AFC Championship Game Preview

So what’s in a name?

Apparently a lot if you are the Mayor of Pittsburgh, Luke Ravenstahl. This past week he had his name legally changed to Luke Steelerstahl before the team’s match up with the Ravens in the AFC Championship. All in support o f his hometown team.

Oh by the way, stahl in German is steel.

So what’s in a name?

In Baltimore, the Ravens cry all season has been “What’s my name?” It’s based on a speech given to them by head coach John Harbaugh’s father way back in August, when he told the team the story of Muhammad Ali.

So what’s in a name?

In both of these cities, the other team’s name is considered mud, or other less pleasant substances.

“Pure hatred for one another,” is how Steelers WR Hines Ward (above left) described the emotional level of the average Ravens-Steelers game.

Those are some of the story lines surrounding Sunday’s AFC Championship Game at Heinz Field. It’s the Ravens and the Steelers, an AFC North re-match.

Kickoff is set for 5:30 p.m. CST in Pittsburgh and can be seen on CBS.

These fellow members of the AFC North will play each other for the third time this season. Pittsburgh won the previous two games, taking a three-point overtime victory at Heinz Field in September and then a four-point victory at Baltimore in December.

Since the current post-season system was created with the merger of the two leagues in 1970, this is the 16th time that division mates played for the conference championship. The last time was 1999, when Tennessee swept Jacksonville in their season series. There have been four occasions where a team had the chance to take three games with the AFC Championship. That team won three of the four times: Tennessee ’99, Miami ’82 and the New York Giants ’86. In 1983, the Seattle Seahawks won the two regular season games against the Raiders, but ended up losing the title game.

Besides the fact they are division rivals, these teams don’t like each other one bit and it’s become one of the NFL’s best rivalries.

“I think that in order to have a legitimate rivalry, it has to be competitive,” said Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin. “I think that is what makes this rivalry special; among other things. The games are extremely close; the teams are close in personality; geographically; we are in the same division; (they) are the former Cleveland Browns. I think that there are a lot of things that make it special, but more than anything, no doubt it is the players.

“It is the passion with which they play the game; it is the personalities; whether it’s Ray Lewis or Jerome Bettis or Joey Porter or James Farrior or Hines Ward; Bart Scott. You just continue to add names to the list; all of them play the game the same. They put everything they have into it; every ounce of their fiber into it. That is what makes it special.”

What really go this series going came back in 2003, when injured LB Joey Porter, was upset that some of the Ravens’ players were mocking his trademark “boot kick” while he was on the sideline. So after the game, Porter went to the Ravens team bus and challenged Ray Lewis, to get off and fight.

“It’s not like we’re going to go outside the stadium and fight each other,” said Ward. “It’s not going to be any of that.”

But if things go well for the Ravens, they will be crowing their mantra for this season: what’s my name? Way back in August, head coach John Harbaugh asked his father Jack, a former head coach at Western Michigan and Western Kentucky to speak to the team.

Harbaugh told them how Cassius Clay had changed his name in 1964 and how three years later, opponent Ernie Terrell still refused to call him Muhammad Ali. When they finally got in the ring, the bout became something more important than money or a heavyweight championship.

Throughout the fight, Ali would land a punch and yell at Terrell, “What’s my name?” The bout could have ended quickly, but Ali prolonged the pounding so he could keep asking Terrell, “What’s my name?”

Harbaugh wrapped u p his story telling the players they had to go out and earn their name and they had to start demanding respect.

The players embraced the message and the story and now, there are Ravens t-shirts for sale all over Maryland that read: “What’s my name.”

“We wanted to make everyone understand that we are the Baltimore Ravens and each and every time you play us you’re going to realize that,” said WR Derrick Mason. “You’re going to know who’s coming to town or you’re going to know whose town you’re coming into — and that’s the Baltimore Ravens. We preach that every time we step out of that locker room — What’s our name? We make sure everybody understands and realizes that this team you’re about to fight, you might not want a piece of ‘em.”

Tomlin says both his team and the Ravens like to impose their will on opponents. Pittsburgh QB Ben Roethlisberger knows what he’ll see from the Baltimore defense.

“They are going to be coming after us with heat; we know that,” said Roethlisberger. “For us it’s not turning the ball over, winning the time of possession battle and scoring more points than them.”

One guy that will be in the middle of attempts to impose the Steelers’ will on the Ravens is Ward. He was recently voted the most hated player on the Steelers by Baltimore fans.

“I guess that’s a big honor,” Ward said this past week. “I don’t know why Baltimore dislikes me so much.  I love the crab cakes there; I love the view in Baltimore.  I don’t know, I’m a likable guy.  I don’t know what there is not to like about me.  I smile all the time.  I give 110% every time I step on the field.  I could care less if they dislike me.  As long as my teammates and the city of Pittsburgh know what I give each and every Sunday that I step on that field, that’s all that really matters to me.

Ward also knows that t he Ravens can bring out the best and worst of the Steelers.

“I love purple and black, I love the colors,” Ward said. “Any time we get a chance to play them you really want to go out and perform well.  Just because of the rivalry its self there is a genuine dislike, but there is a lot of respect.  They have great players.  Each and every year we play Baltimore, it’s one of those games you circle.  Cleveland and Pittsburgh is a rivalry itself, but Baltimore and Pittsburgh rivalry is really heated.

Lewis is Baltimore’s leader and he knows what’s about to happen just as much as Ward.

“They play football a great way. We play football a great way and, hey, here we go to clash,” Lewis said. “Bottom line, it’s going to be a good game, of course. I think both games are going to be a good game anytime you’re down to the final four, bottom line. But they’re going to do what they do. We’re going to do what we do. That’s the beauty of who they are and who we are. That’s what makes the games always close, always classy, because they stick to their identity, and we stick to our identity.”

Baltimore safety Ed Reed says the fans can throw around the word hate, but it has nothing to do with what he and his teammates think of this matchup, especially in this situation.

“Hate is a strong word,” Reed said. “I think it is more a respect thing. They know we play hard, and we know they play hard. It would be something if one of those guys or one of us said we didn’t respect them, because it would be a lie. At the end of the day, I believe that both teams are true fans of football and know that in our conference, though, we’re going to play football regardless of anything.”

INJURIES

Baltimore – LB Antwan Barnes is out with a shoulder injury. Listed as doubtful is starting cornerback Samari Rolle with a thigh injury. There were seven players listed as questionable, including key contributors like WR Mark Clayton (thigh), WR Derrick Mason and FB Le’Ron McClain. But the player everybody will watch for on Sunday is LB Terrell Suggs, who suffered a shoulder Injury last week and did not practice this week.

Pittsburgh – The Steelers only listed two players on their official league injury report for this game: starting center Justin Hartwig (knee) and starting safety Troy Polamalu (calf). Both players are expected to start and play.