After beating the Tennesee Titans 20-13 in the Wild Card Round of the playoffs, Sunday, the Baltimore Ravens celebrated and stomped on the Titans' logo at midfield. The players defended their celebratory antics in their post-game interviews.
"This is an emotional football game. Sometimes you act out of emotion," Ravens defensive end Derek Wolfe explained. "I felt like it was a good time to go ahead and do that -- so we did it. It wasn't a disrespect thing. It was a team unity thing like we accomplished something as a team, so we're going to go out there and take a little bit of revenge. I don't think it's a big deal."
Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson recalled seeing the Titans huddle up on the Ravens' logo before their matchup earlier this year:
I feel it was just disrespect to see what went on before the game the last time we played those guys, and they were standing on our logo and seeing them get into it with our coach. That was just disrespectful, because we treat all of our opponents with respect. It wasn't no reason for us to shake hands and stuff like that. We'll be the bigger guy, so we just walked off the field. I feel like we were being the bigger guys.
When asked for comment, Titans head coach Mike Vrabel said, "I coach the Titans, not the Ravens."
It was a close game throughout, but late in the fourth quarter, Ravens' cornerback Marcus Peters sealed the victory with an impressive interception.
The Ravens will continue their Super Bowl hopes, next weekend.
[Via]
