On the first play of Super Bowl XXXV, Kerry Collins stared across the line of scrimmage and into the eyes of Ray Lewis. For all practical purposes, the game was over at that point.
Lewis’ certain Hall of Fame career would be defined by the Ravens’ 34-7 rout that night. Lewis was a player who could not only dominate by the power of his physical abilities but by the force of his will.
After 17 seasons, that career will end, perhaps as early as this weekend. The middle linebacker announced Wednesday that he will retire when the season is over, with the Ravens opening the playoffs in what could be his last home game against the Colts on Sunday. Lewis is expected to make his return after tearing his triceps Oct. 24.
“Everything that starts has an end. It’s just life,” Lewis said Wednesday. “And for me, today I told my team that this will be my last ride. I told them I just felt so much peace at where I am with my decision because of everything I’ve done in this league. I’ve done it, man. I’ve only played the game to make my team be a better team.”
Lewis, 37, would at least have to be included in the discussion as the greatest defensive player of all time.
He was a 13-time Pro Bowler, a 10-time All-Pro, a two-time Defensive Player of the Year and the MVP of that lone Super Bowl he won. The Ravens franchise assumed his personality. The team’s level of play always rose when he was in the lineup. Even this season, the Ravens are only 5-5 without him. “I can’t picture Baltimore without him,” running back Ray Rice said. “Baltimore is Ray Lewis.”
The ultimate team player, Lewis will leave that environment to spend more time with his sons, two of whom played high school football together. Ray Lewis III will play next fall for the University of Miami, his father’s alma mater. He promised him if he got a full ride scholarship, “I’d be there for him,” he said.
“One of the hardest things in the world is to walk away from my teammates. But now I’m going to step into other chapters of my life,” he said. “I knew I couldn’t split my time anymore. When God calls, he calls. And he’s calling. More importantly, he calls me to be a father. My children have made the ultimate sacrifice for their father for 17 years. And I don’t want to see them do that no more. I’ve done what I wanted to do in this business, and now it’s my turn to give them back something.”
The low point of Lewis’ career was his involvement in a double-murder case in Atlanta in early 2000, an incident that followed a Super Bowl victory party for the Ravens. He was indicted but cut a deal, pleading guilty to a misdemeanor and testifying against two co-defendants. It was his only off-field incident. He went on to become a Baltimore icon.
Ravens coach John Harbaugh still hasn’t confirmed that Lewis will be on the field Sunday but how could he not now? His appearance alone would provide an emotional counter-point to the cause that has fueled the Colts’ improbable season — Chuck Pagano’s battle with leukemia. Pagano, currently Indy’s head coach, was Lewis’ defensive coordinator last season.
“I thought, shoot, the guy could play forever and would play forever,” Pagano said Wednesday. “Great person, great man, great player, just an unbelievable human being.
. . . what he’s done for that organization, that city and for that matter, so many people.”
“From the time I got hurt, everything I’ve done up to this point has been to get back with my team to make another run at the Lombardi (Trophy),” Lewis said. “I’ll make this last run with this team, and I’ll give them everything I’ve got. When it ends, it ends. But I didn’t come back for it to end in the first round.”
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