Matt Stover Beats, then Loves the Ravens

Each member of the “bring Matt Stover back” cavalcade awakes this morning with a sense of validation. The greatest Raven of all-time came back to beat his former club in the kind of field goal-laden game that made him a Baltimore legend.

And it couldn’t have hurt him more .

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“I am emotionally exhausted,” he said in the Colts’ locker room. “I’m toast. I may not show it, but I’m toast. That’s hard, especially against friends and a team you love so much. I don’t mind saying it: I love the Ravens. Hey, what was I doing when the Colts hadn’t signed me yet? I was coming to Ravens games.”

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You had a feeling the irony would wrinkle the Ravens’ plans to defeat the unbeatable Indianapolis Colts, and in many respects, you kind of wanted the Ravens to feel what a mistake it was to let a local sports mainstay kick it around for a hated rival.

At 5-5, and with the offense churning out the "six yards and a cloud of questions" possessions of yesteryear, there is no solace in knowing that Matt Stover cares about the team that he put in the dirt yesterday afternoon.

No solace, but for even the most hard core Ravens fan, perhaps the tiniest kick of satisfaction.

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