Lights Out! Ravens, Flacco Sends Ray Lewis Out On Top

It’s no better way, as a champ, to go out on top and ride off into the sunset. It’s a refreshing story for the greatest middle linebacker of all time, Ray Lewis, who will leave the game in style. He finally gets to the Super Bowl after winning a championship ring 13 years ago as a Raven. He finally rejoices in a gratifying moment, only to be part of a team that has a gifted quarterback.

The folks in Baltimore won’t ever forget Joe Flacco’s fantastic postseason run. From zero to hero, he’s on the rise and stole the show on Super Bowl Sunday, completing a postseason of perfection and competence. He won the game, as well as the MVP award, which was well deserving considering that he was flawless and at ease on a night that much was on the line, on a night that meant so much to Lewis.

“It’s simple: When God is for you, who can be against you?” Lewis said, grappling the Lombardi Trophy. “It’s no greater way, as a champ, to go out on your last ride with the men that I went out with, with my teammates. And you looked around this stadium and … Baltimore! Baltimore! We coming home, baby! We did it!”

The story of Ray Lewis and a clash between John and Jim Harbaugh have been remarkable tales all week at Super Bowl XLVII, a couple of feel-good narratives of a vocal leader and the first ever brother vs. brother coaching duel in Super Bowl history. There is a lot more to John Harbaugh, the strategist who coaches the Baltimore Ravens, and to Lewis, the authentic, enthusiastic, intense demigod who pumps up his teammates. That much came to light when he energized and encouraged his team during his pregame speech before the game. And the fact John built a perennial winner in Baltimore and beat his little brother to capture his first Super Bowl title is a great feeling to him, and even though Jim couldn’t beat his big brother, he’s a winner, too, as he can celebrate and enjoy the night with his family.

For the last time, Lewis gathered his teammates around in a huddle and gave his usual inspirational speech. For the last time, before he walked off the field permanently, he stood on an elevated stage at midfield and lifted the Lombardi Trophy with grace and satisfaction, as the confetti poured onto the artificial turf from the roof of the Superdome in the Big Easy. The last we’ve seen an overjoyed Lewis, a 25-year-old at the peak of his game, was when he led Baltimore to Super Bowl triumph, bringing home the stainless steel to a population of Baltimore faithful.

It was fitting — amid the dominant storylines told all week — witnessing O.J. Brigance being escorted onto the field and celebrating from the confines of his wheelchair. The former Ravens linebacker, who is now the Ravens’ senior advisor on player development, is suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and has been a source of inspiration throughout the team’s improbable run to the Super Bowl.

The Ravens clobbering and beating down the 49ers early had reached insanity with Flacco’s Ravens vehemently controlling the momentum, a look at Baltimore’s offensive juggernauts, a look at the far more superior team. The score was 28-6, all Ravens, followed by a blackout and the 49ers’ 17-point rally to show resilience, and they nearly pulled off the sweetest comeback in Super Bowl history. For a surging run that appeared to be impossible to stop, the Ravens ended the 49ers’ night at their own goal line. In the end, although the power outage might have disrupted and shifted the game’s momentum, the Ravens, as a whole collectively, survived a rally and preserved a lead to hold on and secure a flourishing win. Over on the sideline, John, the older brother, yelled at an official during his outburst and was irate over the fact a long delay could have killed momentum. Across the way, Jim, the younger brother, screamed at the officials and argued a pass interference no-call. Maybe receiver Michael Crabtree was bumped in the end zone on the 49ers’ last offensive play.

Where there’s agony, there’s also happiness. The Ravens, with a number of players who’ve been yearning for Super Bowl titles over the years, are still smiling about the ride to a tremendous sense of greatness. So it seems natural that, in perspective of this game, Lewis would break down into tears emotionally and shout, “We did it!” in response to his teammates, and that veteran safety Ed Reed would watch the confetti fall from the ceiling with his arms extended.

“How could it be any other way? It’s never pretty. It’s never perfect. But it’s us,” John Harbaugh said after winning the brother vs. brother clash with younger brother Jim. “It was us today.”

When it was over, Jim walked to the middle of the field to meet his brother, briefly shook hands and kindly exchanged words. The inaugural Harbowl — in a delayed game — was suspended more than half an hour because of a power outage following Beyoncé’s halftime show that consumed more and more electricity, using thousands of blue lights that some think turned off the lights and left thousands in the dark. The Ravens, the unified, cohesive darlings when it comes to America embracing a team since Lewis announced he will be calling it quits at the end of the season, simply are treating this victory like it was the last football game ever played.

