Here we go again: a controversial finish in another Ravens defeat. It happened in consecutive home games in losses to Cleveland and New England, and the cries of foul play by the players have given fans the go-ahead to rev up the conspiracy band wagon. What is it about Baltimore fans that we love to fuel up that wagon and jump on for a drive around the block, honking the horn and screaming of being downtrodden and put upon by the big, bad NFL?

In my opinion, the alarmist words of the conspiracy theorists are embarrassing to our city. So many phone calls and e-mails come flooding into my radio show, saying things like “the NFL has always had it out for Baltimore…the league doesn’t like Billick or Ray Lewis…it’s better for their business if New England, PIttsburgh, Cleveland (fill in any team) wins.” Why do we do this to ourselves? Does it make a fan feel better to foist blame upon some higher power, some omnipotent football god, instead of admitting the short-comings of the home team? It does perpetuate the image that Baltimore is a small town with an inferiority complex. So, let’s step back and look at the situation.

Do game officials make mistakes? Of course they do- in every game in every sport it happens. That’s a fact of life in sports: game officials are human and, like the athletes, are prone to errors in judgment at times. That being said, where’s the basis for the conspiracy theory that the officials- in some secret mandate handed down by the NFL office- are out “to get” the Ravens?

Okay, let’s assume the NFL does have it out for any given franchise, that the league (as ridiculous as this sounds) has favorites among its membership and wants to manipulate the results to the benefit of the “favored” and the detriment of the “outcasts.” I’m hearing Baltimore fans say that the New England Patriots are one of the NFL’s “favored” teams. Really? Which coach was fined $500,000 and his team penalized the loss of a first-round draft choice for breaking NFL rules by secretly videotaping another team’s signals this season? Bill Belichick and the Patriots. What coach is scorned league-wide for his surly nature in addition to his piling of points on beaten opponents? Bill Belichick. So, we’re to assume the Patriots are “favored” by the NFL office. Doesn’t make sense, does it?

And let’s look at the supposed “outcasts,” a group that certainly includes the Baltimore Ravens, right? If the league has it out for the Ravens- why would the NFL have “allowed” the hated Ravens to win the Super Bowl in January 2001? Think about it: Ray Lewis was less than a year out of prison for his part in obstructing a double murder investigation, team owner Art Modell was vilified nationwide for moving the Browns from Cleveland to Baltimore, and coach Brian Billick earned great scorn for admonishing the media in a pre-Super Bowl press conference. If the NFL had reason to enact conspiratorially against Baltimore- THAT would’ve been the year, right?

How about the king of the NFL “outcasts”- the Oakland Raiders? Al Davis is public enemy number one with the league, he’s taken the NFL to court, for God’s sake! Yet the man has been “allowed” to win THREE Super Bowl titles! If there’s any team the NFL would want to act conspiratorially against in some grand scheme it would be the Raiders.

In conclusion- put the conspiracy bunk to rest, Baltimore. It’s demeaning of the true efforts of a Ravens football organization that works toward and strives for success, and like every other team in the NFL, success is never easy or guaranteed.

Posted on Tuesday, December 4th, 2007 at 6:25 pm.
Categories: Opinion.
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