Rice’s youthfulness shows in postgame comments. Matt Bowen
Baltimore running back Ray Rice is one of the best young players in the National Football League.
But that’s just it—he is young. And last night after the Ravens 27-14 loss at Lambeau Field, he showed his inexperience during his postgame rant on the town of Green Bay, WI and Lambeau Field.
Rice—who didn’t have his best performance of the year by any measures—told Drew Olson of OnMilwaukee.com, “To be honest with you, it was just Lambeau Field. They put us out in the middle of nowhere and it’s not a real exciting place.”
Rice then added, “Everything about this place is terrible.”
Not surprising coming from a second-year player who had a rough night. In the NFL, you can always judge the maturity level of the players by how they react to a poor performance. It is easy to stand in front of a microphone after you fill up the box score during a win. On the other hand, when you put the ball on the ground and don’t have the type of impact that Rice thought he would in front of a national audience, this is what will happen.
And, it is best just to keep quiet or act accordingly when it comes to the media in that situation. Hey, it happens—just as we saw from the Packers locker room after the second of two losses to the Vikings this year. Anything you say will be used against you.
But, Rice will learn, as do all players when it comes to Lambeau Field, the city of Green Bay and the fans that show up on Sundays—every Sunday. I was privileged—no, honored—to play for just a short time as a Packer in Lambeau. It is a cathedral of sorts when it comes to pro football, just as the old Yankee Stadium was, and just as Madison Square Garden is for the NBA.
Yes, I am a tradition guy, and I like the history of the league, just as I like it when the Big Ten plays the Pac-10 in the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day. For some guys, it takes time to adjust to playing football in Green Bay. It is a small town, and yes, it doesn’t have the nightlife of a Miami or a New York City. But, then again, neither does the city of Baltimore or the campus of Rutgers University to be honest.
No, Green Bay is a football and beer town, but along with that comes the tradition of Lambeau Field. Reggie White saw that when he came to town as a free agent, just as Charles Woodson did. They name streets after coaches, and when you play on Sundays you are the center of attention, the major attraction in town and Lambeau is the only place to be.
Ray Rice will understand that one day when he gets older, matures as a professional athlete and thinks of the times that he did get to carry the football in the same place that some of the all-time greats did in the NFL.
It is sacred ground up there, but Rice doesn’t get that yet because he hasn’t been around long enough to see what makes the NFL what it is, where places like Lambeau are cherished compared with the monstrosities we see in today’s modern stadiums—such as Jerry Jones’ amusement park in Dallas, where the football is the last thing on people’s minds.
Update: Ray Rice, via his Twitter account, @RayRice27, posted "As a man I would like to apolgize the fans of green bay you can't judge a book by it's cover and for me to talk about your city was wrong."
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RayRice27
As a man I would like to apologize the fans of green bay you can't judge a book by it's cover and for me to talk about your city was wrong
Posted less than 30 mins ago on Twitter.
I think Rice needs to spend some time w/Warren Sapp. He understands the history of the game and even being a rival, appreciated how special Lambeau was.
These comments are surprising because Rice plays old school football. You'd think the guy would appreciate a town that LIVES on old school football. Oh well.
In any event, good analysis Bowen, especially with respect to the Dallas "amusement park"--what a joke that place is.
And for what it's worth, Rice did just apologize via Twitter.
Rice may grow to appreciate Lambeau but will the fans in Lambeau appreciate Rice?
As for his twitter comment, just damage control
Mack, couldn't agree with you more about the Twiiter apology. Guy realizes that he looks like a clown by ranting on one of the best NFL cities and tries to clean it up.
He should be working on protecting the football instead.
Nobody makes fun of Green Bay. NOBODY! (with my index finger pointing in the air)
Another great write Matt. Hopefully age and experience will help the kid grow-up a little. It will come eventually, and will coincide with the moment he decides to abandon the Lite for a Bud Heavy.
I have to admit, the Raven fans were some of the classiest that I have ever witnessed in Lambeau field.
Green Bay may not have much of a big city nightlife, but any athlete who enjoys the outdoors can leave the stadium and within 30 minutes be hunting turkeys or enjoying some of the Midwest's best fishing or teeing it up on numerous local golf courses. There's more to a town than the number of twirling disco balls.