“It’s no greater way, as a champ, to go out on your last ride with the men that I went out with, with my teammates,” Lewis said emotionally. “And you looked around this stadium and Baltimore! Baltimore! We coming home, baby! We did it!”

Every so often, in America’s most popular sport, we are coerced into worshipping Peyton and Eli Manning, the sons of Saints legend Archie — applauding two iconic quarterbacks who won Super Bowls and became the ultimate megastars as advertised. All week, though, the Manning family wasn’t a bittersweet tale of Super Bowl XLVII. The central theme of this particular game was the Harbaughs, and after the Ravens beat San Francisco in a 34-31 thriller, Flacco was an unsung hero throwing a record-tying 11 touchdowns in the playoffs, with no interceptions. That’s what wins championships. That’s what solidifies legacies and allows a player to earn a raise or a megabuck deal with a team, desperately undaunted enough to spend millions as a way to lure pro athletes.

On greater imports, Flacco stepped into his role on offense and carried a team that had a veteran, aging defense. For perspective’s sake, he’s won Baltimore a Super Bowl — and because of his accuracy, arm strength, guts and self-assurance — the Ravens can touch the glittery trophy and Lewis seizes the moment. With Lewis’ NFL career proudly drawing to a close, Flacco, who quarterbacked the Ravens to sheer greatness and delivered when it mattered the most, is gradually becoming a dictator of a well-executed passing game and is becoming a franchise quarterback. It ended, at last, in New Orleans, with a fledged, poised individual, the 28-year-old who was — including this season — viewed as a polarizing figure as many believed Flacco was unfit for greatness. The run is not over, and as it turns out, he’s quickly emerging into a superstar in pro football.

“I’m a Joe Flacco fan. I’ve been a Joe Flacco fan,” Lewis said. “For him to come in and do what he did today, and made some of the throws he made, that is what we’ve always seen. We’ve always said that when you win a championship, one man won’t win the ring. It will be a complete team. We won as a complete team.”

The debates and doubts ended when he connected with Anquan Boldin 13 yards for a touchdown and when he flipped a 1-yard touchdown pass to tight end Dennis Pitta. Nobody has had a more humiliating week than 49ers cornerback Chris Culliver, from his anti-gay comments to getting beat twice, particularly on an electrifying 56-yard touchdown catch by Jacoby Jones in the first half. He also missed a tackle on Jones’ record-setting 108-yard kickoff return that gave the Ravens a 28-6 lead. Having a breakout performance in the most meaningful game, Flacco has certainly wedged himself in elite company and contract talks are now heavy, and he’s likely about to get paid.

How good was he? He was super.

And having said that, Flacco was 22 for 33 for 287 yards and finished with three touchdowns. It was one shinning moment, and it was a moment that he went from low-level to top-notch by standards, impressively dominating and outdoing 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick. It was an eyebrow-raising moment, a game where he was unruffled and didn’t throw a pick, moving the ball and delivering scoring passes. It’s about Lewis, but this particular night was more about Flacco.

In Flacco, we trust.

Step Aside Mannings, Harbaugh Family Tree Far More Fascinating

There will be no Mannings, not at Super Bowl XLVII.

It’s brother vs. brother, certainly, a historic Super Bowl tale of opposing coaches. You could say it’s brotherly love, a moment when John Harbaugh, coach of the Baltimore Ravens, will stand across the field from Jim Harbaugh, coach of the San Francisco 49ers, Sunday to fight for possession of the Vince Lombardi Trophy, a 22-inch glittering trophy made of stainless steel. It’s the inaugural Harbowl, the first brother vs. brother coaching duel in Super Bowl history, and having watched NFL for years, I believe we are witnesses of the most heartwarming story.

The brothers are drawing most of the attention this week, and amazingly the Harbaughs are a more compelling story to tell here in America, than the Mannings. No disrespect, but folks are delighted and amazed that two brothers will be coaching against each other Sunday. So John and Jim have inspired fans, embarking on a journey to try to win their first ever Super Bowl as two perennial head coaches in a cruel business of headaches and heavy burdens. It’s a business where if coaches are inept and can’t produce a certain amount of wins to qualify for the postseason or even make a deep run during the playoffs they get canned.

