It was 12 years ago when Ray Lewis, as he will today, sat at Super Bowl Media Day and was fired away at by reporters.
They questioned him about the incident a year before in Atlanta that has become part of Lewis' history.
But it's not part of his present, nor has it for a long time.
On Monday, just a couple hours after getting off the plane in New Orleans, Lewis was questioned again. But this time he talked about the support around him and how he's changed as a man.
"I don't know nobody that's ever lived a perfect life," Lewis said.
"I have seen people who went through things before and realistically, most of the time when somebody goes through a little adversity, you really find out what their true character is. I think for me, people really are now taking time to find out who I am. They're really learning what my character is."
Lewis' character for more than the past decade has been one of helping as many people as he possibly can.
"My character simply is to make this world a better place," Lewis said.
Lewis meets countless strangers in need, people in desperate situations who reach out for words of inspiration. After games at M&T Bank Stadium, he'll sometimes hop in a car and ask the driver to take him to the roughest parts of town so he can find somebody that night to help.
After the Ravens' divisional win in Denver, Lewis recalled the previous year when he didn't meet a young, dying boy because he had to study for a game. Lewis chided himself, and vowed not to let that happen again. Helping people would come before studying film, he said.
Just as Lewis has motivated countless teammates, he's also helped them become men, fathers, husbands and servants of God. Lewis frequently preaches about his faith.
It's the reason why Lewis has become a beloved figure in Baltimore. In his city, Lewis is revered, even though that's not always the perception outside of it.
But during his "last ride" and as he prepares for his second and final Super Bowl trip, Lewis has noticed the support he is getting right now.
"I'm in total awe of the respect that people have for someone who has been through adversity but found his way out and is really showing what his true character is and who I am," Lewis said.
