Steelers' Ryan Clark Wants To Beat Ravens - With Suggs

by Bruce Raffel on Jun 6, 2012 10:00 AM EDT


There is no current rivalry in the NFL better than the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers. Be it Steelers Week in Baltimore or Ravens Week in Pittsburgh, it's obvious that not only do the fans not like each other, but neither do the players. However, as much as we don't like them and they don't like us, there is a mutual respect from both sides.

When Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger was suspended for part of the 2010 season, there were some Ravens fans who wanted him in there so the Ravens could beat them at full strength. That's why it was even sweeter when Baltimore swept Pittsburgh last season.

Same goes now, as Steelers safety Ryan Clark showed a ton of respect and class when he commented on wanting Terrell Suggs on the field when his team beats the Ravens this coming season - as if that might happen!

Acknowledging the abilities of your enemy is the epitome of fair play, as without that, there is no rivalry nor the energy that an upcoming contest generates with both the players, fans and cities. Clark said in an interview on NFL.com:

"I want to beat them with all of their guys. You want to beat them with their best players. You know, I want to see him do that crazy dance that nobody knows what it is but it looks good when he does it. We haven't blocked him yet. I've been here seven years and we still haven't blocked him. But we sure beat them a lot of times."



http://www.baltimorebeatdown.com/2012/6/6/3066984/steelers-ryan-clark-wants-to-beat-ravens-with-suggs

I don't care if we beat them with or without Suggs, as long as we beat them. A win is a win. It doesn't count any less if a star player is out.

I prefer we beat them... with a heavy stick.

Wallace108 wrote:

I don't care if we beat them with or without Suggs, as long as we beat them. A win is a win. It doesn't count any less if a star player is out.

thats where i am. if him being out helps our team, so be it

I can tell you this dealing with Ravens fans year round, it doesn't matter if their team is completely healthy or half their starters aren't playing, the fans will still make some excuse if they lose. With that in mind, I don't care who's playing, I always want to see the Steelers beat the Ravens.

steelerdude15 wrote:

I can tell you this dealing with Ravens fans year round, it doesn't matter if their team is completely healthy or half their starters aren't playing, the fans will still make some excuse if they lose. With that in mind, I don't care who's playing, I always want to see the Steelers beat the Ravens.

I can vouch for what Steelerdude is saying here. I live in Ratbird country too. There's ALWAYS an excuse or the patented "we're the better team and really won that game regardless of the final score" line of inexplicable flapdoodle. They are at best confused and at worst downright psychotically delusional.