The week that followed the Ravens’ victory over the Steelers revelled in excitement, glory and bragging. The rights officially belonged to Baltimore and its fans, a long awaited total destructive win over their hated rivals. The talk shows rambled for days, the fans did as well, and it was all very well deserved. There had been very few mistakes, even more forcing of errors against Pittsburgh, and the end result acknowledged a dark cloud that has hung over Baltimore football for several years.

The Ravens have had their fair share of disappointment at the hands of the Pittsburgh Steelers; The playoff performances have been devastating, and the regular season games have all come down to the nail-biting wire. Pittsburgh has always seemed to hold the upper hand, however small, in what has grown into the NFL’s biggest and meanest rivalries. So when victory presents itself, when there is a small door that opens to bathe and gloat in a fashion that only Baltimore fans understand because of their undying hatred for the Steelers and their unending urge to see the field wiped with their faces, don’t think for a second that Ravens fans are going to take full advantage.

There is nothing wrong with that. In fact, that is really what football, and all of professional and college sports is all about; without heated rivalries and unbroken, faithful team commitment, the product you would receive would be rather boring. What is better than to see a team and its fanbase fired up and roaring to go? And to be a fan that can say that you are a part of it each and every week just makes it that much more an occasion that we didn’t lose the NFL to a lockout.

There were whiners and excuses after the Ravens and Steelers game on September 11th. There were opinions from players and coaches, some of them discrediting the honesty and integrity of their opponent. There were also cold, hard facts that supported the real reasons things had happened they way they did. There were distractions, there was media coverage, there were questions over the personality of each team. Some questioned whether Pittsburgh was really that good. And some asked if the Ravens win was a fluke.

Football will be football. Everybody whines. Everybody cries. Just as everybody cheers, screams, and loves with an amount of energy and emotion that is untouchable to very little else, as his or her football team finds itself the driver of the steamroller or the object in its path. In week one of the 2011-12 NFL season, the Ravens had the Steelers number. If you didn’t catch the play-by-play, the final score, or the post game coverage, you probably caught the players comments, the excuses, the bragging, and everything else that makes being a football fan so great.

The tables turned in week two for Baltimore. They underestimated a Tennessee offensive line that made itself known to Baltimore and the rest of the NFL; they are here to play, like it or not, and they aren’t messing around. Baltimore took a punch to the mouth, just as Pittsburgh took it the week before. Neither team came to play in their respective losses, which is one of the most frustrating parts of being a diehard fan. Let-downs, the trap game, and upsets are all part of the game that we know and love. We might as well get used to it.

Leadership is what drives a team to learn from its mistakes. Lockerroom presence, team leaders, the voices of the voiceless, they are the ones that take a squad and help them back to their feet. We saw it in Seattle in week two when Pittsburgh took out their frustration and anger against the Seahawks, and we saw it in week one when the Ravens refused to forget their recent misgivings against the Steelers in the playoffs. But isn’t that what makes teams great? Isn’t that what drives teams to be as good as they can become, leaving it all on the field, going home with nothing left in the tank? Isn’t that what makes fans love to watch this game week in and week out?

That’s the beautiful part about the Ravens and Steelers rivalry. Maybe it isn’t something that everybody sees or understands. Or maybe it’s something that people voluntarily choose to overlook. We’ve all seen it, whether it is friends of ours or some of the players that are involved first hand; The underlying reasons for why these teams hate each other is a concept that seems to be the complete, polar opposite; respect. You better believe most of those players respect the ones on the other side of the ball. Don’t doubt for a second that Mike Tomlin and John Harbaugh understand it. And, for the most part, the fans of each franchise get it as well.

Rivalries are created based on an always growing, mutual respect for one another. They are what makes the NFL as great of a professional league as any other in the world. Blowouts, let downs, nail biters, they are all part of the game. Players know it, coaches know it, fans know it. If there is anything that can be taken from the first two weeks of the season for Baltimore- without reading anything into wins and losses and the who, what, when, where, why- it is that we are in for another fun and exciting year of football.