“I believe we have found a way to believe in each other, and nothing else matters. That is one thing about our sideline. When we are on our sideline, there is only one thing that matters, when this game ends, we will be victorious, and everybody believes the same thing. That’s what’s been our road, no matter who’s been up, who’s been down, who’s been hurt, who’s been injured. We found a way to pick each other up. That is what a team is, and I’ve always said that. The team who wins the Super Bowl is the team who pulls it together chemistry-wise, and everybody believes in one thing. This team is focused on one goal.”
Perhaps the greatest irony in this story is the redemption and the opportunities and doors that have opened in the life of Ray Lewis, even after his public connection to the Atlanta murders and his introduction via orange jump suit to America. For a long time he was sworn off by national advertisers despite his success on the field.
When the Ravens won Super Bowl XXXV and he was named MVP, he was not offered a chance to say, “I’m going to Disney World” as a paid spokesperson for Orlando’s favorite mouse. Instead, Ravens quarterback Trent Dilfer did the honors and rode in the parade the next day. Lewis seethed about it, and perhaps, rightfully so, but that’s the way he was treated by that company in 2001. By 2007, Lewis was flying to Hollywood for any number of appearances, including a hilarious deodorant TV commercial and was a spokesperson for a variety of apparel companies, sports drinks and video games.
His first post-football job was leaked just hours after he announced his “Last Ride” and a month before his on-the-field career would end in New Orleans. He would be working in the fall of 2013 as a television analyst for ESPN, whose parent company also owns Disney.
Ray Lewis could finally say, “I’m going to Disney World.”
“I will probably be most proud of the impact I’ve had on so many men’s lives,” Lewis said. “The game will fade one day, numbers will fall, accolades will wash away, but there is nothing better than changing someone’s life. To be in Baltimore for 17 years, and getting the opportunity to walk off the biggest stage ever, and to one day look back – and still today, I listen to men walk by men and say, “Thank you for helping me. Thank you for changing my life. Thank you for showing me the right way.’ I think that is the ultimate reward.”
Many fans – and even a few players – believe that Ray Lewis would make an incredible NFL coach but Bisciotti doesn’t believe it’s in the future for No. 52.
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“I don’t know that coaching is the best use of Ray Lewis’ time,” the Ravens’ owner said in 2012. “He’s a unique and special individual. His goal is to have impact that is so far-reaching that I don’t think he could dedicate himself to the kind of hours our coaches do, without stripping him of the ability to make this world a better place. He has lofty goals. And I see him being able to accomplish those.”
If you are a Ravens fan and have ever had a moment of joy around the franchise, you owe Ray Lewis a debt of gratitude.
He is the Ravens. Always was. Always will be. For better or worse.
And there is still a statue to be created and a bronze bust to be awarded in Canton, Ohio during the summer of 2018. And there’s a Ring of Honor ceremony coming sometime soon in Baltimore. He already has one street named in his honor in the Charm City, and he’ll be giving speeches and returning “home” for two different sets of Super Bowl anniversaries in the coming years.
His final speech as a player came at the Ravens’ victory parade just 36 hours after winning his second championship. As he had done so many times during the Super Bowl run, he quoted from The Bible and Isaiah 54:17:
“Baaaaaaaltimore! There is nothing in the world, there is no place on this earth, that is better than Baltimore. This city, this city, we believed in each other from Day One, from 1996 to now,” Lewis told fans in the city where he spent his entire 17 year NFL career. “We believed in each other, Baltimore. If I had to describe our team in one phrase or one paragraph, you all know what it is: ‘No weapon, no weapon, no weapon formed against us shall prosper.’ ”
“This team was destined to go on and win the Super Bowl. I said this was my last ride, and every moment, every time I stepped in this stadium, what I received was pure love, Agape love,” Lewis said in his victory speech at M&T Bank Stadium. “The only way on my last ride to pay Baltimore back for everything you did for me and all the support you gave to me, was to bring back the Lombardi Trophy to Baltimore one more time. I love you, Baaaaaaaaltimore. Baaaaaaaaltimore! Forever my city. I love you.”
“It’s simple: when God is for you, who can be against you?”