But they have not done a disservice to the franchises that employed them, giving both men a shot to expose their competitive nature and coaching acumen, which they’ve done so well by changing the culture and leading Baltimore and San Francisco to the Super Bowl. Winner takes all, and either way — that is — both will walk off the artificial turf winners come late Sunday night early Monday morning. Win or lose, the Harbaughs are victorious. If Jim’s 49ers don’t win — and trust me — he won’t jump up and down like a silly kid, he won’t charge across the field, he won’t pull his shirt up and chest-bump his brother. Hello, his brother is not Jim Schwartz.

This is family and brotherhood grows stronger every day. So whoever wins, the Harbaugh family, either way, will be celebrating on Bourbon Street as one of the brothers will be boarding the flight with the Lombardi Trophy when it’s all finished. Jack and Jackie Harbaugh, parents of the opposing Super Bowl coaches, raised their boys the right way and both men are defying every law of game planning and intensity, all the reason they’ve made it to the peak of their careers.

The Harbaughs, raised in a house by their parents to be respectful and hard-working kids, grew up around the game of football, played it and traveled around America with their father, Jack, who knew his sons had a knack for coaching and saw both of his boys nurture their talent as coaches. It’s a remarkable family reunion, a gathering among a proud family the NFL has rarely experienced. The only other family who comes to mind is the Manning family.

As unique stories, the first-time Bro Bowl is astounding enough, making America smile and rave endlessly about a sibling rivalry of two brothers who fans have grown to admire deeply, similar to the way everybody became infatuated with the Mannings. With the Harbaughs, who will likely be around the league for a long time, the Mannings are becoming have-beens and fans are speaking highly of John and Jim. The one thing all of this reveals, of course, is that football runs strongly in the family. The Harbaughs, from the father to the mother to the brothers all have fond memories of football, but the Super Bowl is more than just a family affair. It’s another football game, just like all the rest, and come Sunday the Harbaughs will be partying like Lombardi Gras.

It’s the Harbaughs’ turns to catch our attention, preach the importance of teamwork and competitiveness, the framework for winning multiple Super Bowl titles and launching a celebration of gratification and glimpsing at the beginning of an era of great promise. In the last couple of years, we’ve been glorifying Peyton and Eli, two brothers who are star quarterbacks in the National Football League. The Mannings, particularly this decade, are the sons of football while the Harbaughs are a fraternity of NFL coaches.

And as much of a cliché’ as it sounds when it comes to two brothers who fans are madly talking about, the Harbaughs have become coaching royalty in the NFL. It’s gracious and humbling, fascinating and touching, each on the brink of validating sheer greatness and on the cusp of writing the sweetest NFL family story. They are not, just because they are brothers, a mirror image. In many ways, John, 50, Jim, 48, are different, very different. As the NFL’s first coaching family, a sibling rivalry news conference Friday revealed the Harbaughs’ personality and what makes these two brothers different. They were born 15 months apart and both have proven to be elite coaches.

And to an extent, that’s about the only thing these brothers have in common. Beyond that, the other thing they obviously share is a last name, but as for their coaching styles, it is as if the Harbaughs are not related. It’s one that nobody can argue and it became clear after watching them coach their teams. This is not only as far as coaching but personality-wise and by appearance even.

In their time spent with the media on Friday, when they stood on the glittery stage and captivated our awareness with their disparity in perception and personality traits, John wore a smile while Jim stared angrily. The older brother, John, is outgoing and is gracious. The younger brother, Jim, is brusque, haughty, and snobbish and seems aloof from a large crowd. He is, however, a great guy, just like his brother, John. It’s just the way Jim carries himself, and apparently it’s good enough to make it to the Super Bowl.

He has flair and spunk, a mental approach that has turned the 49ers into an elite NFC team. These 49ers have come along way on defense under Jim and suddenly are en route to a potential Super Bowl victory, and they might be the most compelling team. When he arrived, when the York family took a risk by hiring Jim to be a savior in San Francisco, the 49ers adapted to his system and became used to his fiery, winning attitude. Long before this Super Bowl clash between these brothers, he was a famous quarterback at Michigan and greatly idolized legendary coach Bo Schembechler. Long before he began his NFL coaching career, Jim spent 15-years in the NFL as a quarterback, and then became a head coach at the University of San Diego and Stanford. And John, the older one, played defensive back collegiately at Miami of Ohio and later began his coaching pursuit, serving as an assistant at five schools before his first NFL job came as the Eagles’ special-teams coach for nine seasons and spending one season coaching the secondary.

