The 2012 Ravens were reunited for one final time Friday night.
The team came together during a private ceremony at the Under Armour Performance Center to receive their Super Bowl XLVII rings. The event marked a culmination of the journey to the Super Bowl, and also served as one final gathering for the world champions.
"To be here, to have something that symbolizes it, it's the ultimate, because now it connects us forever," Ray Lewis said.
Most members of the 2012 team were in attendance, including departed players like Lewis, Ed Reed, Matt Birk, Paul Kruger, Dannell Ellerbe, Brendon Ayanbadejo, Bobbie Williams and Ma'ake Kemoeatu. They came back to Baltimore to get their rings and celebrate with their teammates four months after hoisting the Lombardi Trophy.
"You got a chance to take a look around the room, and we already lost some guys through free agency, and then some guys through other circumstances throughout the league," linebacker Terrell Suggs said. "It was more sweet than it was bitter."
Two of the players who weren't able to attend were safety Bernard Pollard and wide receiver Anquan Boldin, who were both starters in the Super Bowl.
"It was a great feeling, but it was also a little sad because a lot of guys didn't get to enjoy it that deserved it, and had every part of us winning the Super Bowl, but weren't in the room tonight for one reason or another," Suggs said.
The Ravens have turned over about a quarter of the roster since the Super Bowl, and Friday night's ceremony brought most of the group back together to celebrate their success. For everyone but Lewis, the event was their first opportunity to put on a Super Bowl ring, and the players relished the opportunity to celebrate together again.
"It didn't take a year. It took me 11 years to get it," Suggs said. "It took Coach Harbaugh when he got here in 2008. It finally paid off, all that blood given. There's not a word that describes what I'm feeling and all the emotions.
"The journey was long but it was worth it. But I will tell you this, I damn sure want to feel like this again."
