Glory Days F ans in Baltimore Maryland will never forget the day in 1984 that their beloved Colts left town for Indianapolis Indiana They adored their team They begged the NFL to give them a new team For more than 10 years the people of Baltimore waited Finally in 1996 the NFL announced that Art Modell the owner of the Cleveland Browns would move his to Baltimore The new team would be called the Ravens and they would play in the American Football Conference AFC team At the same time another team would replace the old one in Cleveland That team would be called the Browns and keep the club’s history and records The Ravens would be the NFL’s new team even though the roster was made up of players from Cleveland Baltimore fans didn’t 6
care They were just excited for the first season to begin Among the stars who switched uniforms were quarterback Vinny Testaverde and kicker Matt Stover They were joined by a talented group of rookies including lineman Jonathan Ogden and linebacker Ray Lewis The Ravens added more good players in the late 1990s especially on defense Jamie Sharper Peter Boulware Tony Siragusa Rod Woodson and Chris McAlister moved fast and tackled hard After three losing seasons the Ravens finished 8 8 in 1999 One year later they won 12 games and made the playoffs for the first time The defense allowed only 165 points and gave up just 970 rushing yards The Baltimore offense came alive too Coach Brian Billick made a big difference He was a genius when it came to the passing attack Billick worked with quarterback Trent Dilfer and turned him into an excellent leader Billick also gave rookie Jamal Lewis a chance The powerful running back gained 1,364 yards A key to his excellent season was the leadership shown by Priest Holmes LEFT Vinny Testaverde fires a pass ABOVE Jamal Lewis runs to the end zone 7
Holmes had been the starter and a very productive player He agreed to teach Lewis how to be a star in the NFL In the 2000 postseason the Ravens dominated opponents with their defense They won three playoff games and gave up a total of only 16 points In Super Bowl XXXV the Ravens continued their amazing roll by defeating the New York Giants 34 7 In just three seasons Baltimore had risen to the top of professional football and thrilled a new generation of fans with an NFL championship After their Super Bowl victory the Ravens built on their tradition as a hard-hitting team Lewis and McAlister formed the heart of the defense They were joined by new stars Ed Reed and Terrell Suggs Lewis and Reed were each LEFT Ray Lewis was the heart and soul of the Ravens for 16 seasons ABOVE Ed Reed specialized in returning interceptions for touchdowns 9
