The Steelers-Ravens rivalry has raged for many years now with plenty of shots taken from both sides at their divisional rival.
One of those shots came in 2011 when Steelers linebacker LaMarr Woodley said that the Ravens would never advance to the Super Bowl “in this lifetime” because they would have to go through the Steelers to get there. Woodley was proven wrong earlier this year when the Ravens won the Super Bowl while the Steelers missed the playoffs altogether, but he told Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com that he had no regrets about what he said back in 2011.
“I don’t take it back at all,” Woodley said. “As a player on any team, you’re never going to say your rival is going to win the Super Bowl. That’s knocking you out of the tournament that year. Somebody on their team pretty sure would say that as well. That’s the nature of what it is. A lot of people don’t understand. They’re going to take it the way they want to take it.”
There’s absolutely no reason why Woodley should take it back or harbor any regrets about what he said. The Ravens and Steelers battle at least twice every year and those games almost always have major playoff implications, so it would be more than a little strange to hear a player on either side say that they thought a Super Bowl title was right around the corner for their divisional rival.
You might take issue with the particular words that Woodley used or his decision to go public with it, but the sentiment is the right one in a competitive sport.
