(Author’s Note: So I’m in a Panera Bread right now sitting down to type up a post and I just realized I forgot my notes on the Atlantic City trip. My apologies for the delay for the next chapter in our epic failure, but for now, let’s talk Ravens)
The past few weeks made being a Baltimore Ravens fan even more amazing.
Even before we became the sultry, sexy sleeper pick that transitioned into a beautiful, buxom bandwagon team, the national media finally seemed to be wising up to the fact that this is, as Zak would put it, a good little football team. There were whispers about being a team that no one would want to play in January, acknowledgement of success despite the number of players relegated to injured reserve, even the slightest bit of kudos for the turnaround undergone within a single season.
Now, well now it’s a different story. The lone unanimous AP All-Pro starts at safety, the phrase “Joe Flacco’s unflappable nature” is copied and pasted in sports writer’s columns like it’s a comma, and Le’Ron McClain put a Raven on the first team offense for the All-Pro team for the first time since Jonathan Ogden. It’s not just the increased media coverage that comes from advancing into the playoffs either; John Harbaugh’s Baltimore Ravens are making the media look stupid for neglecting to give them proper consideration during the regular season.
Where’s the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year? Same place as the NFL Coach of the Year I suppose… not quite sure of specifics but suffice to say they won’t be at Heinz Field for the AFC Championship game this Sunday (Author’s Note: The purpose of that hypothetical interrogation was to bring attention to the fact that the winners of the aforementioned awards are no longer allowed to participate in the NFL Playoffs, not to point out the simple truth that no saneperson would ever visit the city of Pittsburgh without a good reason, such as to fulfill sadomasochistic sex fantasies involving ketchup.
And the even better news: We’re wearing this new found attention well. For years we have been villains in the NFL, a label that arose from the hard-hitting smash mouth style, the “boring” nature of a low-scoring contest when placed in the context of an NFL designing rules to increase offense, and, unfortunately, through a well-publicized murder trial. This season though, between Bazooka Joe tossing beautiful deep balls (wow, that phrase looks questionable when typed out) off of play action and the highlights of Ed Reed’s incredible improvisation whenever he gets the ball in his hands (yikes, this column is reading like the sequel to the gay romance novel “Put a Little Hot Sauce on That”, loosely based on an encounter between Bart Scott and Reggie Bush) it’s become exciting to have the Ravens on national television.
I thought I kind of enjoyed being the NFL Anti-Darlings, and I do, but the occasional nobbin’ slobbin’ has been something altogether different; and I’m not gonna lie, it’s been pretty enjoyable. We’re never going to be the team with the golden boy super model at QB or the coach/preacher who inspires his players not by hard work and sacrifice but through even-temperament and insider voices; we’re still the Baltimore Ravens, we’re just being looked at in a different light.
Here’s hoping the spotlight continues to draw attention to our unique locker room, our phenomenal veterans, and our emerging youngsters. We’ve got Ravens swagger, other people may imitate, and that’s flattering, but don’t let it be forgotten that no one on the corner has swagga like us…
p.s. speaking of bro-mance, I hesitatingly link this clip and Ray Ray and his surrogate older brother Big Daddy; their bro-ners are practically slapping each other high-five throughout the whole "interview"...
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