Baltimore Ravens' 2000 Super Bowl Team to Be Subject of ESPN '30 for 30' Documentary
May 17, 2022
ESPN's 30 for 30 documentary series has begun production on a film that will focus on the 2000 Baltimore Ravens, the Super Bowl-winning side that featured a fearsome defense led by Ray Lewis.
Per John R. Manzo of ESPN Press Room:
"No team in NFL history has boasted, bullied or brandished as much bravado as the 2000-2001 Baltimore Ravens. The rest of the NFL hated the Ravens but no one could say a thing, because they couldn't beat them on the field, especially facing, arguably, the greatest defense ever. Luckily for sports fans, their full-throated reign coincided perfectly with the rise of the 'reality television' era via Hard Knocks."
Those Ravens went 12-4 in the regular season and blew out the New York Giants, 34-7, in Super Bowl XXXV. The defense was incredible, finishing first in the NFL in points allowed per game (10.3), first in takeaways (49) and second in yards allowed per contest (247.9).
The season also came in the wake of Lewis' trial for the stabbing deaths of Jacinth Baker and Richard Lollar in Atlanta in January 2000. Lewis was one of three men charged with murder and aggravated assault, though he pleaded down to misdemeanor obstruction of justice and served 12 months of probation, while the other two men charged were later acquitted.