I remember the first time I saw the Ray Lewis dance live. It was the first time I went to M&T Bank Stadium and Ray Lewis wasn’t even playing. He was injured. Did that stop him from doing his little dance and making the crowd go wild? Hell no.
That was the day that Ray Lewis and the Baltimore Ravens won me over.
I can’t explain it exactly, but Ray is a superstar. It reminded me a little bit of seeing Ronnie James Dio on stage. You know, except Ray is easily twice as big, Tony Iommi wasn’t there, and Dio was never convicted for obstruction of justice.
At least not that I know of.
But I digress.
Ray Lewis is retiring this year, and I, for one, will miss the crap out of him.
Have I showed you this carrot cake that looks just like him?
This is a carrot cake that looks exactly like Ray Lewis. I am not lying about it being a carrot cake. I wrote more about it here.
Yes, Ray Lewis had some unsavory run-ins with the law, but he is one hell of a football player and his foundation raises tons of money for economically disadvantaged youth, so let’s call it a wash.
The Ravens won this weekend against the Indianapolis Colts, so this wasn’t Lewis’ final game, but it was his last home game. The Ravens are the #4 seed in the AFC and so there is no chance they will play at home again this year. Unless they go to the Super Bowl, this was likely Ray’s last dance.
I am, and will always be, a Tampa Bay Buccaneers fan, but my #2 team is the Ravens. I will be rooting for them against the Denver Broncos this weekend because I am not ready to see Ray go yet.
I have always firmly been on the “Ray Lewis is a thug” wagon…until this year. The more I hear people say that you have to get past his law run-ins the more I’ve started to look at him a little differently. I’m not sure I’m ready to be a “fan” just yet but maybe I’m inching a little closer to the “respect the player” area.
I’m still in the “He’s a thug,” camp. Would love to see how Abby Lee would critique the dance.