“I wish you were angrier. You used to be angrier about these games.”
A friend of mine sent this to me in the 24-ish hours after the Ravens lost to the Chiefs in the AFC championship game. I would have found it odd except … I completely understood. I had actually thought about it a couple of times in the aftermath of the team’s stunning defeat.
“Why am I handling this so well?”
Some of the answers are obvious. I’m 40. I have two kids. I don’t care about anything that isn’t family as much as I used to. Years of “covering” the team has led to more measured responses not only in my public comments but also in my private reactions to their games (and most other sporting events).
But truthfully, I had plans for a week in Las Vegas. There was a possibility that it could have even been somewhat beneficial for me financially. If anything, I should have been angrier than most Ravens fans.
So why wasn’t I?
One of the answers is probably my pragmatism. My friend is right. At an earlier point in my career, I might have taken a “piss-and-vinegar” approach to just about anything. But what exactly did that get me? Believe it or not, my anger about Billy Cundiff missing a kick in Foxborough didn’t allow for the 2011 AFC championship game to be replayed.
Using my voice to project anger seems best suited for instances where perhaps a difference could still be made. I’ll get angry about bad division winners getting to host NFL playoff games. That can still be fixed! There is never a wrong time to do the right thing or whatever. Let’s get angry about people who still think Baltimore is part of “the DMV.” We can fix them!
But what would I stand to benefit from showing more fury regarding a terribly disappointing Ravens loss?
“Perhaps you could have helped put pressure on Steve Bisciotti to fire John Harbaugh already,” you might be thinking. And that’s what this is really about, right? When you say you wish I was “angrier,” you really mean “I wish you’d fortify my feelings by specifically demanding they move on from the head coach.”
And no. Like a great American named Steve Rogers once said, “I don’t think I will.”
That’s not because I know with certainty that the Ravens will win another Super Bowl under Harbaugh or even that I know he’ll be a better coach than Seahawks head coach and former Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald would have been had he somehow been elevated to the role. I don’t know.
But it actually ties us back to what I think is the most significant reason why I wasn’t angry about the loss. (And I should clarify, the loss itself. Not the manner by which they lost — insanely getting away from what they did best.) I’m not quite as angry because I’m far more grateful.
The feeling that I have about being a Ravens “fan” is gratitude. I’d love to see them go less than a decade between Super Bowl titles. But look around. The alternative to the Ravens isn’t necessarily the Chiefs. There’s only one of them. The alternative is far more likely the Cardinals or the Jets or the Commanders or the Falcons or you get the picture.
So yeah, my greatest emotion about the Ravens — even the 2023 Ravens, as difficult as the final game was — is gratitude. I’m quite appreciative of another season of big games, relevant moments, spectacular fun and positive civic vibes. It was great to be a Ravens fan in 2023.
They didn’t win the Super Bowl. Only one team can. But they produced memories that families will share eternally and allowed us to bask in the glory of another NFL MVP season for Lamar Jackson, the first Baltimore quarterback to claim multiple MVP awards in 50-plus years. It’s extraordinarily frustrating that they got away from their game in the AFC title contest, but there’s basically no way of knowing exactly what might have happened even if they hadn’t.
And yeah, I’m OK with the team being relevant, even if that hasn’t led to consistent Vince Lombardi Trophies. I don’t want the coach to be fired. The opposite of the Ravens likely isn’t the Chiefs. It’s far more likely the teams I listed three paragraphs ago. We know what it’s like when teams are irrelevant. We’ve seen that a lot in this town. I’d prefer to root for the team that is constantly relevant with a chance to break through from time to time. Those teams matter.
So I’m filled with gratitude for the Ravens and John Harbaugh. But I hope they’re ready to take the next step forward in 2024.
Photo Credit: Kenya Allen/PressBox
Issue 285: February/March 2024
Originally published Feb. 21, 2024