Standing across from him on Sunday, will be his brother, John. That’s a good thing about the Harbaughs; they both are winners and were taught the importance of hard work, determination and coaching. Thanks to their father, the Harbaughs are devoted to their players and have been mentally and physically attached to the game. It’s simple to recognize that their achievements rank them among the greatest coaches of the modern era, and having experience from watching their dad as kids, helped the Harbaughs hone their craft, leading two teams that consistently play smart and tough. It’s not easy turning unpopular quarterbacks into skilled passers or taking two uninspired teams to Super Bowl XLVII, with singular stories to tell and legends being born.

And, ultimately, we’ve never seen anything like it. The Manning name, for a long time, floated around the NFL, and America celebrated the megastar quarterbacks. Both brothers, Peyton and Eli, the sons of Saints legend Archie, won Super Bowls. But at this time, I’d like to direct your attention to the Harbaughs.

When the news conference finished Friday, after holding a joint press conference at the New Orleans convention center to address the media, the Harbaughs’ parents and grandparent stood together for a family portrait, one the family will remember forever. There’s never a shortage of storylines when the Harbaughs are in the conversation, and the time would be now that everybody talks about John and Jim, who have stolen the limelight for much of the week.

Step aside, Mannings. Welcome, Harbaughs.

Ray Lewis: Dark Past Still Haunts All-Time Great

It’s Tuesday afternoon in New Orleans, and Ray Lewis walks onto the podium. The swarms of reporters and cameramen crowded in front of Lewis’ table, leaving him with no space or breathing room, as the 13-time Pro Bowler was the man of the hour. The man’s word of wisdom and courage is what defines Lewis at best — a 17-year run with the Ravens is the kind of longevity that is not commonplace in the NFL today. In a forgiving country, he’s a leader by example, on and off the field — a consultant to his teammates who comes to him for words of advice. His past is forgotten by many, particularly those who portray him as a role model, and maybe even a Super Bowl hero come Sunday.

He was all laughs and giggles Tuesday at Media Day, but he couldn’t breathe and heard endless questions. While he candidly spoke for an hour at the interview table at the center of the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, he declined to answer questions about his shameful past. He is, without argument, a preacher in shoulder pads and will go down as the greatest middle linebacker of all time, the ultimate maestro and teacher — or a hard-hitting, ball-ripping tackler. There’s not a moment that he’s not hungry — craving Super Bowl triumph — and as an aging star player, he knows Baltimore is one win away from immortality and can ride off into the sunset a winner forever. With that said, he will be trying to depart the game on top.

As a 37-year-old Lewis sat behind a microphone to address the media for his Media Day appearance of Super Week, it wasn’t long before he backtracked to his troubles of double homicides. The national storyline here, no doubt, is Lewis, a centerpiece of the Ravens defense, but also a man who is portrayed as a showman for all the wrong reasons. Inside the locker room, as you probably know, he’s a wise man who has inspired and fueled his teammates over the years by firing up his guys and even opposing players. Behind close doors, where he gives his pregame speeches, his energy and drive is contiguous. The stools in the locker room are his pulpits and the messages that he preaches makes an individual become a firm believer of a team that has spiritually changed the mood and elevated the heart and soul of a bona fide Ravens team.

There are multiple issues here — from his murder case to his connection to PED use reportedly — but Lewis is bigger than the game. At a time when he’s a fascinating story of Super Bowl XLVII, an athlete we can truly embrace no matter what happened in his wretched past when few still accuses him of double-murder after he was acquitted of the charges, Lewis is the symbol of the Ravens. For a man whose life was once in ruins, a troubled man once tied to the killings of two men outside of an Atlanta nightclub, the soon-to-be retired football star is lustily appreciated by the hometown crowd where he’s brought life back into the sports scene in Baltimore. The Super Bowl is Feb. 3, the day he will perform his signature pre-game dance, a day when he can celebrate on an elevated stage in the middle of the field and watch the confetti fall from the concrete roof.

