I've realized as I've been around the country a bit that there are people out there who passionately dislike Ray Lewis. I grew up in Florida where football is just different. It's one of those things that if you didn't play there or coach there, you truly don't understand just how different it is. I went to college in Iowa, have lived in CO, IA, OH and now KS since college. I love football so I find myself talking about it a lot. For my money, Ray Lewis is one of the top 5 football players to ever play the game. Not top 5 linebackers, but top 5 FOOTBALL players, ever. The guy is just incredible. He's a great motivator, a great player and a fierce competitor. I guess some of the hatred comes to him because of the legal issues he had earlier in his career. I'm not here to defend his decisions, but he did exactly what most people 'say' they want star athletes to do in his situation. He realized his position and realized that the company he was keeping was holding him back. He cut off his 'friends', testified against them, cooperated with the authorities and then went about his business as a football player. If you can't forgive him, that's fine. But you won't convince me that he's not the best linebacker to ever play in the NFL. He just is. I didn't write this next part, I pulled it off one of my favorite websites, www.footballscoop.com:
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According to Baltimore Ravens linebackers coach Dean Pees, linebacker Ray Lewis took a grand total of 5 plays off this season.
Pagano said, "You stay in this league and you play at the level that he's played at for 15 years, because of your due diligence in the weight room in the offseason, watching tape and taking care of yourself. He's taken great care of his body, and he understands that his body is his earning power and what's made him. There is not a more passionate guy. He's a great one."
In other words, Ray Lewis is a grown ass man."
Did you see the allegations that came out about him today? I wonder if they are true.
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