{"id":703,"date":"2013-01-19T10:10:43","date_gmt":"2013-01-19T15:10:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nflseasonschedules.com\/blog\/?p=703"},"modified":"2013-01-22T10:19:35","modified_gmt":"2013-01-22T15:19:35","slug":"ray-lewis-stealing-the-show-in-baltimore","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.nflseasonschedules.com\/blog\/ray-lewis-stealing-the-show-in-baltimore\/","title":{"rendered":"Ray Lewis Stealing the Show in Baltimore?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"RayWhen you hear the term \u201ctenacious linebacker,\u201d usually the first name that comes to mind in today\u2019s day and age is Ray Lewis. Ray Lewis has defined hard hits and tenacity at the linebacker position for many, many years. We can all picture him chugging a large bottle of Dasani water, walking down the tunnel to the playing field, being introduced in front of thousands of fans, spitting that recently drank water back out in the form of a volcano erupting, and then breaking out in an absolutely insane dance as he runs onto the field during introductions. Ray Lewis is no stranger to attention \u2013 a lot of attention.<\/p>\n

However as the 2012 season<\/a> wore on, one name we weren\u2019t hearing a lot of was Ray Lewis. That\u2019s because the longtime NFL star was injured early in the year and wasn\u2019t going to be returning until the postseason. For most around the NFL, the Ray Lewis chatter had gone mute during much of the season. Then, as Lewis was preparing to make his triumphant return for the playoffs, he decided to announce his retirement, making the likes of Michael Jordan, Roger Clemens and the entire \u201cathletes jokingly announcing retirement\u201d fraternity extremely proud.<\/p>\n

Is Lewis serious about retirement? He probably is, especially given the extent of his injury this season. But who knows, this guy could be like the many others who retire for training camp and un-retire just before week one. Retirement is a big step for an athlete. It\u2019s not like these guys are two years away from needing a walking stick to move around. Most of them are in their upper 30\u2019s, which makes them that much more anxious to get out and perform.<\/p>\n

Whether Ray Lewis actually retires or not is beside the point. The issue some have taken with all of this is the fact that Lewis has arguably stolen the show in Baltimore<\/a>. When Joe Flacco aired out a deep ball with 30 seconds left to tie the game against the Broncos on the road and eventually led them to a win in overtime, you would think the majority of the attention would fall on the quarterback, or maybe the receiver Torrey Smith that had burnt Champ Bailey all night long. Instead, as the game ended and Baltimore celebrated, most reporters and cameras went to a weeping Ray Lewis. Yes, the crying star linebacker on a defense that had given up 35 points in regulation.<\/p>\n

Imagine if the Broncos<\/a> had won. How many reporters would be flocking to Peyton Manning if he led a remarkable last-second drive to tie the game and lead his team to the playoffs? I\u2019d imagine every single one, including the Baltimore media, which would be warranted, especially since he led his team to a win. But that wasn\u2019t the case for Joe Flacco. Flacco usually glides under the radar in Baltimore, mainly because the Ravens defense gets so much attention \u2013 the same defense that gave up 35 points in regulation.<\/p>\n

People aren\u2019t saying that Ray Lewis doesn\u2019t deserve the recognition. If he does in fact retire, going out with a Super Bowl<\/a> win would be one heck of a story. But don\u2019t steal the show, Ray. Maybe run up and hug your quarterback next time, and at least let him share the spotlight with you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When you hear the term \u201ctenacious linebacker,\u201d usually the first name that comes to mind in today\u2019s day and age is Ray Lewis. Ray Lewis has defined hard hits and tenacity at the linebacker position for many, many years. We … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[100,211,164],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.nflseasonschedules.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/703"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.nflseasonschedules.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.nflseasonschedules.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.nflseasonschedules.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.nflseasonschedules.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=703"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/www.nflseasonschedules.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/703\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":707,"href":"http:\/\/www.nflseasonschedules.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/703\/revisions\/707"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.nflseasonschedules.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=703"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.nflseasonschedules.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=703"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.nflseasonschedules.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=703"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}