In a society purportedly constructed on individual freedoms, we hold fewer of those than one might expect.
Speech is free, but it’s not absolute. Same goes for, well, pick your issue. We have freedoms until we don’t. To be precise, we have freedoms until someone else decides we don’t. We can accept those limitations or not — that is our choice. And when it comes down to it, our one true freedom in this life of ours is the freedom to choose.
When it comes to being a Ravens fan, in this, the year (nay, preseason!) of outrageous injuries, I choose to believe.
I believe that this team can persevere. I believe that the oft-maligned Greg Roman is as equipped as any offensive mind in the NFL to put together a dangerous and effective rushing offense out of spare parts, and I believe a deep and cohesive defense can keep the team in just about any game out there. And I believe that Lamar Jackson — one of the most electric individual offensive players the sport has ever seen — will be asked to do more than ever before in his young career, and that he will not disappoint.
Do I wish JK Dobbins was going to play every game this year? Gus Edwards? Marcus Peters? Yes, and I also wish I had a full head of hair and a bank account that was allowed in the same neighborhood as Mark Andrews’, but that’s not in the cards. And, in cards, you play the hand you are dealt.
The Ravens season is not over. It hasn’t even started. We will have loud, joyous moments together at the Bank when something tremendous happens, and we will have punch-the-couch-cushion moments in our respective homes when the inevitable tough times happen.
Choose to bail on this team, if you’d like. Choose to moan and complain and whine that the season was stolen by some strange and twisted wrath of the Gods. Choose to gloat about the injuries if you’re a fan of a rival team, and go ahead and put that “W” next to the Ravens game on your little printed-out schedule sitting on your counter. Those are all your choices to make.
I choose to believe. I choose to believe in this team, and this coaching staff and the will of this city and fan base to boost the Ravens who are left on this roster.
It’s an easy choice, really.
