Ravens Been In The Holiday Spirit All Season

Apparently fans of the Baltimore Ravens missed the memo. The Ravens have been in the holiday spirit since October, and we had no clue as to what they were doing... until now.

What do I mean, you ask?! Let's start with the most recent game against our rival, the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Ravens beat the Steelers in any way you can imagine- total yards, first downs, time of possession... they even snapped the Steelers streak of going 33 games without allowing a 100-yard rusher as Ray Rice rushed for 141 yards. But in the end, the Steelers came out victorious with a 23-20 win.

I sat and watched my team self destruct, like I've seen all throughout the season. The Ravens had 11 penalties for 113 yards, many of them stupid. The Terrell Suggs block in the back, Kelley Washington holding penalty, and even Oneil Cousins personal foul penalty, all stupid. But wait, there's more. I watched 2 TDs come back from dumb penalties. And to make matters worse, I watched a perfect TD pass DROPPED by the Ravens best possession WR on the roster.

The Steelers need to send them Christmas Bonuses and Thank You cards.

Looking back at the 2009 season, the Steelers have not been the only team in which the Ravens have gift wrapped games to their opponent. The missed kick in the Vikings game that would have given the Ravens the go-ahead win. The pass interference call that allowed Cincinnati a whole new set of downs and the late TD win at home, The Flacco INT in very good FG range that could have put the Ravens ahead of the Colts and possibly the win. Over and over I watched my team get extremely close to winning, only to come up short.



The Ravens have given gifts away more than a Holiday Charity fundraiser. Add the large amount of penalties with the stupid mistakes and the Ravens have pretty much begged other teams to beat them. It's embarrassing. This should be a team with no less than 4 losses. Instead the Ravens are 8-7 and fighting for their playoff lives.

I tweeted yesterday that I hated the Ravens. And for that moment, that statement was true. They had broken my heart one time too many, and yesterdays loss made it worse because it was against the opponent I wanted them to beat the most in the Pittsburgh Steelers. Today, I can see a little clearer. And while there is some hurt still in my heart, the silver lining is that the Ravens are only one win away from going to the playoffs for a consecutive year, something they haven't done since the 2000-2001 seasons. If the Ravens can get into the dance, it may ease the pain in my heart and the acid reflux that they have caused all season long.If they can beat the Raiders on Sunday and make the playoffs, hopefully the Ravens will be out of the gift giving business.

A girl can dream, can't she?!