In my nine seasons covering the Baltimore Ravens (2004-2012) of course the 2012 season sticks out the most. It was my final season in Baltimore.
I began covering the team that July in training camp while working for MASN. I ended up covering them in the Super Bowl six months later as an anchor for NFL Network’s NFL Total Access. It was really exciting for me to see all of the players I watched get drafted over the years like Joe Flacco and Haloti Ngata finally bring home the Lombardi. And it was quite an easy assignment for me in New Orleans to interview the players and coaches I’d know for so long.
When it comes to one special season, however, for some reason I’ll never forget 2008. The playoff push at the end of that season was magical. The only disappointment was after such a sense of destiny, Baltimore lost to the hated Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC Championship game.
My vivid memories of 2008 center around that Week 16 Dallas Cowboys game December 20, 2008. It was a Saturday night game. It was the final game ever to be played at Texas Stadium.
I remember the Cowboys had a big celebration planned with Deion Sanders, Troy Aikman, Roger Staubach and all kinds of Cowboys greats post game. It seemed very presumptuous to all of us who arrived the day before from Baltimore.
The Cowboys were so sure they would win, they already had a celebration planned?
I know that fueled the players.
The Ravens were 9-5 coming into that game and they had to win to stay alive for the playoffs. They just lost the week before to the Steelers and winning on the road in Dallas was a tall order.
As I rode on the team bus to Texas Stadium that afternoon I remember Ray Lewis boarded and sat next to me. He greeted no one. He was stoned face. The look in his eyes is something I still feel privileged to witness up close and it’s one I’ll never forget.
Occasionally reporters get access to things in which the average fan could only dream. This was one of those moments. It was personal. Looking at Lewis’ face I felt the wrath, the competitiveness that fueled this future Hall of Famer.
Dallas sports talk radio was playing on the bus. All that could be heard amongst the silence of the players were the voices of Cowboys fans calling in to rip the Ravens. I still wonder if John Harbaugh requested that stationed be played on the bus.
I picked up my phone and texted my father. The message read:
“There’s no way the Ravens lose this game.”
To which he responded, “How do you know?”
I wrote, “I’ve never seen a team this ready.”
We all know what happened that game. One of the greatest finishes ever to a football game. Two Ravens touchdowns, both over 70 yards in the final 3:42 to put the Ravens on top. I remember watching in disbelief as Willis McGahee ran right past me on the sidelines for 77 yards to score the first, and then moments later Le’Ron McClain followed suit with an 82-yard run.
[youtube]https://youtu.be/fzGRUNJorz8[/youtube]
Game over.
The Ravens season was saved and the Cowboys’ celebration was ruined.
From there the Ravens went on to win the Wild Card. They won road games in the playoffs against the Dolphins and Titans. It was a fantastic ride.
I’m still bitter the Steelers ended such a magical run.
But I’m thankful for such a special memory.
