Before you vote, this is my two cents on the question:
The Ravens came to Baltimore in 1996 and have won two Super Bowl Championships since. There are teams that have been around since the 1950’s that don’t even have one Super Bowl victory. The Baltimore Ravens have definitely had a special twenty year opening act. With two Lombardi Trophies won by the Ravens, which victory means more to Ravens Nation?
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Super Bowl XXXV was the first Super Bowl and it has a special place in the heart of the Baltimore sports fan. Marylanders waited for 13 years to fill the void the Colts left when the Mayflower trucks snuck to Indianapolis. Four years after getting a team back in Baltimore, there was a Super Bowl parade. A fan base that was heartbroken for years, waiting for a team to love again got the ultimate prize of being a fan. The Ravens had won the Super Bowl.
The 2000 Ravens had the greatest defense in the history of football. Most people would put an “arguably” in that sentence, but to me it is a fact. Up front the Ravens had a pair of defensive tackles that closed any crack of light for the opposing running back in Tony Siragusa and Sam Adams. Rob Burnett and Michael McCrary were an amazing pair of defensive ends. The Ravens had the most intimidating linebacker corps. of all time with Ray Lewis, Jamie Sharper and Peter Boulware. Chris McAlister and Duane Starks were play making corners. Kim Herring and Rod Woodson had everything covered in the back-end of the Ravens defense.
When Trent Dilfer relieved Tony Banks of the quarterbacking duties the Ravens went on an incredible role. The Ravens suffered five straight games without scoring a touchdown. Dilfer came in and stabilized the struggling offense. The Ravens leaned heavily on a rookie Jamal Lewis in the running game. Shannon Sharpe was the Ravens go to target at the tight end position. The Ravens went 12-4 and dominated the Broncos, Titans and Raiders before dismantling the Giants in the Super Bowl.
For the 2000 Ravens the Super Bowl was a statement to the rest of the world. It was what put the Ravens on the map, it was for the city of Baltimore and the state of Maryland that had fallen in love with their new team. Ray Lewis had to come from hell and back just to be on the field that season.
Fresh off being found innocent in a murder trial, Ray Lewis was a villain to many people. The Ravens weren’t supposed to win and Ray Lewis wasn’t supposed to be the hero on the national stage. That team fought through so much adversity and animosity from the national media.
Super Bowl XXXV was about proving the world wrong. Super Bowl XXXV was about showing the world that Baltimore football was back and the Ravens were in it, to win it.
Super Bowl 47 happened 12 years later. This Super Bowl meant so much because the Ravens had come so close to winning their second Super Bowl so many times. The Ravens went to the playoffs in 2001, 2003 and 2006 but came up short. In 2008 the Ravens started climbing the mountain in the Flacco/Harbaugh era. The Ravens who knocked on the door for five straight years got their Super Bowl in 2012.
In 2008 the Ravens marched into Pittsburgh to battle in the AFC Championship game. The Ravens lost a frustrating game in which a rookie Joe Flacco struggled. In 2009 the Ravens dominated the New England Patriots in the first round of the playoffs. They beat the Patriots 33-14 but fell to the Colts a week later. In 2010 the Ravens once again fell to the Steelers in the playoffs.
2011 was different. The Ravens seemed destined for the Super Bowl, in fact it was probably the most talented roster the Ravens ever had. They battled the Patriots in the AFC Championship game. The Ravens clearly outplayed the Patriots in that game. If it were not for the dropped touchdown pass by Lee Evans and then the botched field goal by Billy Cundiff, the Ravens would have gone to the Super Bowl. It was maybe the worst heartache Ravens fans will ever feel.
2012 was the most magical playoff run I have ever seen any team have. The Ravens beat Andrew Luck and the Colts in Ray Lewis’s last game in Baltimore. They conquered the Broncos miraculously in double overtime. Flacco had to find Jacoby Jones for a “Hail Mary” just to take the game to overtime. The Ravens finally beat Peyton Manning in the playoffs and it may have been the greatest game anyone ever saw.
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Then the Ravens got redemption. The Ravens beat the Patriots on the road. In the same place their season ended a year ago, the Ravens partied in front of a heartbroken Patriots crowd. The Ravens were finally going to the Super Bowl again. 12 years after their dominant Super Bowl over the Giants and on their fifth consecutive trip to the playoffs, the Ravens had climbed the mountain and won the Super Bowl.
Super Bowl XLVII was more about the journey to get there. It was about coming so close to the mountain top, so many times. It was about the heartache and despair of losing in two AFC championship games in four years. It was about legitimizing what Harbaugh had built and silencing the Flacco bashers.
The Ravens had the most dramatic road to a championship possible. They beat Denver in thrilling fashion, finally besting Peyton Manning in the playoffs. They beat Tom Brady and the Patriots who stole their glory the season before. They beat the 49ers after the power went out in the Superdome and the 49ers had a furious comeback. The 2012 playoffs were an emotional roller coaster in which we felt every emotion along the way.
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So what do you think Ravens Nation? Be sure to comment. Be sure to vote in our poll and take the conversation to social media via Twitter and Facebook. It is important to remember that both moments are special to us and there is no wrong answer here. I’ll leave you with this thought: How awesome is it that Ravens fans have two championships to cherish forever?