Rayvens Town

As some of you may have noticed by this point, I am an avid NFL fan.  There are few things in this world that I enjoy more than the NFL, I will take this statement even further to say, there is practically nothing in this world that I enjoy more than the Baltimore Ravens.  My entire fall semester hinges on the performance of my beloved birds.  You can rest assured that if they do step off the grid iron victorious you will hear about it, and if they lose (doesn't happen often) you can also be rest assured I can be found in my room which is definitely an "enter at your own risk" zone.

A question that I hear quite frequently is, "how do you care about a team that much when you aren't even on it?"  Good question...in the past my answer has been simple, they are my birds, they always have been and always will be.  However, I have recently given more thought to this question because I feel there is a more in depth answer than I am not allowing myself to see.

While to the outsider my dedication and Ravens fanaticism is way over the top, one would be surprised to know that I am not far beyond your average Ravens fan.  Why is this exactly, why does every other car you see in Baltimore have a Ravens decal or flag?  There are plenty of surface answers, but when you look at the team, the city, and the atmosphere at M&T Bank stadium on a Sunday afternoon the answer leads to one place, one person... #52 Ray Lewis!!!

 

Ray Lewis... I could go on forever.  He has been the constant in any Ravens fan's experience, 14 years of Ravens... 14 years of Rayvens.  

As I have been thinking about the Ravens, and consequently Ray, I find myself contemplating what really makes the Ravens different, what makes Ray Lewis different, what makes the city of Baltimore so different?  The answer I have arrived at is this: his intensity, his will to win, and most importantly his ability to turn the mentality used in the game of football into the mentality used in the game of life.  It is a rare occurrence to witness a player or coach that is talented enough to the point where he can use his trade to preach about life, but I...and the city of Baltimore have been lucky enough to have that opportunity for the past 14 years.

If one were to take a trip back in time to Baltimore 14-15 years ago, you would find exactly what the stereotype expects it to be.  Miles of abandoned homes, crime ridden neighborhoods filled with violence and all the things that accompany this environment.  However, fast forward to the present and you will see a place well on its way to erasing those stereotypes.  

What has changed?  The mentality of our city, everyone wants to see change, and everyone wants to be known for something other than what you see on HBO's The Wire.  You wouldn't be able to understand it, until you lived it, but I truly believe the city of Baltimore has taken on the mentality that Ray Lewis preaches everyday.  If you need proof, take a stroll to the inner harbor.  A once run down and dirty area that struggled to show any signs of life...is now booming.  Countless new restaurants, bars, hotels, and attractions have been brought to the downtown area.  Take a look at our decorations that can be found lining the streets of the Inner Harbor...

This is what caught my attention...how the mentality of one man can affect a team and how the mentality of that team can affect an entire city.  All Ravens fans have a few things in common... 1. We love our birds and will let you know it whenever we have the chance despite how annoying you find it.  2.  We all have more than one Ravens jersey 3. We know all the best Ray Lewis and Ed Reed YouTube videos by heart (give me a call if you have an hour or two of freetime) 4. We will all attempt to imitate Ray's intro dance despite dancing being a talent we were not blessed with, and 5. We all love our city beyond question.

So as you see, the Rayvens have given the people of Baltimore something that we can all love.  No matter what part of town we come from, no matter what tax bracket we fall under, if you were born and raised in Baltimore, you love the Ravens.  That is just the way it works in the 410, always has and always will be this way.

As Ray gets older the time for retirement seems to be closing in, and it has left me to wonder, what's next for Baltimore?  What will a Sunday look like with the defense taking the field and #52 being noticeably absent?  I can honestly say I have no answer to either of these questions, but what I do know is that Ray has played an integral part in turning Baltimore around for the better. 

-Steve Simms is a Business and Enterprise Management major with a concentration in Marketing.  And among all else a life long Ravens fan, "we are goin to the ship"