Ravens pull plug on Lewis’ dance
Matt Palmer and Kyle Siskey, The Examiner
Aug 11, 2006
BALTIMORE - When Ravens fans take their seats for tonight’s preseason game against the New York Giants at M&T Bank Stadium, they will notice several changes to the team’s audio and visual introductions before the contest. The most noticeable: Star linebacker Ray Lewis will not be dancing.
Three different organization officials confirmed this week that the team is choosing instead to introduce the whole team before the game. Lewis’ dance, which was to Nelly’s song “Hot in Here,” has been a defining element of the fan experience at M&T Bank Stadium over the years, often sending the crowd into a frenzy.
“There is a team intro right now; at least that is what we are built for,” said Dennis Mannion, the team’s senior vice president of business ventures. “If we went back to individuals, we would be ready. The task has been to take the successful game intro player by player and turn it into a successful game intro as a unit. It has been very, very difficult.”
When Lewis was injured last season, the team did not do a solo player entrance in his absence. Instead, they introduced the entire team.
The team chose to not have the dance return. It also helped that the organization is debuting new light-emitting drode (LED) technology developed by ANC Sports Enterprises that will be shown on the club-level motion screens. The cost of the new technology was $2 million for the team.
Also, fans who watch tonight’s game will see a whole new introduction video to the team, featuring many players with the theme music from the movie “Batman Begins.” In the past, the team has used a montage of game clips, with the theme music to the film “Gladiator.”
Ravens senior director of broadcasting Larry Rosen showed media members a demonstration of various visual changes to the stadium’s screens Thursday. The technology, he said, was designed to prompt a more visceral feeling inside the stadium among fans.
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