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Baltimore blues Ravens prove chemistry is a myth by letting Dilfer go
The Baltimore Ravens this week just might have confirmed their status as the most joyless champions in the history of American professional sport. Led by their carpet-bagging owner, Art Modell, and their plea-bargaining thug linebacker, Ray Lewis, to a sad-looking Super Bowl XXXV title in January, they ripped apart the only feel-good story on the roster on Tuesday when they jettisoned starting quarterback Trent Dilfer in favor of 30-year-old Elvis Grbac. Nice work, Trent. You overcame a bland past and directed our little pirate ship home with treasure. Now take a hike. We've found someone we think is juuuuust a little bit better than you are. Whatever happened to all that talk about winning being more important than individual stats or achievements? What about that old word "chemistry"? Is this all lip service for the humpties in the stands? What are we supposed to think? Is there a better show of chemistry or winning than walking off the field with the Vince Lombardi Trophy in your hands? What is it? I always have thought the store-bought, one-time-only Florida Marlins, the World Series winners of 1997, were our most despicable champions on record, but the Ravens just might have slid to the front. They already had touched on most of the bad parts of modern sport -- the mad rush for the buck, the meatheads on the roster, the coach who talks like he's a banana-republic potentate -- but now they have exposed the fact that they have no soul, no heart, no clue. Good luck to you, Elvis Grbac. You're going to need it. Sports Illustrated senior writer Leigh Montville appears regularly on CNN/Sports Illustrated. The opinions expressed here are solely those of the writer.
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