New Orleans, LA

Baltimore Ravens Qaurterback Joe Flacco talked to the media on day one of Super Bowl XLVII media day

Super Bowl XLVII -- Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Quotes From Baltimore Ravens Media Session -- Quarterback Joe Flacco

On disagreeing with the Super Bowl location for next year:

"I think it's obvious reasons. They've done it the way they've been doing it for 47 years. There's a lot that goes into this game, more than just playing the game: it's about the fans and it's about the players that played for the right to get there. There are a lot of things that go into it and it's just kind of a crazy decision, I believe."

On all of the media presence:

"You kind of just try to avoid it and ignore it as much as you can, but obviously that's hard to do with all the media hype that surrounds this football game. You kind of just have to take it in and enjoy it and realize that it's a pretty cool situation that you're in."

On his hometown:

"I think a lot of people's personality is shaped from where they are from and what kind of environment they grew up in. It is a very small town, very tight knit group. I think it just makes you proud and I hope we can go out there and represent them well."

On his high school:

"There are a lot of positives. I think you develop a lot of relationships that you're able to take with you throughout time. I think that's what has happened."

On LB Ray Lewis' pregame ritual:

"He has the craziest ritual. I'm trying to think of all the guys that do stuff. I try not to pay attention to it but you have Terrell Suggs, you have Jacoby Jones on our team, you have Ray Lewis. You have a bunch of really fun personalities so they kind of all do their thing. I just kind of sit there and wait for the game to get going."

On if he plays worse in domes:

"I don't think so. I mean .500? Is that all I've played in domes? Five years and only six games in domes, that's pretty crazy. The truth of the matter is when I get in here and start throwing the ball around you really get kind of excited about it just because you can tell the difference. The ball really goes in here and there are no real elements to deal with. I haven't really thought too much about it."

On playing on turf:

"Our home stadium is on turf. I know we're outside but I think we have some fast guys. I don't know who it lends better to but I think we play well on this surface."

On teachers influencing him:

"There's a bunch of people along the way. I think the grade school teachers are the ones who are around you the longest and that you probably remember the most."

On being in New Orleans:

"This is the first time I've ever been here so it's pretty cool. It seems like a very fun time. It's not the biggest the city so it seems like you can kind of go out and hang out and have a good time with a bunch of people you know. I was walking around the city for a little bit last night just to kind of get a feel for it and it seemed pretty cool. Most places I would assume you go out on a Monday night and just walk around it's pretty quiet, pretty dead and parts of the city were like that but other parts of the city it didn't seem too much like a Monday night, it could have been a weekend night. It's kind of crazy to think about what this place might be like on the weekend."

On if he believes he's considered elite:

"I don't really care. To be honest with you it's kind of a crazy question, it's weird to answer. I'm just going to let my play speak for itself. I don't know if it's answered it or not, it's really not my job to concern myself with that. You guys can all talk about that. If we come out here and play the game the way we should and the way we can then I don't care and I don't think anyone else is going to care. We're going to be feeling pretty good about ourselves and what we accomplished."

On if he's going to run the shotgun offense:

"I'm not ready to run any of that. You can leave that to the 49ers and our guys trying to stop it."

On if last season still haunts him:

"Not at all. I put that behind me once the offseason was over. Even the offseason when we were talking about things like that it was all good stuff and it wasn't really anything I was concerned about. I've been able to go out there and just play and not really worry about that."

On if being called dull bothers him:

"No. People have been telling me that my dad was quoted as calling me that. I think the bottom line is I think he takes it as a compliment because I believe that it probably means I'm going out there and carrying myself in a good manner and not giving anybody a reason to maybe like me or dislike me. Either way, I don't really concern myself with that. It's all good with me."

On how he would describe himself:

"I don't know if I would say I'm dull but I'm probably close to it."

On his head coach:

"I think John (Harbaugh:

does a great job of walking the line between being that very intense guy and also allowing us to go out there and play the way we played very well, which is a loose-type setting. He has a lot trust in us that we are going to go out there and work hard. That takes a lot as a head coach because you always want to be so hands on and you want to have your impact on the team. To be able to let us go out there and trust us, even though we're a loose-type of team. The fact that he trusts us to go out there and get it done and then turn it over to us on game day, that's takes a lot."

On if he has any tattoos:

"No, no tattoos."

On the rough patch during the season:

"What I said about the loss is I think everybody will try to make it out like we are 0-14. It's kind of crazy. We lost those three games there and a couple of them were really tight games. The Denver one wasn't, but the others were. I don't think we were playing bad in those games. I think, after those games were over, we got to a point where people were getting back and getting healthy, and we were getting our whole team together. Now, we just kind of hit that stride and we're getting better and better each week."

On the Denver playoff game:

"There's really no real way to explain it. It was an incredible game to be a part of. I think both sides played really hard and it turned out in a crazy way. I think we played well enough to win the game. I don't know if it will ever happen again that way but we're glad it happened that way that game."

On what he expects on game day:

"I have no idea. I assume it's going to be pretty cool. Some of the things that we've done leading up to this point you start to get goose bumps just thinking about it. When the day comes that we run out here and get ready to play I assume it's going to be pretty darn cool."

On being nervous before the game:

"I'm sure there will be a little bit of that. That's part of coming out and playing in this type of environment. I think most of our guys haven't played in the Super Bowl before. We've played in some big games but nothing quite like this, so it will be interesting to see how we'll react. I think we have the kind of team, and I think I'm the kind of person, that will handle that pretty well, but you never know until you're put in that situation. I hope that we all just kind of get good, positive feelings from it and it brings our confidence level even higher and we just go out there and play."

On the people that said they couldn't get to the Super Bowl:

"We have a good football team. I don't really care if people said bad things or not. It's what is going to happen, it's part of being a quarterback: you're going to get talked badly about and you're going to be put in a good light. You just have to take it for what it is."

On if the naysayers motivated him:

"I think there is definitely a part of all of us that hear things and when somebody doubts what you want to do, you definitely go show them that they may be wrong. I think for the most part we play for each other and that stuff is kind of a secondary issue."

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