I had the opportunity to attend last night's game. Just before kickoff, I turned to my friend and asked him to envision a giant TV hanging over the middle of the field that blocked the view of most the stadium interior and all those cheering fans. And anyone who thinks the new Dallas stadium is the end-all be-all, ask a season ticket holder what he paid in a personal seat license fee for a seat between the 30's.
its sort of unfair to judge any pro sports player or coach after a loss. consider yourself norv turner last year when hochulli (sp?) screwed up that call. right after the game, before given any time to move on, you are asked how you are feeling. how the f--k do you think i'm feeling?
do you think rice really had time to think his comments through? he's trained to win, and i believe he did apologize. it's ridiculous that these players and coaches are pretty much forced to answer questions from the media before given any time to let everything soak in. plus, going up in front of a microphone, especially in a bad mood, is impossible you're rarely going to say the right thing, especially if you're a football player.
idk, ive just been thinking about this too much
What a load of bull. Ray Rice and any other fan can appreciate the game and history of the NFL without the requirement that they genuflect at the altar of the Green Bay Packers, Vince Lombardi and the City of Green Bay. Maybe he doesn't like cheese. Maybe he doesn't like the cold. Or maybe he just doesn't like large women.
Personally, I don't really care what Ray Rice thinks of Green Bay. I care what Charles Woodson, Ryan Pickett, Al Harris, Aaron Rodgers, Greg Jennings, Nick Barnett and Donald Driver think about Green Bay. And they love it.
Lifelong Packers fan and I am not offended at all. I remember being at the 2008 Draft Party at Lambeau hoping we would take Ray Rice. Ahman Green was leaving as a free agent and we needed someone to "tote the rock". Unfortunately Baltimore selected him immediately before our 2nd round pick and we ended up with Brian Brohm. Just like when Ray Lewis went to Baltimore one pick in front of us and we ended up with John Michaels. Ray Rice is a great talent. He manned up. I respect that. He's a star in the making and Im glad he's not in the NFC!
Lifelong Packers fan and I am not offended at all. I remember being at the 2008 Draft Party at Lambeau hoping we would take Ray Rice. Ahman Green was leaving as a free agent and we needed someone to "tote the rock". Unfortunately Baltimore selected him immediately before our 2nd round pick and we ended up with Brian Brohm. Just like when Ray Lewis went to Baltimore one pick in front of us and we ended up with John Michaels. Ray Rice is a great talent. He manned up. I respect that. He's a star in the making and Im glad he's not in the NFC!
From everything I've heard & Seen RR's opinion is spot on. Time to put the cheeseheads back in the wrapper. Just because its old doesn't make it great. Maybe the league should go back to wearing leather helmets and eliminate the forward pass too. Besides, what else do the locals have to do on Sunday except go to the "Dump in Dairyland". Get over yourselves packer fans, the rest of us just don't care. Yawn.
@bsituaer
pretty sure none of the packers fans care about what rice said. plus, obviously youve never been to lambeau cause its one amazing experience
Scot - You're in the same boat Ray is... stereotypical and uniformed. I guarantee you the "fat people percentage" of WI is on par with the rest of the world. As a matter of fact though, you'll find less silicone, colagen, and botox here... and in general, most of the women aren't fake. I'll take that anyday... "...like, OK...?!"
bsltuaer - Same goes for you. But I'm guessing your more of a disgruntled fan of another team in the NFC North trying to get your usual troll-like opinion in. Take your own advice, we don't care what you think either.
bsituaer just wants to get a rise out of someone...won't be me.
however to koition...i'm a girl and i found the fat joke quite funny. i wish people could still take jokes instead of jumping all over them.
and on the subject...i agree with whoever said he was just speaking on emotion. he just wanted to blame anything but himself for a poor performance and unfortunately lambeau field was the target. oh well. it happens.
Why do cheeseheads feel it necessary that fans of other teams be required to worship at their hole in the ground? The team has a large history of lousy football between Lombardi and Favre. It's "glory years" were a long, long time ago. Even with Favre the team underachieved. One SB win during his tenure? Lame. And there certainly isn't anything compelling about the current state of affairs. So don't expect the rest of the league to shed a tear every time the temp dips below 30 and there is a little frost is on the football. Your sense of entitlement is insulting.
worship is too strong of a word. respect is more like it. Green Bay put football on the map whether you like it or not. two words for you, Lombardi Trophy.
Put football on the map? See that's what I'm talking about. It's pretty roundly accepted that a certain championship game between NY and Balt in 1958 "put football on the map". As for the trophy naming...it's really more a case of right place right time. The packers just happened to be on top at the time of the merger. Very lucky considering the mostly dismal results over the many decades prior and since. Had the merger occurred in the 50's or later in the 70's the trophy may well have been named the Paul Brown or Tom Landry trophy.
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Dec 08, 2009
04:30 PM
Ray turned into the kid who loses and takes the ball home from the park. Grow up.