The Contrarian
My earliest Baltimore Ravens memory goes back to the AFC Championship Game against the Oakland Raiders during the 2000 Super Bowl run. I was six years old at the time, and had been watching Ravens games for a few years, but never had a keen interest.
I remember the hype around the game. Sitting in my house, I recall watching the pre game show, and seeing a clip of Raiders fans burning a Ravens hat while tailgating. For some reason, watching that, and then watching the Ravens win and advance to the Super Bowl, drew me in.
The passion, the hatred for the other team, the emotional investment of every fan all encapsulated me. There was just something different about football and the love for the game. I was hooked.
I have missed maybe two or three Ravens games since, and haven’t lost an ounce of passion for the team or the game of football. A passion for football, and a passion for writing, allowed me to find a voice.
By 2010, I began getting my feet wet in sports writing and various blogs and for my high school’s newspaper. In 2013, as a freshman journalism student at Towson University, I attended a panel discussion with local media members, and then-RSR writer Kris Jones was in attendance. I had little knowledge of RSR, but I followed up with Kris afterward, got in contact with Tony Lombardi, and started writing for the site within the week.
As they say, the rest is history.
Over 300 articles later, I have been able to find a voice through writing. My passion has always stemmed from the analytical side of the sport, and I was able to essentially craft my own section on the site, Tale of the Tape, which is still going strong today.
What defines me as a writer is not being afraid of having a contrarian opinion. For me, if my opinion – whether it may be positive or negative about a player – happens to go against the general consensus, it makes me feel like I’m doing something right. The ability to discern and analyze a player or game, and come up with a new opinion/idea, is healthy for journalism, and more importantly for this site.
It’s who we are!
Just about every article I’ve published on RSR has been uncontested by our editing team, but naturally, every now and then I receive a “tone it down a bit!” type of email from Tony.
Being able to tell Ravens Nation that Matt Elam stinks or that Arthur Brown is the best linebacker to walk this earth is what drives me.
Sure, I look like an idiot sometimes when my opinion turns out to be the complete opposite of reality, but ultimately as long as I feel that every word I type succinctly represents my viewpoints, then I’ve crafted the best article I possibly could.
Staying true to oneself as a writer should be priority number one, and over three years since starting with RSR that is still my goal with each and every article I write.
Admittedly, I do not contribute to RSR in the capacity I once did. Fresh off graduating from Towson University in May, I’ve hit the ground running in a career as an IT recruiter. A far cry from where I saw myself when I chose journalism as a major, but ultimately I wanted to make sure that writing remained a hobby and not a job.
I wouldn’t still be with RSR if it weren’t for the always consistent and genuine support from Tony, Tyler, Derek and the rest of the RSR team.
We’re just a bunch of guys who love to talk Ravens football and just happen to write an article to get our thoughts out every now and then.
And that’s what makes RSR so great.
