Second chance and the Art Modell effect
I am not a Ravens fan even though I have lived just south of Baltimore for upwards of 20-years (true confession, I am a life long Buffalo Bills fan). It has been interesting perusing a few chat boards about Ray's retirement--and it is a shame he is being judged entirely by his, readily admitted, youthful heinous mistakes. I have to disagree with my friend Brian's statement:
"But for his legacy, he's probably right along side LT.
They both played football well. Once you take football out of the equation, you don't have much to cheer for....although admittedly that list is much longer than just these two guys in the NFL."
Ray's post-Atlanta Super Bowl crimes probably should have landed him in jail--and he did testify against his friends. And this is where Art Modell stepped in and became the wise counselor father figure that Ray never had growing up. With a second chance, Ray moved beyond his friends from the "hood." He wants his kids to know their father as he never did (albeit he has kids from several different mothers--he takes care of all of them placing them in exceptional schools).
Baltimore loves the Ravens and what Ray has brought to each and every game. Baltimore also loves Ray for what he has given back to the community--this again comes from the Modell family's influence on the Ravens team. Ray Lewis has given of himself, his time, his money and his prestige to the City of Baltimore.
I really don't expect Ray to be one of those players who squanders his NFL fortune, or who is arrested for cocaine possession or soliciting prostitution. I do expect him to continue to give back to Baltimore.
I may be wrong--but that is my, more than two cents, in watching his maturation post-Super Bowl while living locally in Maryland.
|