Why I am a fan of the Baltimore Ravens

In 2012, I became a true fan of the NFL. My college dorm mates opened my eyes to how incredible professional football was, and I became addicted. I was skipping classes to study more, (kids, don’t try this at home).

In the fall of 2012, my dormmates started urging me to find a team I liked. I’d only ever watched a couple Super Bowl’s before, but I obliged by watching YouTube highlights of various teams.

When I was a kid, I played wide receiver, cornerback, safety and punter. I thought I’d watch tape on players in these positions.

Randy Moss, obviously, caught my eye. A phenom, and somebody I really liked to watch. Unfortunately, he wasn’t playing still. Well, he was on the San Francisco 49ers, but this was no longer superstar Randy. He did lead me to Adrian Peterson though, and I almost became a Minnesota Vikings fan. His 2012 season didn’t help either. . .

But as I stared at my computer screen, I decided to look at defense. I was always a big fan of corner/safety, and my childhood dream of becoming a superstar safety was only stunted by my 5’11” height, 5.0 40-time, and complete lack of skill. I was clicking through YouTube and found an Ed Reed highlight video.

He’s tall. He’s strong. Unbelievably fast. He intercepts passes, and also scores. This guy is everything! This was who I dreamt of becoming when I was young. And he still plays? I’m going to watch more on this Baltimore Ravens squad.

The ‘up next’ video was Ray Lewis, and he sealed the deal on my fandom. A powerhouse defensive pair on a cool looking team: Perfect.

Lo’ and behold, we all know how the 2012-2013 season finished. A dynamite Super Bowl finish. I was hooked.

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