Purple Tears

How glorious was it to be a Baltimore fan this year? By far the best sports year of my short life...

So WTF has happened in the last 4 weeks!?!?!

I get it... it's a business.

I mean getting to watch Ray Lewis and Matt Birk ride off in to the sunset retiring as Superbowl Champions was great. Sad. But great. Fitting for two players of their caliber.

Watching Paul Kruger go to the Browns and Dannell Ellerbe bolt to Miami was tough... but that's the business. Watching Baltimore trade Boldin to the 49ers for a 6th round pick was like a shot in the pills... but we understood it.

We have a saying in Baltimore...

In Ozzie We Trust. 2 Superbowl championships and countless playoff teams... we don't question it.

BUT HOW CAN WE LET ED REED GO???

Seriously... I cried purple tears.

I just can't watch Ed play for another team. So I won't. Instead I'll pretend that Ed has retired and will now take this time to eulogize him.

Watching him come in to the league in 2002 we knew we had someone special on our team.  He had 5 INTs as a rookie and by 2004 he was NFL Defensive Player of the Year and set a few records that season.  I was lucky enough to get this mini helmet signed from that amazing year in his career.  Check it out...

 

I've been lucky enough to have seen Ed Reed play a few times and now that he is gone will cherish those memories that much more. 

 

The last time I was able to attend a Ravens game was October 24th 2010.  It was my 1 year anniversary with my wife and the Ravens were playing the Buffalo Bills and it was Ed Reeds first game of the season as he had been out with an injury up to that point.  Not only did we watch the Ravens win a thrilling game in OT (the turning point coming off a Ray Lewis strip fumble and recover no less) but we got to see Reed record 2 interceptions on his way to leading the league in INTs after missing the first 6 games of the season.

 

That game and season was a testimate to Ed Reed's ability and he will be missed dearly in Baltimore.  Hopefully Ed goes on to bigger and better things in life after football.

 

Thanks for reading...