Baltimore Ravens - Defense wills wins by Kenny Watkins
Baltimore searched long and hard for another franchise when the Colts crept out of town when everyone was sleeping. But Baltimore never expected it would be another franchise to come to them. After Art Modell couldn't get and financial help from Cleveland he move the Browns to Baltimore. The Baltimore Sun had a contest to name the new team and the Ravens was chosen. They changed their team colors to purple, black and gold. In their first season as the Ravens they would struggle. Coming out of the gates quickly they won their first game by beating the Oakland Raiders 19-14 in front of over 60,000 fans wearing new Ravens jerseys.
However the Ravens would not win very more in their first full season and finish with a 4-12 mark for the 1996 season. In their second season they would go 6-9-1 after starting out winning 3 of their first four games. Peter Boulware was named Defensive Rookie Of The Year for the Ravens.
1998 and 1999 seen continue struggles for the Ravens, The only real constant they had was an improving defense that seem to get better every year. In 2000 the Ravens would go 12-4 and make it to the playoffs behind the strength of their defense.
The defense only allowed a league low 165 points and was led by Rookie Defensive Player Of The Year Ray Lewis. The Ravens defense would keep them in their games and the offense did just enough to win games. In the playoffs the Ravens defense did their job and it sent them to the Super Bowl.
Next up for the Ravens defense was the New York Giants. The Giants found out what all the other teams did the Ravens defense was outstanding. Led by Ray Lewis and a great defensive performance the Ravens won their first appearance in a Super Bowl by winning 34-7.
The next few seasons would see the Ravens make the playoffs but not reach the Super Bowl. They are still led by Ray Lewis and a stellar defense. So you never know when they could be called Super Bowl Champions again. To get your hands on some cool Ravens apparel click on our "Top Pick" on our Football page. If you are looking for gifts for the other Baltimore area teams visit our Baltimore Orioles page. For more information about other sports products choose from one of the following pages:
About The Author Kenneth Watkins is an avid college football fan as well as a successful sports author and regular contributor to http://www.sports-gift.com. A free service for people to find the best sports fan gift idea for the sports fan in their life. | 
