SNL Ray Lewis skit spoofs Baltimore Ravens linebacker with tearful promise on Saturday Night Live with Seth Meyers and Keenan Thompson.
Ray Lewis is preparing for the Super Bowl in New Orleans, but over the weekend he got the late night treatment from the folks at "Saturday Night Live." Actor Kenan Thompson did the impression of Lewis and didn't do a good job of sounding or looking like the Ravens linebacker, but he hit the perfect depiction with a tearful display.
The skit was on Weekend Update and saw host Seth Meyers asking Thompson as Lewis questions about the upcoming game and the playoffs.
From ESPN.com:
Meyers: A lot of us saw you cry last week during the National Anthem.
Thompson: Well, it's just ... I've never heard that song before.
Meyers: You haven't? You've been playing football your whole life.
Thompson: I know, but ... I always wear earplugs during the games to block out the sounds of my own screams.
Another part went like this:
Thompson: I was driving up Sixth Avenue, and then this police officer said that the road was closed, said because of construction, there's a ditch up two blocks ahead. I said, 'Look, no roads are closed to Ray Lewis. Because I believe. Only a higher power could tell Ray Lewis what to do.'
Meyers: And then what happened?
Thompson: Well, I drove two blocks up and crashed into a ditch.
Meyers: Oh, Okay.
Thompson: I cracked two ribs, Seth.
Meyers: Oh no.
Thompson: I got a detached retina. But I got here. I survived. Nothing's going to keep Ray Lewis down. Not a ditch. Not a retina. [Twitching furiously.] Not the 49ers. We are not gonna lose that game.
Meyers: I gotta tell you: I'm not worried about what will happen if you lose. I'm more worried about what will happen if you win.
Thompson: Seth, if we win the Super Bowl, I'm gonna go to the 50-yard line of the Superdome, kneel down and then I'm gonna ascend into heaven. I'm going through the roof, Seth. It's gonna be a sight.
Thompson then finishes the skit by doing one of Ray Lewis' well-known gyrating dances that he does during celebrations and before games.
As Sports World Report has written before, Lewis has been able to pull the greatest public image turnaround in recent sports memory by going from murder conviction to the cover of Madden.
Lewis has been to 12 Pro Bowls over his 17-year career and won the AP Defensive Player of the Year award twice. He led the Ravens defense in 2000 that allowed the fewest points in NFL history and made 57 tackles with 1.0 sack and one fumble recovery in just six games this regular-season.
He has played consistently at a high level even at his advanced age and two seasons ago, Lewis had 102 tackles, his most in five years, while adding two sacks and two interceptions. During his career, Lewis has amassed 2,050 tackles, 41.5 sacks, 19 forced fumbles, 31 interceptions and three defensive touchdowns.
The linebacker holds the record for Pro Bowl appearances at his position and was part of the NFL's All-Decade team for the 2000's.
