Steelers and the Ravens

 By: Melissa Cunningham        

            Trying to pick a rival of the Pittsburgh Steelers is not very hard. Their rival is almost a mirror image of themselves.  Their rival has a menacing defense with superstar linebackers and one of the best safeties in football. Their rival has a punishing rushing attack with a very young talented running back. Their rival has a young head coach that demands respect. Their rival has a player who has been mired in notoriety in his career. This sounds like I am just simply describing the Steelers, but I am not. The team I am describing is the Baltimore Ravens.

            I stated in a previous blog, sports rivalries generally have a long standing tradition or history. The Ravens franchise has not been around long, being in existence under 20 years. Actually the real truth is that the Ravens were originally the Cleveland Browns, who the Steelers do have a rich history with. The Browns owner ripped out the heart of Cleveland Brown fans and moved the team to Baltimore. While that move took away the team, it did not take away the rivalry.

            Cleveland was awarded a team, and named their new team the Browns. While there will always be a rivalry with Cleveland, it never felt the same, because of the new stronger rivalry with the Ravens. Part of this is due to the fact that the Ravens have been a strong, competitive team. They have even won a super bowl in their short existence. The Browns on the other hand have been more or less a laughing stock.

            The other reason for this rivalry as I stated in my opening is the striking similarities between these teams. They are both teams known for their strong defenses. The Ravens have great linebackers like Ray Lewis and Terrell Suggs that lead their defense. The Steelers also have a great defense led by tremendous linebackers like James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley.  Both these defenses are extremely feared in the league and among the league leaders in overall defense and rushing defense.

            The one position on defense, that these teams have true superstars is the safety position. The Ravens have Ed Reed who has been a terror in the defensive backfield and always a threat to intercept a pass. The Steelers have the reigning NFL defensive player of the year in Troy Polamalu. Troy has been one of the most popular and respected players in pro football with a quiet demeanor and laser quick speed.

            Both teams have great young running backs on offense in Ray Rice for the Ravens and Rashard Mendenhall for the Steelers. These young running backs are tough guys who are depended on to carry the football to control the pace of the game for their team. But if they are unable to establish their running attack, the teams both have great young quarterbacks as well. Joe Flacco is a young quarterback out of the University of Delaware who has already been a multiple time playoff quarterback who has showed veteran poise at a young age. The Steelers have Ben Roethlisberger. Big Ben in his young career has two Super Bowl rings and as he gets older his passing attack seems to get better and better.

            Both teams know how to deal with a player who is drawn into great controversy. Ray Lewis of the Ravens was involved in a possible manslaughter which brought loads of unwanted attention to the team. The Steelers had unwanted attention as well when Ben Roethlisberger was facing his own problems in his sex scandal.  But in both these situations the teams pulled together and showed that the team would band together and actually become stronger because of it.

            These teams are led by tough, young coaches who have engrained their own toughness into these teams. John Harbaugh of the Ravens is not a coach that seeks the limelight, he knows the team is the attraction not him. Mike Tomlin came to the Steelers as the youngest coach in football at the time. He instantly earned the respect of his players and instilled discipline and a hard work ethic in his players.

            These teams have deep respect for each other. The games between them are hard fought wars that leave players injured. All the hate during the games is concluded by instant respect following the game. These teams both have a football philosophy that is eerily similar. Their rivalry was started in history, but was truly paved in tough, physical football. Both these teams show no signs of slowing down which will lead to great football games for their fans to watch and enjoy for years to come.

Pictures
Steelers- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troy_polamalu
Ravens- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Lewis