It should come as no surprise that Lewis was bombarded with questions regarding the banned substances, his 13-year-old murder case and his forthcoming retirement. It’s all about his faith now. The point is that he’s not blasphemous but spiritual and spoke about his faith and about his relationship with God. It’s too bad for Lewis that he’s not answering supplement questions and hardly touched on the night that an incident occurred outside of an Atlanta nightclub. Thirteen years ago, a street brawl left two men fatally stabbed but Lewis eventually turned state’s witness against two of his friends, Reginald Oakley and Joseph Sweeting — who were eventually indicted on murder and aggravated assault charges.

He avoided murder to plead guilty to obstruction of justice, and testified at the trial of two of his friends but neither were convicted. It’s not fair to Lewis, and his image in many people’s minds is marked because of these murder charges, including whether or not he’s truly a changed man. He is — at the point — ignoring it and brushing it aside as if he was never there that night and as if none of it happened.

“Nobody here is really qualified to ask those questions,” Lewis said, dodging discussions about the murders. “I just truly feel that this is God’s time, and whatever his time is, you know, let it be his will. Don’t try to please everybody with your words, try to make everybody’s story sound right.

At this time, I would rather direct my questions in other places. Because I live with that every day. You maybe can take a break from it. I don’t. I live with it every day of my life and I would rather not talk about it today.”

When the gossip spread through New Orleans, and the world entirely, he was embraced openly or either criticized as he’s been lately. He’s become the staple of Super Week, if not the game on Sunday, and could turn his life story into reality TV. While he’s turning to faith and publicity as a way to move on from a tragedy that has affected the nature of the game, thousands aren’t forgiving of his alleged sins and will forever bitterly scorn the Ravens star player. Now, however, no matter what he’s done as a person over the years to pay his debt to society, he’s described as a criminal who is getting away with murder. But the vast majority, however, celebrates a man for his charitable work, for his dominant performances as a stalwart and hard-nosed defender.

The notion that he talked much about God and little about what happened reveals his character and the way he values life while everybody else tries to grasp an understanding as to what really went down that night of the killings. By now it’s obvious that God is what he values, and by believing and turning things around for the better, he can touch everybody’s heart with his influence and sense of encouragement that has impacted all people, from football to non-football viewers.

“God has always been a part of my life,” said Lewis, who will lead his Ravens into the Super Bowl Sunday. “We’ve always believed in what faith is. And faith is a belief in things unseen. It’s hard to believe or listen to what man says because man can be tricked by words. We all can. Oh, you are too small, you can’t do this, you can’t do that. And then you don’t have too many people to believe in.

“So my relationship with God is the ultimate. I don’t claim no religion, I claim that there is a higher power. I’m non-denominational. There is a higher power that I’m drawn to. I’m emotional when I go to him, because when I go to Him it is the ultimate conversation.

“And I know there is no bad conversation with him. The only bad conversation is the conversation you don’t have with him. So it’s awesome to have that in my life and I’ve been having that my whole life.”

On the day he wasn’t too open about the homicide charges and shied away from the topic, like he’s hiding a shred of evidence, his name was tied to a Sports Illustrated report. He’s also, as reports state, linked to banned substances and was allegedly given a product to help heal his torn triceps. Among the most surreal revelations, he has not tested positive and denies using it. As with anything, he dismissed the report when asked about it at Super Bowl media day.

“Two years ago, it was the same report. I wouldn’t give that report or him any of my press. He’s not worthy of that. Next question,” Lewis said.

The person who ratted out Lewis was Mitch Ross, a co-owner of Sports with Alternatives to Steroids (SWATS), telling Sports Illustrated that he spoke to Lewis shortly after the linebacker tore his triceps Oct. 14 and he requested products that could help speed up his recovery. It’s hard to believe that he used deer-antler spray, which contains a substance, IGF-1, on the NFL’s banned list.

Aside from that, the murder case still echoes for Lewis, and he’s living with it everyday of his life. This is a time when he will think about those families of the two victims. The one thing about living in a forgiving country is that Lewis will be revered no matter what, particularly when he’s a sports figure who people tend to worship whether they are guilty or innocent — and because of it — he’s repaired his brand, he’s a first-ballot Hall of Famer and he’s an undisputed leader for his inspiration and devotion to a game that he’s incredibly passionate about.

It’s simple to forgive but hard to forget.

The dramatic finale, of course, might just end nicely against San Francisco on Sunday.