The first time I heard Ed Reed belt out, "We got two tickets to paradise!" was in the glee of the postgame locker room in New England.
A chorus of teammates responded to the Eddie Money song with the, "Ohhhhh oh oh oh oh oh ohhh."
I thought it was pretty funny and wanted to write about it. But I wasn't sure if it would become a trend or just Reed expressing his excitement to be going home to New Orleans.
Turns out, "Two Tickets To Paradise" became the Ravens' unofficial Super Bowl theme song.
It's kind of like 1985 Chicago Bears "Super Bowl Shuffle." Or like how the Discount Double Check took off for Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
Reed presumably started his singing after seeing the Geico commercial.
Everybody on the team was singing it in the two weeks leading up to Super Bowl XLVII.
Kicker Justin Tucker was singing it on the bus ride to the sendoff event. Reed was singing it on the plane ride to New Orleans. Players were singing it around the team hotel, leading to me and others belting out the song.
After winning Super Bowl XLVII, Reed went to his postgame press conference and sang it. He also added a special twist to the song, belting out, "We got 53 tickets to paradise." He led more than 71,000 people in belting it out at M&T Bank Stadium to cap the Super Bowl parade.
Reed's singing still cracks up his coaches and teammates, as you can see Head Coach John Harbaugh, wide receivers Torrey Smith and Anquan Boldin busting up in the background of this video.
I don't think I've ever seen Reed so happy in my life – especially when he's singing the Ravens' 2013 playoff anthem.
