An Open Letter To the Baltimore Ravens

Dear Baltimore Ravens,

Dude.

Love,

Voodoo

….OK, I guess I need more than that.

Dear Baltimore Ravens,

The playoffs were on the line today for you to just take. That’s right, just extend your arms, reach out…no no no, not you Derrick Mason, someone else. Come to think of it, not you either Terrell Suggs.

Seriously, what was that?

You have your arch-rivals, the team that pulled a hat trick on you last season, on the ropes and you let them back in the game with some of the most jaw-dropping play I’ve ever seen. And I’ve seen some bad play.

By my honest estimate, you took 31 points off the board today.

Terrell “Hands of Stone” Suggs dropping a sure pick-six AND bringing a TD back on a penalty, Kelley Washington’s holding call on Willis McGahee’s TD run, Derrick Mason forgetting his hands on the sideline, and Oniel Cousins getting a personal foul to knock the Ravens out of field goal range.

You lost, 23-20. Coincidence? What are you, a bunch of idiots? It’s not a coincidence. You can’t win playing like a high school JV team.

Whatever happened to the killer instinct in sports? Your rival, big game, you lay a monster egg.

Has pride gone the way of the dodo in the age of mega-millions contracts? I’ve been on the losing end of games like Ravens-Steelers as a coach and I’ve felt the need to stare blankly at the wall and/or drink myself stupid afterwards. Someone like Derrick Mason felt the need to smile and giggle.

For the life of me, I don’t get it.

You were on TV, Baltimore Ravens. You embarrassed yourselves where everyone could see you. Did it matter? Does that fact that you had the opportunity to make the playoffs AND knock the Steelers out of postseason contention matter to you?

Who knows.

All I know is, you should be embarrassed. Who knows if you are, or if you care.

Love,

Voodoo