losses aren’t always a bad thing. And after thinking about the season last year I am very positive that Coach Harbaugh is using this loss to our advantage. When a team is winning, even just barely, it’s hard to inspire a team the way you can coming off a loss. The Ravens know what the entire city of Baltimore knows and that’s that we’re a different team than any other in the NFL. We have never needed stats to tell us that. We have always been the team with the defense and the team others measure their defenses against.
Truth be told, I was going to write two separate articles but as it turns out these topics relate so closely with one another that I’ll just continue on through this point to my next: Most people who aren’t from Baltimore could care less about us. It’s true. In the words of a young John Elway after being drafted to the Baltimore Colts in 1983, “I’d rather play baseball than play in Baltimore”. Of course he was talking about the Colts back then but not much has changed about the feeling of outsiders toward the Ravens.
The Ravens give us an identity and in that light, they quite literally fight for the city’s respect. When I was in Iraq I would tell many of my buddies that I was from the land of crab cakes, the national anthem, and the colors Purple and Orange and they would look at me like I was crazy. Yet when I threw in that it was the home of the Ravens, everyone knew where I was talking about. Baltimore isn’t a glamorous city by any means and everyone who has lived there knows this. We’re a city that has a high crime rate and the typical citizen holds a blue collar job far removed from the comforts of an office. It’s in this fact that we find our true inspiration in being Baltimore Football fans and this concept is something that few people outside the Baltimore area understand. It’s a beautiful thing and something we need to embrace through our losses.
I leave you with one last request: Trust John Harbaugh and support your Ravens.
"You wouldn't know by reading the papers, listening to the broadcast, who the Cowboys were playing today. Guess what, America knows who won tonight." – Video Commentary from NFL.com on the Ravens winning the Last Game in Texas Stadium
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