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This is Chapter 14 of “Purple Reign 2: Faith, Family & Football – A Baltimore Love Story.” Author and radio host and entrepreneur Nestor Aparicio is releasing it chapter by chapter daily to celebrate the 5th Anniversary of the Ravens Super Bowl win in New Orleans.
“When you go into the lion’s den, you don’t tippy-toe in. You carry a spear! You go in screaming like a banshee and say, Where is the son of a bitch?” The legend and #PurpleReign lore of #RavensFlock win in Nashville and Ray Lewis > Eddie George. @NestorAparicio presents his 2001 SB35 epic tale.
“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.
John Ourand of Sports Business Journal joins Nestor to discuss future of cable TV and the way we watch sports
John Ourand of Sports Business Journal joins Nestor to discuss future of cable TV and way we watch. If you love sports, it’s hard to unbundle and here’s why…
Dave Preston of WTOP joins Nestor for a full primer on the world of Daniel Snyder and future name of Washington Football Team
Dave Preston of WTOP joins Nestor for a full primer on world of Daniel Snyder and future name of the Washington Football Team and the moving of baseball outfield walls locally.
It is the question on everyone’s mind. Marty Conway and Nestor address the big picture of NFL owners backfighting and Daniel Snyder
It is the question on everyone’s mind. Marty Conway and Nestor address the big picture of NFL owners backfighting and Daniel Snyder
David Steele of The Undefeated and Nestor discuss the duel tragedies of Snyder and Angelos in DMV, plus the long track record of the NFL with transparency and lawyers.
David Steele of The Undefeated and Nestor discuss duel tragedies of Snyder and Angelos in DMV
Luke Jones and Nestor discuss the ramifications of the devastating ACL injury to Dobbins. How will the Greg Roman and the Ravens offense sort out his absence and what does this mean for Lamar Jackson?
Luke Jones and Nestor discuss Ravens’ defense of Wink Martindale and how to chase quarterbacks effectively in the NFL.
Baby, baby don’t get hooked on the celebration of sports and random pop culture when Nestor and Dave Preston of WTOP get together to discuss how movies are like the NFL and why Nestor loves Justin Hayward and The Moody Blues.
Left tackle Ronnie Stanley remained sidelined with a shoulder injury on Friday.
Let sports columnist and historian Thom Loverro tell the story of the history of the Washington National Football League team since the death of Jack Kent Cooke and the emergence of the purple birds to the north.
Nearly a year into his role as Baltimore County supe, we get some education from the leader
Nearly a year into his role as Baltimore County supe, we get some education from the leader
Baltimore has kept three quarterbacks on the 53-man roster just once in the last nine years.
Baltimore will face Washington for the third straight summer.
Fourth-year defensive end Brent Urban was the best player on the field for Baltimore.
The Ravens kicked off their 22nd preseason against Washington on Thursday night.
Ryan Jensen is the overwhelming favorite to start at center with John Urschel’s surprising retirement.
Poor offensive play-calling and a foolish fake field goal cost Baltimore dearly in Sunday’s loss.
Rookie Kenneth Dixon made his much-awaited NFL debut on Sunday.
Luke Jones looks into the purple crystal ball to see what happens in Baltimore on Sunday afternoon.
Baltimore is currently on pace to set the NFL record for fewest takeaways in a season.
John Harbaugh said Timmy Jernigan’s right knee injury doesn’t appear to be “overly serious.”
After dealing with a slew of injuries on their offensive line in recent weeks, the Ravens were bitten on the
