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“Next time we play the Tennessee Titans, we’ll kick their ass.” Sam Adams at The Barn in Oct. 2000 to @NestorAparicio during Ravens Super Bowl XXXV run. And then January happened! Remember the Titans? We do… #RavensFlock
Two things were pretty obvious to everyone who watched the 2000 Baltimore Ravens during the first half of the season. When they passed the ball, they made mistakes and were ineffective. But each time they tried to run the football with any consistency, they succeeded.
The Ravens came to Miami on Sept. 17, 2000, for the first time in their five-year existence and the fans from Baltimore were out in force. It was the first time a Baltimore football franchise had played in South Florida since Dan Marino’s rookie season. A lot had changed from that day in 1983.
It has been said that you need to crawl before you can walk. For the 2000 Baltimore Ravens, much of that crawling was done during the end of the 1999 season. Before Shannon Sharpe came to play. While Trent Dilfer was still sitting on the bench in Tampa Bay, waiting for redemption. While Jamal Lewis and Travis Taylor were still attending college classes and hoping to become first-round draft picks in the NFL.
While the 2000 Baltimore Ravens will always receive credit from fans and foes alike for being the team that allowed the fewest points in NFL history – and punctuated that task with a defensive unit shutout in Super Bowl XXXV – only four men can properly put into perspective the pain, the growth and the joy of a group that ultimately captured greatness.
From Ozzie Newsome and Phil Savage, the Ravens dominance began on their first draft day in 1996. Nestor takes you inside that inaugural War Room that netted Jonathan Ogden and Ray Lewis.
Purple Reign, Chapter 5: “Canton Comes to Baltimore” Nestor recounts what an outpost franchise the Ravens were when Rod Woodson and Shannon Sharpe showed up in Owings Mills
Purple Reign, Chapter 1: “The Boss Arrives” “Hi, Coach Billick? My name is Nestor Aparicio. I own the all-sports radio station in Baltimore and I’m about to become your new best friend.”
Purple Reign, Chapter 2: “A Silver Trophy But Not a Silver Spoon” The legacy of Art and David Modell and how they came to Baltimore from Cleveland and built a Super Bowl XXXV championship operation
Purple Reign, Chapter 4: “Slapdicks, Quarterbacks, and Pranks”. Nestor chronicles the room of Dilfer, Banks and Redman and the Super Bowl XXXV champs that went a month without a TD
Purple Reign, Chapter 3: “The Original Birds and the Mean Machine” Nestor chronicles the very beginning and April 1996 draft with a new name, no colors and no logo – but two future Hall of Famers coming to Baltimore.
To honor the Super Bowl XXXV champions and the upcoming ESPN 30-For-30 on the Baltimore Ravens title, Nestor Aparicio is re-releasing the original “Purple Reign: Diary of a Raven Maniac” here. This is the prologue.
Dan Moore discusses profile of Oakland baseball and loss of East Bay sports for The Ringer with Nestor
Carl Delmont joins Nestor from Greenmount Station to discuss real estate realities of current market
Harrisburg Heat owner Carl Delmont discusses neighborhoods and kids and soccer
Michael Olesker tells Don and Nestor the carousel tales and trials of the amazing life of Merry-Go-Round entrepreneur Boogie Weinglass
Dan Moore discusses profile of Oakland baseball and loss of East Bay sports for The Ringer with Nestor. With Warriors and Raiders leaving, what is the future of the Athletics in the Bay Area?
Carl Delmont joins Nestor from Greenmount Station to discuss real estate realities of current market
Harrisburg Heat owner Carl Delmont discusses neighborhoods and kids and soccer
Michael Olesker tells Don and Nestor the carousel tales and trials of the amazing life of Merry-Go-Round entrepreneur Boogie Weinglass
Center Mike Flynn invited Nestor onto the Humvee to record this incredible “home movie” for a one-hour ride down Pratt Street onto the dais with the Lombardi Trophy to City Hall back on January 30, 2001. If you’re a Baltimore Ravens fans, go find yourself in this beautiful mess…
She shares pictures and tips of deliciousness all over town so it’s no shock that Nestor was thrilled to have Charm City Table social media food charmer Simone Phillips by for a taste of the city we all love.
(Originally published in April 2011, this is my story about Rush. They’re back in the area this weekend and I’m
Luke Jones offers his personal feelings on traveling to the home of the stolen franchise and what it means for Ravens fans.
As the Orioles fall toward the 100-loss mark with seemingly little resistance over the final week of the season, their
The Charm City is abuzz over the Ravens’ preseason finale with the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday night. With a victory
With the tragic news of the passing of Steve McNair on the Fourth of July, it’s difficult to contemplate his
The Raiders have played an interesting foil in the annals of Baltimore football history. There was the “Ghost To The
