Ravens Fans Expect the Collapse
I have been a Ravens fan since 2006. between then and 2012 I knew almost only success for my football team. They made the playoffs 6 out of 7 years in that stretch, winning at least one game in each postseason and even the Super Bowl in 2012. We Ravens fans didn’t know how good we had it; there was an expectation of success.
Now however, the expectation of success just seems to go unfulfilled each season. Aside from the catastrophic 2015 season, the Ravens have had a chance to win and secure a playoff spot in the final couple weeks of each season since 2013 and have failed to do so every time. (Except for 2014 but let’s be honest, the Ravens had no business beating the Browns that day even at home with the way the team played)
The worst part of this abject, constant failure is the heartbreaking way in which it always seems to be carried out. Like a slow-motion crash, experienced Ravens fans have been able to spot the meltdown from miles away each time. They’ve all come in the most devastating fashion possible, from 4th and 12 last year in week 17 to Zach Orr and Eric Weddle not being able to tackle Antonio Brown at a dead stop on the goal line to yesterday when they let Tyreek Hill, one of the best wide-receivers in the league get free on a 4th and long and catch a prayer from Patrick Mahomes.
Folks, I have a solution that may work for Ravens fans: expect the collapse. It’s been 6 years since the Ravens actually made the crucial plays that a successful team does and what’s worse, they don’t even have the courtesy to let us down easy. They’ve shown us time and time again that the team will lose the biggest games in the most embarrassing, gut-wrenching fashion and it’s high time we all adjust to this.
Now, this is not to suggest that i’m rooting against the Ravens. On the contrary, I consider myself one of the bigger fans out there, and they directly impact my level of happiness from September to December. All i’m saying is that you can save yourself a lot of grief and heartache by simply expecting that the Ravens will meltdown until they prove otherwise.
