Baltimore Ravens

2012 record: 10-6

Super Bowl champions

The first AFC North stop in For The Win’s “five most important useless facts” series focuses on the reigning title winners, who have a slightly new look this season after the departures of Ray Lewis and Ed Reed.



Previous editions

Thursday: New York Jets

Wednesday: New England Patriots

Tuesday: Miami Dolphins

Monday: Buffalo Bills

1) The Ravens’ Super Bowl rings are gigantic.



The NFL Hall of Fame added the team’s ring to its collection earlier this week. The impressive jewelry is certainly trying to show up its neighbors, with 243 diamonds and 3.75 total carats. The team’s website points out that the New York Giants’ Super Bowl XLVI ring, which is displayed to the left, has 71 diamonds and 1.36 carats.

2) Torrey Smith found love in the team’s end zone.

The wide receiver and his fiancée, Chanel Williams, prepared for their wedding with an engagement photo shoot inside M&T Stadium in June.

3) The NFL is a family affair for a quartet of Ravens.

A number of the team’s players have siblings on other teams in the league. Defensive lineman Arthur Jones’ brother Chandler plays defensive end for the Patriots and center Geno Gradkowski’s brother Bruce is the backup quarterback for the division rival Pittsburgh Steelers. First-round pick Matt Elam’s older brother Abram played for the Chiefs in 2012 while second-round pick Arthur Brown is the older brother of Bryce Brown, who set an Eagles rookie rushing record with a 178-yard games against Carolina last season.

4) John Harbaugh is really into the battle of Gettysburg.

As the above Real Sports segment from July 2012 shows, the Harbaugh family is really interested in Civil War history. It’s an interest John Harbaugh shared with his team last week, when he cancelled a day of practice to take rookies and a few veterans, including Joe Flacco, on a tour of the historic battlefield.



5) An ice cream truck makes them as excited as winning the Lombardi Trophy.



Ok, maybe not that excited. But still pretty freaking excited.

Monday: The five most important useless facts about the Cincinnati Bengals