Why should Ray stay? Let me count the reasons

Preakness organizers recently announced live musical performances would replace allowing fans to bring their own liquor store as the primary way to sell tickets to the illustrious horse race. Since the only Buckcherry songs I know I learned at Night Shift, I decided to delve deeper into the band's musical library.

It was during my personal listening party that I heard a little ditty titled "Don't Go Away."

Here's a snippet:

"All the things you said

And all the games we played

Will come back to you

See the look in your eyes

Ooooh, don't go away

Please don't go away

You're making a mistake

You and I were meant to be

Please don't go away

You're making a mistake"

Besides making me long for my days at Night Shift, it made me think of ol' No. 52, and all the reasons why Ray Lewis should stay a Raven:

52. You had us at "hello."
51. Your baby mommas always will know where to find you.
50. If you leave, how do we know the team won't pack up and move to Terre Haute, Ind., in the middle of the night?
49. Like steamed crabs, Berger Cookies and a high murder rate, you are entrenched in this community.
48. When Mr. Ray of Mr. Ray's Hair Weave died, you filled our entertaining-guys-named-Ray void. We have no successor if you leave.
47. Good luck finding another team with not one, not two, but three mascots.
46. No other defense is good enough for you.
45. Now that The Examiner is going out of business, you'll only have to deal with reporters from The Sun -- and you know that'll be a cakewalk.
44. Matt Stover admitted he would say "darn it" if you left.
43. I've heard what opposing fans say about you at road games. We would never say those things about your momma. Ever. Unless you leave.
42. Because of you, I no longer think fur is murder.
41. Trying to spot you in the crowd is the only reason to watch Maryland Basketball.
40. Keon Lattimore still has some unpaid parking tickets at Mount St. Joseph that need to be addressed.
39. It's not a great time to put a mansion with purple-painted walls on the market.
38. Your departure may cause business at Ray Lewis' Full Moon BBQ to suffer. Oh, wait.
37. You would earn about $9.4 million this year if you get slapped with the franchise tag. In this economy, that's a pretty good wage. It's like making 15 bucks in 1779.
36. No one is going to rename Martin Luther King Boulevard after you with that attitude.
35. Next to the Aquarium and Duck Boats, you are our biggest tourist attraction.
34. Who is going to keep rapper Nelly relevant, while at the same time make me get my freak on during pregame introductions?
33. A couple more Pro Bowl seasons and that spot in the Great Blacks in Wax Museum is yours, baby.
32. Steve Bisciotti thinks you're neat.
31. I can't afford to shell out another $100 for a new Ravens Fathead.
30. There is so much unfinished business at Eastern Motors.
29. No one gives glory to God like you.
28. Shannon Sharpe told you to.
27. I'll have to buy a new Ravens jersey. (Don't be selfish, Ray. I just lost my job.)
26. You are the best bowler in town - and that's saying something around these parts.
25. Dallas Cowboys?
24. Terrell Owens has mocked you -- on more than one occasion.
23. Tony Romo is a sissy.
22. I heard the roof on the Cowboys' new stadium is structurally unsound.
21. Ed Reed doesn't play in Dallas.
20. The Mayor of Dallas doesn't just hand out gift cards on a whim.
19. Miami Dolphins?
18. Do you really want to share a locker room with Joey Porter?
17. You think wearing purple is bad -- have you seen the Dolphins' uniforms?
16. Anita Marks will probably follow you to South Beach.
15. Haloti Ngata doesn't play in Miami.
14. The Mayor of Miami doesn't just hand out gift cards on a whim.
13. New York Jets?
12. Rex Ryan told me he never wanted to see you again.
11. Good luck finding a one-room co-op in Manhattan in your price range.
10. The media doesn't play in New York.
9. The Mayor of New York doesn't hand out gift cards on whim, but he does hand out million-dollar gifts to Johns Hopkins.
8. Cal Ripken Jr. stuck around -- even after the Orioles' dogged his dad.
7. When Adalius Thomas, Jamie Sharper and Edgerton Hartwell left, they were never the same. If you leave, we will never be the same.
6. The person in charge of placing the 2x4 piece of grass on the field for your introduction will probably be out of a job.
5. Purple and black brings out the black and blue in your eyes.
4. Johnny U didn't look right in another uniform and neither will you.
3. You finally have a quarterback.
2. The job here is incomplete.
1. What's your name? Ravens.

(baltimoreexaminer.com)