2016 Ravens: Expectations Don’t Matter

Why do we love sports? Because it doesn’t matter what people say, it’s about what people do. Because it’s an escape from reality. In the cold realm of reality, life is determined by what you have to do. In the world of sports, life is about what you want to do, what you dream to accomplish. It’s about overcoming odds that are stacked so high against you, that the opponent’s fans leave the building, before you even start your comeback. It’s about doing what is thought to be impossible; which is why most of us don’t get to even try playing past high school.

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In 2012 the Baltimore Ravens wrote the greatest underdog story ever told. The Ravens limped into the NFL postseason. They had a three game losing streak late in the season. They fired offensive coordinator Cam Cameron, the end of the world had come. The Ravens had a lot of success that season, and their strong start allowed them to win the AFC North division title. Nobody thought the Ravens were going to make a run at the Lombard Trophy.

Nobody thought that the Ravens would beat the Denver Broncos in the divisional round. The Broncos were the best team in football, the number one seed. The Ravens never fared well against the all-time great quarterback, Peyton Manning. Manning and company rolled over the Ravens in Baltimore earlier that season. This one was in the bag for Denver before the ball was even kicked off.

Here’s the thing, the Ravens didn’t care. The Ravens marched into the frigid home of the Broncos and took the fight to them. It didn’t matter what was supposed to happen. It didn’t even matter what happened in the game. The Ravens were a group of men that decided that Ray Lewis was walking away from football, a reigning champion. It may have taken a 70-yard touchdown in the waning moments of the fourth quarter. It may have taken two overtimes. But the Ravens found a way to win, because they decided it was the only way they were leaving Denver.

The Ravens went on to beat the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship. They played lights out in the Super Bowl, and then the lights literally went out. They survived a comeback from the San Francisco 49ers. The Ravens had been so close in each of the past five seasons. It was the year they were going to win it all, no matter what.

The moral of this story is that in sports, especially in football, expectations aren’t everything. The Ravens were picked as Super Bowl favorites by many experts last season. The team went 5-11. This year the Ravens have just two prime time games and a full slate of 1pm starts. I guess the NFL isn’t banking on the 2016 Ravens to be a compelling team.

Expectations don’t matter. Pundits can pick against the Ravens. Heck they can predict them to win every game. It doesn’t matter. The only thing that matters moving forward is the work that the Ravens front office does to build the team, the work that the players do on the field and the work that John Harbaugh and his staff puts in.

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Oh yeah… one other thing matters. The Ravens must learn from their 2012 championship. Moving forward the Ravens have to be all about heart. All about want to. All about accepting nothing but the best possible version of the future. Because that’s why the Ravens won Super Bowl XLVII. Because that’s why we have always loved the Ravens.