January 28, 2001, 25 years ago: Super Bowl XXXV is played at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa. The Baltimore Ravens beat the New York Giants, 34-7. It is the 1st NFL Championship won by the franchise formerly known as the Cleveland Browns in 36 years, and the 1st by a Baltimore-based team in 30 years.
Since the Giants' only touchdown is scored on a kickoff return -- by Ron Dixon, followed immediately by the Ravens doing the same, by Jermaine Lewis -- the Giants became the only team in Super Bowl history whose offense scored no points.
It marks Kerry Collins as the worst quarterback in Super Bowl history. He went 15-for-39, for 112 yards, 4 interceptions, and no touchdowns. In contrast, Trent Dilfer -- who has often been mocked as the worst quarterback ever to win a Super Bowl, and indeed became the 1st winning quarterback ever let go before the next season (as opposed to retiring) -- went 12-for-25, 153 yards, 1 touchdown and no interceptions. Quarterback ratings: Dilfer 80.9, Collins 7.1.
Under head coach Brian Billick and defensive coordinator Marvin Lewis, the Ravens' defense drew comparisons to the 1970s Pittsburgh Steelers and the 1985 Chicago Bears in terms of effectiveness and ferocity. Linebacker Ray Lewis was the best player and the emotional leader of a side that also included defensive end Michael McCrary, linebacker Peter Boulware, safety Ed Reed, and cornerback Rod Woodson, who won his 1st title after a long career with the Steelers. The offense was led by Dilfer, veteran running back Earnest Byner and rookie running back Jamal Lewis, with protection from tackle Jonathan Ogden.
A cloud hung over the team, particularly over Ray Lewis. In 2000, he pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice in connection with the stabbing deaths of two men at a Super Bowl afterparty in Atlanta. He testified as a key witness at the trial, and a jury determined the killings were acts of self-defense. Ever since, people who don't like the Ravens have speculated that he had more to do with those deaths than has been publicly let on.
It had now been 5 full seasons since the Ravens arrived, 17 years since the Baltimore Colts moved to Indianapolis, 23 years since the Colts' last Playoff berth in Baltimore, and 30 years since their last Super Bowl win in Baltimore. What's more, the Ravens had not only been to a Super Bowl, while the Colts had not yet been to one since they moved, but won it.
This game, putting Baltimore back on top of the football world, enabled their fans to finally move on from the legend and mystique of the Colts: They could celebrate their former team, but they no longer had to mourn it. Baltimore was now the NFL Champions of 1958, 1959, 1970 and 2000, and Indianapolis was still waiting.
The Colts didn't just bury the Giants, they laid the legend of the Baltimore Colts to rest, giving it the memorial service it deserved.
Over the next 11 seasons, the Colts would win a Super Bowl as an Indianapolis team, and lose another; while the Ravens made the Playoffs 7 times, including 2 trips to the AFC Championship Game. In the 2012 season, with Lewis the only holdover from the 2000 season, they won Super Bowl XLVII, for the team's 2nd title, and the city's 5th. At that point, the only cities with more were Green Bay with 13, Chicago with 11 (9 by the Bears, 2 by the Cardinals), New York with 9 (8 by the Giants, 1 by the Jets), the San Francisco Bay Area with 7 (5 by the 49ers, 2 by the Raiders), and Pittsburgh with 6. Boston now has 6, and if Providence (the 1928 Steam Roller) is counted as part of their area, that's 7. Philadelphia now has 6 (5 by the Eagles, 1 by the Frankford Yellow Jackets), and Dallas has 5.
Oh man, the SB I want to forget, lol.
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