“Goose” was important ‘top gun’ for Ravens first-ever championship defense
Tony Siragusa on the then-PSI Net Stadium video board during 2001 season. © Andrew Sgroi | All Rights Reserved
It’s been a solemn week for the Baltimore Ravens family and its fans.
Following a lost year when a decimated roster suffered setback after setback—including a six-game losing streak to close the campaign, finishing sub-.500 for the first time since 2015—now the 2022 season begins with even more sobering reality for Ravens past and present.
That is, the sudden losses of a veteran linebacker poised to remain a fixture in the team’s revamped defense and an erstwhile icon from Baltimore’s championship past.
To be certain, just as implausible as the deaths of 26-year-old Jaylon Ferguson and former defensive lineman and 2000 Super Bowl Champion, Tony Siragusa, is the fact that both were lost on the same day.
Even Edgar Allen Poe would likely scorn such melancholic irony.
Alas , the Ravens have been afforded no such emotional mercy.
These deaths truly sting.
And now an organization—which has continually rallied around the tragedies surrounding past players such as O.J. Brigance, Orlando Brown, Steve McNair, and Todd Heap—must find a way to galvanize itself just weeks from the start of a long-awaited season of redemption.
But how?
Coincidental as it might be, the crushing fatalities of both “Sack Daddy” and “Goose”—who fittingly represented two distinct generations of the Ravens’ calling card, its defense—happened during a summer in which the biggest cinematic blockbuster belongs to a cross-generational sequel, “Top Gun: Maverick.”
And that’s just the beginning of the similarities.
Let’s be clear; there is no pre-ordained, Hollywood-style ending to these latest misfortunes that have befallen the franchise.
But that doesn’t mean that the Ravens should not recognize their mission—in the names of these men—headed into this season.
For it isn’t lost on this writer how Tony Siragusa was very much the embodiment of that dominant Y2K championship unit.
Sure, it was all-world linebacker Ray Lewis who was undoubtedly that team’s “Maverick,” with prized free-agent acquisition, Rod Woodson, his all-important RIO.
And no Ravens fan would ever deny to equate the other prized free agent of that squad—the mouthy and stellar tight end, Shannon Sharpe—as the team’s undisputed wingman of swagger.
But it was clearly “Goose” who housed the team’s soul; an indispensable role player ejected from the tight cockpit of a record-breaking defense’s front line.
Just ask former Oakland Raiders MVP-quarterback, Rich Gannon, if he saw “Goose” flying out of nowhere to flatten him to earth during the 2000 AFC Championship Game?
Yes, “Goose” was a crucial dagger for that first Ravens title. And he was so beloved for his contributions—and candor—that he was the team’s late-night representative following its Super Bowl win.
Following his playing days, there was little surprise that he would broker his exuberant persona to garner a celebrated, NFL sideline reporter gig from 2003 through 2015.
Simply stated, America related to Tony Siragusa. That shall always be his greatest legacy.
His teammates related to him too. And now “Goose” is gone.
So how should the Ravens honor his undeniable contributions to the franchise this season?
To quote the season’s big-screen action thriller, “What the enemy doesn’t know is your limits.”