Discussing Details Behind Ray Lewis Statue

The city of Baltimore got to celebrate one last time with the greatest defensive player in Baltimore history Sunday as Ray Lewis was enshrined into the Ring of Honor.

There was no question that Lewis would join other Baltimore greats in the ring, including Jonathan Ogden, Jamal Lewis, Peter Boulware, Johnny Unitas and Lenny Moore.

But considering Lewis’ 17-year iconic NFL career is on a level all its own, some have wondered whether Lewis will also be recognized in a way that distinguishes him from the other greats.

“Yes, we have [talked about doing more]. It’s not a secret, we’re going to put a statue up of Ray Lewis,” Ravens Senior Vice President of Community and Public Relations Kevin Byrne told WNST yesterday. “I don’t mean to demean [Ravens’ first Hall of Famer] Jonathan Ogden, but you almost have to separate Ray from everything else in our history.”

Byrne noted that the discussions internally at the Under Armour Performance Center are now centered on the details behind Lewis’ future statue.

The Ravens would like to erect it sooner rather than later, and don’t plan on waiting until Lewis is inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame five years from now. Instead, they want to do it “as quickly as possible.”

And while Byrne didn’t want to make any promises, he said, “I wouldn’t be surprised if we do it next year.”

Lewis’ statue will go up alongside the bronze 13-foot Johnny Unitas statue at M&T Bank Stadium. Unitas is in a throwing pose, and the question the Ravens are currently asking themselves is what pose Lewis should be in.

“Should the statue be the iconic end of the squirrel dance?” Byrne asked. “Or should he be in a linebacker stance?”

My vote (and of course I don’t have one)? I would love to see a screaming Lewis at the end of his dance chiseled into history for the rest of time.


(baltimoreravens.com)