The Super Bowl is less than two weeks away, and no the Rams are not in it this year, but the reason every citizen of St Louis County should watch, lies solely with one man, Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis.

When hearing the name, most people think back to the beginning of the new millennium when Lewis was being tried along with two other men on the count of murder and aggravated assault. Lewis, who has inspired so many, was facing serious prison time just 13 years ago.

Then there are the people who worship this “God Father of the NFL.” Lewis is looked up to not only by all of his teammates, but most of the players around the NFL as well.

After defeating the Denver Broncos in the first round of the playoffs this year, losing quarterback Peyton Manning, along with his family, took the time to wait for Lewis to finish his post-game conference just so they could talk with him. One of the best quarterbacks of all time went to go talk to the man who was trying to sack him the whole game. The respect for Lewis is that insane.

It’s hard to believe that a man possibly linked to murder in his past could serve as such a role model to so many people, but once you hear the other stories of Lewis–the ones that didn’t involve him standing in front of a judge—you’ll learn to forgive and believe in him.

James Lippitt, a high school teacher in Las Vegas, grew up in Baltimore with a love, he shared with his son, of the Ravens and especially Lewis. Lippitt’s son, Jeffrey was involved in a car crash that slipped his 20 year old sister into a coma. As you could imagine, Jeffrey was inconsolable.

James decided to shoot the Ravens organization an email discussing his story and asking for help. Within an hour and a half, a spokesman for the Ravens called up James and said Lewis wanted to meet with Jeffrey.

Lewis told him that it was time to be the big brother now, to lean on God and God would be there for him. Jeffrey’s sister is in a “persistent vegetative state” and whenever he gets sad, he looks directly to his I-Phone where the words of advice Lewis gave him are saved.

Stories such as this seem to be a common thing with Lewis who deserves to be remembered as a role model rather than a convict. The Super Bowl will be Lewis’ last page of his story on the field, however he will continue to have many off of it.