Baltimore: Savor this Super Bowl experience
By Terry Swayne
Baltimore, Here is my advice….Savor this Super Bowl and all of the festivities leading up to the big game on Sunday. Take in all of the hoopla around town, drape your home, office, and automobiles in purple, and bask in the moment as our Baltimore Ravens are in the National spotlight. Don’t wait, do it now, because you never know when (or if) you will ever see another Super Bowl again.
I don’t want to be a “Debbie Downer” here. It might be crazy to say it, and I hope it’s not the case, but when we won our first Super Bowl back in 2001, I never thought I’d have to wait another 12 years to see it happen again. When you consider how great our defense was that year, and all of the great players on our roster, everyone thought we would go to a cluster of Super Bowls in a 5-7 year period, but obviously, that was not the case.
It’s not like Major League Baseball, where 10 teams are eliminated before the season even starts, The parody in the NFL is unbelievable. Every team has a chance to turn it around in a season or two with a good draft and/or an off-season signing here or there. We, as fans of the Baltimore Ravens, have been spoiled by great ownership, an impeccable front office that has been able to make the Ravens a contender year in and year out. We have also been blessed with two great football coaches over the years in Brian Billick and John Harbaugh.
Growing up in Baltimore as a kid, I loved watching the Orioles (and Colts for a few seasons) play at Memorial Stadium. I was 13 when the Orioles won the World Series in 1983. What a great time that was….THIRTY YEARS LATER, I’m still waiting for a chance to see the Orioles in another one. Like I said Baltimore…savor the moment.
Unfortunately, like many of you, I have had friends and family members pass away since the Ravens last Super Bowl victory. Everyone of those people thought they would see the Ravens play in another Super Bowl and they didn’t have the opportunity to experience that again. On Sunday, be proud of our beloved Ravens, because win or lose, they did what the experts thought could not be done. Enjoy it…because there is no guarantee in sports or in life. So, make the best of it. Happy Festivus Maximus Baltimore!