Lewis was the lone player who was able to wear the two rings the franchise has earned

The Baltimore Ravens may have lost the two most important players in franchise history in Ray Lewis and Ed Reed this offseason, but that certainly wasn't bringing anyone down on Friday. Just about everyone on the team that won Super Bowl XLVII received the ultimate tangible reward relating to such a victory -- Super Bowl rings. Lewis, who retired after the win, and Reed, who signed with the Houston Texans, attended the ceremony at the team's headquarters in Owings Mills, Md.

"I always told them I wanted them to really feel what the confetti felt like," Lewis said. "Now to be here, to have something that symbolizes it, it's the ultimate because now it connects us forever. It took me 12 years to get back and get another ring. I want them to cherish what this moment feels like right now while we're world champs."

Lewis was the lone player who was able to wear the two rings the franchise has earned -- this new one, and the one the 2000 team won with a 34-7 thrashing of the New York Giants in Super Bowl XXXV. For the younger guys, it was the first ring, and the experience was surreal.

"To have it so close, it finally hit me, what exactly we accomplished together," defensive end Terrell Suggs said after the rings were presented. "It didn't take a year. It took me 11 years to get it. It took Coach [John] Harbaugh [from] when he got here in 2008. It finally paid off, all that blood given. There's not a word that describes what I'm feeling and all the emotions. The journey was long, but it was worth it. I will tell you this -- I damn sure want to feel like this again."

Lewis and quarterback Joe Flacco, who put up an MVP performance in the Ravens' 34-31 win over the San Francisco 49ers, had input on the design of the ring. Designed by Jostens, the ring has 40 round-cut diamonds outlining the Ravens' logo, and the franchise's two Lombardi trophies. Inside the ring, one will find one of Harbaugh's mottos -- "The team, the team, the team" -- and the scores of the Ravens' playoff wins.

"It's kind of un-wearable," Flacco said with a smile. "When I see people for the first time, I'm sure they're going to have some interest in seeing it or at least I'm going to have some interest in showing it off to them. So, I'm definitely going to bring it a couple of places. I wouldn't necessarily say I'm going to wear it, but it's pretty special."

Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti ensured that John and David Modell, sons of the late former team owner Art Modell, were present for the ceremony and received rings. However, receiver Anquan Boldin and safety Bernard Pollard did not attend. Boldin was traded to the 49ers in the offseason, and Pollard signed with the Tennessee Titans, Those were two moves in a post-Super Bowl roster shake-up that also saw star outside linebacker Paul Kruger sign with the Cleveland Browns.

"It really symbolizes that this is the last time we're all going to be together as a team, and it's definitely a special moment," receiver Torrey Smith said. " I didn't cry or anything, but I can see how women feel when they get a ring. It has a lot of different meanings. There will never be another season like this. We can win the Super Bowl every year while I'm in the league, and there will be nothing like this one."

Brendon Ayanbadejo is not looking back

Released by the Baltimore Ravens in April, Ayanbadejo remains unemployed, despite coming off a season in which he recorded a career-high total of 43 tackles.

The problem for Ayanbadejo is that he will turn 37 in September and his biggest value comes on special teams. Yes, he had a career year helping the Ravens win the Super Bowl, and yes, the Ravens lost two linebackers -- future Hall of Famer Ray Lewis to retirement and Paul Kruger to free agency. But Ayanbadejo's age plays an important role in the fact that he's still unemployed.

But don't feel sorry for Ayanbadejo. He's certainly not.

"Either way, I'm happy with it," he told USA Today. "If someone needs a linebacker, I'm ready to go. And if not, well, then I'm ready to do the things I haven't had the time to do before. There is a lot of life left to be lived."

After helping Baltimore win the Super Bowl, he has kept himself busy. He hobnobbed with President Obama at the Wednesday ceremony honoring the Ravens, and USA Today points out that he's going to be a guest editor for a LGBT paper called the Washington Blade.

Ayanbadejo has been one of the more vocal supporters in the NFL for gay rights. Along with punter Chris Kluwe, they have been outspoken in their beliefs and both have received their share of criticism. Ironically, both were released this offseason. While Kluwe, who was let go by the Vikings, recently signed with the Oakland Raiders, Ayanbadejo is preparing to proceed in life without football.

Even some of the criticism that Ayanbadejo received has helped his cause. Remember this story about how a Maryland delegate was upset that Ayanbadejo dared use his platform to talk about the gay issue (I mean, what is this: some kind of crazy country that has some sort of silly First Amendment?).

"Many of my constituents and your football supporters are appalled and aghast that a member of the Ravens Football Team would step into this controversial divide and try to sway public opinion one way or the other," Emmett C. Burns wrote in a letter to Ayanbadejo. "Many of your fans are opposed to such a view and feel it has no place in a sport that is strictly for pride, entertainment and excitement."

After that news emerged, Ayanbadejo said he received even more support.

"I have to thank him for making me a global story," Ayanbadejo said. "I've gotten letters from Argentina, Brazil, Australia, all over Europe and the UK, all in support of marriage equality. The guys who put their foot in their mouth make more news than the guys out there doing the right thing."

As for whether that activism has hurt him in the eyes of the league's gate-keepers and job-bestowers, he doesn't think so.

"I graduated college in '99, and I'm going on 37," Ayanbadejo said. "For a guy in my field, I've done everything you can do in the NFL. There's no need to cry for me."