Ray Lewis at Statue Unveiling: 'This is Forever My City'

A bronze statue of retired Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis was unveiled Thursday morning at M&T Bank Stadium.

Lewis, 39, has been a fixture of the Ravens franchise during his 17 consecutive seasons as a linebacker, including two Super Bowl wins and 13 trips to the Pro Bowl.

He is “the greatest defensive player of all time,” Steve Bisciotti, owner of the Ravens, said before the bronze statue of Lewis was unveiled outside the stadium.

Lewis, who played with the Ravens from 1996 to 2012, said he promised to bring a Super Bowl win to the team when he was brought on by Ravens General Manager Ozzie Newsome after playing at the University of Miami.

“Baltimore had never seen a championship. I promised them my first one,” Lewis said.

Lewis thanked his family, Bisciotti, Newsome, the late Steve McNair, OlympianMichael Phelps and others for believing in him and inspiring him, saying he realized many people had a hand in his success. He specifically called out former teammate OJ Brigance as a role model.

“I never saw a man so strong make up his mind to let nothing to defeat him,” Lewis said of Brigance, who has been battling Lou Gehrig’s disease and was in attendance at the ceremony.

“To do something great,“ Lewis said, “you have to do something different; you have to chase something different.”

The statue adds something different to M&T Bank Stadium, where the Johnny Unitas statue was previously the only one greeting visitors. Both statues were made by local artist Frederick Kail, who told The Baltimore Sun that when he was making the Unitas statue, the player told him:“I don’t want to be there by myself,” stating that other players made it possible for him to be there. Said Kail: “He’s going to have company.”

Photo Credit: Screenshot from Baltimore Ravens video of unveiling at M&T Bank Stadium on Sept. 4, 2014.