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Michael Phelps has been an avid football fan over the years. Recently, the American was left amazed by the strategic genius of NFL legend Ed Reed and he was quick to express his administration for the former footballer.
Being from Baltimore himself, Phelps has long-since been a staunch supporter of the Baltimore Ravens. He has interacted with the team on multiple occasions. In 2012, the swimmer took part in the Ravens coin toss as an honorary captain and was the last person introduced out of the Ravens' tunnel during their game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Recently, Michael Phelps reshared an Instagram post that praised former Ravens safety Ed Reed on his story. The post discussed the strategic genius of Reed and how he managed to get the better of quarterback Payton Manning after misleading him for an entire season. Reacting to this, Phelps wrote,
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“Man..the best! Love watching this man play ball! LFG @edreedhof20.”
When Ed Reed praised Michael Phelps after the Ravens’ Super Bowl victory
Michael Phelps' has been consistently vocal in his support for the Baltimore Ravens. In 2012, the American attended the Super Bowl XLVII to show his support for the team. That game saw the Ravens emerging victorious over the San Francisco 49ers to lift the Super Bowl for the first time in a decade.
After the Game, Ed Reed heaped praise on Phelps. At that time, the swimmer was fresh off of his winning streak at the London Olympics, and Reed credited him with bringing the winning spirit to the Ravens, telling him (as quoted by USA Today),
"You brought the spirit of a champion to us.”
After the game, Phelps admitted that it had been an emotional victory for him as well, especially since it marked the retirement of close friend and Ravens legend Ray Lewis.
Many tears throughout this game today. Watching [Lewis] the last play of the game today, that's the last time I'll ever see him play. It's something that's very tough for Baltimore people to watch. I'm probably more emotional here than I was in London, just because of what Ray has done for me in my career, how much he's helped me in my career.”
Michael Phelps would himself go on to retire in 2016. Over the course of his career the American won 28 Olympic medals, 23 of which were gold. This made him the most successful Olympian of all-time across any sport.
