Ryan Clark on Ravens: Always a Bridesmaid, Never a Bride

If you have not yet seen the way the Ravens 2011 season came to an end, you probably aren’t a sports fan. If that’s the case, I’m sorry you ended up on this site. For those of us who have seen at least a dozen replays of Billy Cundiff shanking a 32-yard field goal, we know how painful the AFC Championship game was for Baltimore. Cundiff has been called the Billy Buckner of football among many other not-so-nice nicknames, but I think Steelers safety Ryan Clark may have come up with the best metaphor thus far.

“I know for those guys it is heart breaking, but that is what football is about,” Clark said during an interview with 93.7 The Fan in Pittsburgh Wednesday. “You have to make every play and New England made just enough plays to win the game. I know it seems like for the Ravens right now always the bridesmaid and never a bride. It just shows that no matter how good your team is from year to year, no matter how many future Hall of Famers you have, you have to perform every day and winning Super Bowls is hard.”

What about always the best man and never a groom? I know that phrase wouldn’t be as powerful, but the Ravens and Steelers already don’t like each other.  Whether he meant anything by it or not, being compared to a bridesmaid has to irritate the Ravens — even if only a little.

That being said, Clark is right.  The Ravens are their own worst enemy right now in terms of getting over the hump.  They have been one of the best teams in the AFC for the last several year, but they continue to find ways to lose big games.  Oftentimes the more that happens, the tougher performing in the clutch becomes.