By Ronald N. Guy Jr.
My first memories of watching the Baltimore Colts date
back to the early 1980’s – dark times in franchise history. Lenny Moore, Art
Donovan and Johnny Unitas were long gone.
Losses were frequent – Baltimore hadn’t had a winning season since 1977 -
and games at old Memorial Stadium were lightly attended.
If memory serves, WMAR (channel 2) beamed the Colts
into Maryland homes. Truth is, I didn’t
watch much. The Colts were an NFL afterthought
and the ‘Skins were elite. How different were the franchises? In ’82, the Colts didn’t win a game…and Washington
won its first Super Bowl. A year later
Washington repeated as NFC Champions and the Colts infamously left for
Indianapolis under the cover of darkness.
Curse those Mayflower trucks…
In the 30 or so years since, the professional football
teams in Baltimore and the nation’s capital have swapped roles. Since 1999, three years after Baltimore
poached Cleveland’s Browns, the Ravens have won two Super Bowls, made 10
playoff appearance and had just three losing seasons. In that same time frame, Washington has had
just four winning season and four playoff berths. Baltimore is now the model franchise;
Washington is a perennial circus, a breeding ground for drama and dysfunction.
A strong indicator of team success is spotting gear - jerseys,
flags, bumper stickers, hats, etc. – in public. In the early 80s, Colts
paraphernalia was scarce; Southern Maryland was awash in burgundy and
gold. Now? Ravens purple dominates. Is this the result of reborn Colts fans or
one-time, sick-of-losing ‘Skins fans adopting Maryland’s team?
It would be easy to criticize those in the latter
category for disloyalty, but I understand the Ravens’ appeal. The 2000-2015 Ravens and the 1981-1993 ‘Skins
are philosophically similar: value substance over style; flashy free agents
have their place, but homegrown talent must be the franchise’s foundation;
develop a blue-collar identity that announces itself to opponents before the
opening kickoff; acknowledge the inevitability of roster turnover (the sport’s
brutal) and ensure cultural and front office stability; and, most importantly, make
Monday morning after playing the Ravens/Skins hurt a little more than
usual.
The results? Washington
won three Super Bowls with three different quarterbacks. It had one coach during its fabled ’81-’93
run (Joe Gibbs), expertly navigated the loss of great players (John Riggins,
Joe Theismann, Dexter Manley, etc.) and was best known for smash-mouth football
and its offensive line. And the Ravens?
They’ve won two Super Bowls with different quarterbacks, employed just two head
coaches in 16 seasons (Brian Billick and John Harbaugh), absorbed the
departures of Jonathan Ogden, Ray Lewis and Ed Reed and maintained a reputation
for elite defensive football.
How did that happen in both Washington and
Baltimore? Why did Baltimore fail in the
early ‘80s? Why does Washington continue
to fail now?
Leadership (or lack thereof).
In owner Steve Bisciotti (majority owner since 2004),
GM Ozzie Newsome (in place since 2002) and Harbaugh, the Ravens have a leadership
trio that is aligned philosophically and empowered to execute their roles
independently. Washington had a similar
structure with Gibbs, long-time GM Bobby Beathard and former owner Jack Kent
Cooke. Now Dan Snyder, a guy who has had
eight head coaches since 1999, resides at the top of Washington’s org
chart. Baltimore fans can no doubt
sympathize. Charm City still associates
the name Robert Irsay – Colts owner in the early 80’s and the villain behind
the move to Indianapolis – with pure evil.
I suppose what this snippet of NFL history emphasizes
is that just a few people, with the right approach and conviction, can flip the
fortunes of many. Opportunities to be
one of these influential few are often obvious – parenthood, career, friends,
community. But formality is unnecessary. Can’t we all greet someone with an earnest
smile? Sense a person’s struggles and tell
them that we believe in them? That we’ll
be there for them? That they
matter? That we care?
Few people are qualified to alter the course of an NFL
franchise, but none of us should lose sight of our potential influence on
others. Simply helping someone through
their day is worth cheering, no matter what NFL colors you fly.
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