Okay, there’s no literal connection. And Baltimore Ravens defensive tackles Kelly Gregg and Justin Banaan probably couldn’t get you a toe if you gave them 30 minutes. But the fact that those two represent 600-plus pounds of Big Lebowski fandom is just one of the surprising revelations contained in this Baltimore Sun piece by Edward Lee discussing the movie-watching preferences of the Baltimore Ravens. And yes, it is now officially Movie Day at CSTB.



The film that earned the most votes from the players…was a comedy from 1988 that chronicled the great pains a pampered African prince took to travel to America to find a wife.

Coming to America – Eddie Murphy’s seventh film, which featured an ensemble cast including Arsenio Hall, James Earl Jones and ER’s Eriq La Salle – was endorsed by wide receivers Mark Clayton and Devard Darling, return specialist B.J. Sams and (fullback Nick) Luchey.

“I can watch Coming to America over and over again,” said Clayton, who estimated that he has seen the movie at least 20 times. “It’s just funny. There are scenes that I laugh at all of the time.”

Not totally surprising, I guess. Even less surprising being the fact that Samari Rolle claims to have watched Scarface “at least 500 times.” (What he likes most about the lead character: “just his grind”) More surprising were some of the films only to receive one vote in the team’s poll:

Other notable nominations included Just Cause (linebacker Ray Lewis), Troy (running back Jamal Lewis), The Five Heartbeats (free safety Ed Reed), Ocean’s Eleven (linebacker Terrell Suggs), Slingblade (linebacker Adalius Thomas), Of Mice and Men (linebacker Bart Scott) and Reservoir Dogs (defensive end Trevor Pryce).

Even if you factor in the ultra-junky Just Cause (“simply an exercise in plot manipulation!,” raves Roger Ebert), that’s a pretty film-literate linebacking corps the Ravens have put together. Which is not a shocker, considering their coach’s experience as on-screen “talent.” Thank you to Brendan Flynn for the link.