One unfortunate lad’s Christmas wish

By Os Davis  |   Friday, December 21, 2007  |  Comments( 1 )

Baltimore Ravens
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Dear Mr. Billick,

I write to you to today with all the hopes of this holiday season of kindness and charity. It is at this time of year when the fates of the less fortunate may be turned thanks to the generosity of big-hearted men like you.

Mr. Billick, I have a son who's very sick.

How sick is he? Aside from the crippling angst suffered by any Baltimore Ravens fan in 2007, this otherwise fun-loving teenager of mine is forced to inhabit in a cruel environment within which his condition is ignored at best, mocked and derided at worst. You see, Mr. Billick, he lives in Dallas-Fort Worth.

I realize that you've probably been lucky enough throughout your successful career and life not to have to understand the trauma of such pitiful, helpless isolation. Imagine a smallpox victim attending the Miss Socially Insensitive 2007 beauty contest. Or a San Francisco 49er fan living in Boston.

I don't know what happened. Maybe it's our fault, but we did all we could. His great-grandmother even managed to instill a healthy - using the term loosely here - devotion to the local Mavericks and Rangers, but somehow he ended up tied in allegiance to you guys.

And so today I write you with some humility, Mr. Billick, asking you to bring some hope to this sick lad this Christmas. It would mean so much to him if you and the Ravens could somehow find it in your hearts to break this life-sapping losing streak; he might just pull through, garner enough strength to survive through to the 2008 draft. We're just trying to take this one Sunday at a time - surely you understand this sentiment - but lately, it's been rough.

I don't know if you know how it is for people like him, but imagine cheering on a squad that blinks on the last play of regulation against an 0-13 team, sending out the kicking team for the field goal as though going for the tie. Imagine backing a bunch that has the prohibitive undefeated Super Bowl champions on the ropes before some defensive coordinator calls a timeout as though to ice his own team while the head coach stands by looking stunned.

Perhaps they should call my boy's illness fourth-and-1itis.

I know that the miracle gift of a Ravens win would have to arrive a day or two early, but in all fairness you received your own miracle gift - a vote of confidence after another season of low delivery on high expectations like in 2002, '04, '05 - early as well.

All you have to do is eke out a victory against a reeling Seahawks team in Seattle, where they're just, um, 22-4 in the past three seasons, including playoffs. I realize, too, that your secondary is dinged up and generally looking mighty inexperienced lately; not exactly ready to take on the likes of Matt Hasselbeck's bunch, but consider that the mediocre Carolina Panthers held the 'Hawks to 232 yards passing and no points through three quarters despite zero turnovers last week ...

Wait a minute, it says here the Ravens gave up 315 yards to Cleo Lemon? OK, scratch the stuff about Hasselbeck. Prepare to surrender points and pray that establishing the run and running on third-and-long is enough. Ten on the line, maybe?

Please accept this Bendixian wish in the spirit of the season, Mr. Billick. With a win, you could brighten the life of not just this boy but surely many other sufferers like him. Bring my son the joy of Ravens victory for this Christmas Eve, won't you, Mr. Billick?

Yours,

Os Davis

P.S.

I swear this isn't a ploy to get out of buying a proper gift because I'm too cheap or anything. Honest.
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About Os Davis

Os Davis has taken a twisted route to get to RealFootball365.com in his nearly 17 years in professional writing, working in any number of capacities in the sportswriting, news reporting and film criticism worlds. In print media, Os has served as editor at a few publications, including Albuquerque's...
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