Oh, Boston. This time last week, you were a city overflowing with confidence about your professional football team.
So confident, in fact, that a corporate giant in the area decided to post a billboard counting down the minutes until the mighty New England Patriots ended Ray Lewis' career by dispatching the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Championship Game.
It didn't work out that way, of course. Lewis' run will last two more weeks, and it might include one more Lombardi Trophy at Super Bowl XLVII.
Clear Channel -- the billboard owner -- acknowledged its vast underestimation of Lewis and the Ravens in a new message posted Monday morning.
Lewis said after Sunday's win that the initial billboard both bothered and motivated him.
"I was hurt when I saw a sign that actually said my retirement would (start) tonight," Lewis said, via The Boston Globe. "Man can't dictate that. God dictates that."
A twist to the story happened Monday, when a new, tersely-worded billboard was spotted in Baltimore. It reads: "Ray's Retirement Party Moved to Feb. 3. New England Not Invited."
And thus concludes our coverage of outdoor advertising signage.
Follow Dan Hanzus on Twitter @DanHanzus.
