The Morris Day Retirement Mardi Gras...Bowl

I know everyone saw the title of this blog entry and said in Scooby-Doo fashion, “ERR?” Just go with it for a second…this year’s Super Bowl is at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans. Instead of the über-talented Beyoncé Knowles-Carter performing as expected, the entertainment committee for the Super Bowl pulls a gutsy move and inserts Morris Day and The Time. Now you might ask, "Why would anyone with half a brain swap Beyoncé shaking her derriere in her Dereons for Morris Day’s mirror checks with Jerome Benton?" Simple…if the Ravens and Falcons somehow represent the AFC and NFC, only Morris Day has a song remotely cool enough (“The Bird”) to be the anthem for Super Bowl XLVII. I know...it won’t happen in a million years. You gotta admit though...the title drew your attention. Now for the main event...

So my actual Super Bowl picks are the Ravens and 49ers for the "Harbaugh Bowl". However, if "The Morris Day Retirement Mardi Gras...Bowl” between the Ravens and the Falcons were to go down, the stars of the show would not be the often-compared quarterbacks in Joe Flacco and Matt Ryan; the receiving tandems of Anquan Boldin and Torrey Smith vs. Roddy White and Julio Jones; or the running games featuring Ray Rice and Michael Turner. The real stories would be the two first-ballot Hall of Famers in Ray Lewis and Tony Gonzalez, who will both supposedly hang up the cleats at the end of this season. Now in a perfect world, I would want both of these guys to go out on top…but we know this is far from a perfect world and only one man can win in this scenario. I’m rolling with Ray Lewis.

I know, Tony Gonzalez has never even been to a Super Bowl. In fact, Matt Ryan wasn’t the only person that got the “monkey” off of his back when the Falcons edged out the Seahawks; it was Gonzalez’s first ever playoff win in his 16-year career. For someone who holds 17 NFL records, has been to 13 Pro Bowls and is a 10-time All-Pro tight end, that’s probably the most important milestone of his legendary career thus far and he’s looking for more before he retires. However, when I think of either franchise that Tony Gonzalez has played for, he’s not the first name that comes to my mind. Kansas City Chiefs = Derrick Thomas. Atlanta Falcons = Deion Sanders and Michael Vick. Today’s Atlanta Falcons = Matt Ryan and Roddy White. As decorated as Tony Gonzalez is, he’s not the heart and soul of the Atlanta Falcons—not even the offensive side. He’s an extremely lethal weapon in the passing game and has veteran experience and leadership to offer, but I don’t imagine him being the one to rally the troops. He may have been that for the Chiefs, but I don’t know and won’t profess to know. Maybe he's done it on a quiet level--and that's cool if he has because I can relate to that--but I've never seen him be that guy.

On the flipside, if you ask ten random people who they think of first and foremost when it comes to the Baltimore Ravens football legacy, it’s Ray Lewis ten times out of ten. There’s a difference between being the best player on a team and being synonymous with that team. Tony Gonzalez may have been the best player on those Chiefs teams and is one of the best on the Falcons, but Ray Lewis has been, currently is, and will always be synonymous with Ravens football. He’s been there from the beginning, but more than that, he has played bigger than his size, smarter than most of his competition, and more intense than anyone else on the field. All he’s done in a 17-year career is go to 13 Pro Bowls, become a 10-time All-Pro linebacker, two-time NFL defensive player of the year, three-time AFC defensive player of the year, set nine records (including being the only member of the 40 Sack/30 Interception Club), and oh yeah…he merely led one of the greatest defenses of all time in 2000 that won Super Bowl XXXV where he was MVP. Above all, he has been the undisputed emotional and spiritual leader of the Baltimore Ravens—not just the defense, but the entire team—and has treated that honor with a commendable amount of responsibility.

Some folks may feel like, “C'mon son, Ray already has a ring; let Tony get his before he rolls.” Some may even feel that it's unfair to compare levels of intensity, leadership and playoff success and hold any of that against Tony Gonzalez. Look, I love both Ray Lewis and Tony Gonzalez as football players, and I won’t be “angry” if Tony finally gets his ring because it would be well-deserved. From a skill standpoint, Tony Gonzalez is still arguably playing at a higher level at his respective position than Ray Lewis and is the most sure-handed tight end in pro football. However, there’s a reason that they chose Ray Lewis for the Madden NFL ‘13 intro: he not only makes you want to play the game of football, but he also makes you believe that you can succeed at anything despite how things may appear to be--which is a testament to his faith in God. People tend to follow successful people more than someone who has never been to that proverbial mountaintop. More important, people respect someone who isn't satisfied with their past success and wants nothing more than for his comrades to experience that same level of success. While Tony Gonzalez is one of my favorite tight ends of all time, Ray Lewis is one of my favorite players of all time and is possibly the greatest leader of men in sports ever. Besides, odds makers would probably favor Atlanta in this Super Bowl scenario anyway. Anyone who knows me knows that I cheer for the underdog…and that includes the highly unlikely possibility of The Time being the Super Bowl halftime entertainment because nobody does the Bird better than Morris Day.