Tony Siragusa and the 2000 Ravens' personalities make 'Bullies of Baltimore' work

The Baltimore Ravens of 2000 have plenty going for them as the subject of an ESPN documentary — complete with colorful personalities from top to bottom, a historically elite defense and their Super Bowl XXXV blowout of the Giants.

But “Bullies of Baltimore,” which premieres on Sunday, comes with an added layer of poignancy because of the unexpected death of one of its stars.

Tony Siragusa died in his sleep last June 22 at the age of 55, only a month after being interviewed for the documentary and appearing on stage for a reunion of former Ravens.

The knowledge that the vibrant, hilarious Siragusa seen in the film had so little time left makes for a stark viewing experience.

But for those who worked on the film and got to know Siragusa, it was even more jarring emotionally.

Director Ken Rodgers called it bittersweet. “When we watched the footage following his passing, we expected it to be uncomfortable,” he told Newsday. “What actually happened is his presence on the stage became an elegy for him and his life and his way of living.

“When we rewatched it after his passing, there was this sense of laughter mixed with tears. All of a sudden those incredible stories and the full life force that was Tony had a tinge of sadness to it.”

The filmmakers considered whether to reveal Siragusa’s death at the end of the film, knowing that not everyone watching would be aware of it. They chose to begin at his funeral.

“He embraced that night up on stage like he embraced everything,” Rodgers said. “We felt like showing it as it happened, framing the film with the knowledge that this person who you’re watching is no longer here, would make it even funnier and more meaningful.”

Among the documentary’s amusing moments is Siragusa’s account of the $10,000 fine he got for driving the Raiders’ Rich Gannon into the turf in the AFC Championship Game on Jan. 14, 2001, a fine he blamed on Phil Simms for criticizing him on the air.

Before the Super Bowl, Siragusa had to be persuaded to attend CBS’ production meeting that included Simms. When Siragusa finally did show up, he immediately confronted Simms.

“Well, Phil was building a house,” Siragusa says in the film. “Phil [lives in] New Jersey and I’m from New Jersey and I told Phil Simms, I said, ‘Listen, you [bleep]. You cost me $10,000. I know you’re putting new landscaping in your house. When you see all your plants dug up, they’ll be over at my house — $10,000 worth.’

“Straightened his [butt] right out. He turned whiter than he normally was.”

Siragusa and tight end Shannon Sharpe are the film’s comedic stars, but the cast of characters from that team is long, including trash-talking coach Brian Billick and fierce linebacker Ray Lewis.

The 2000 Ravens had a notoriously awful offense for a championship team, in one stretch failing to score a touchdown in five consecutive games.

But their defense was nearly impenetrable. In 15 of their 20 games, they gave up 10 or fewer points, including the 34-7 rout of the Giants in the Super Bowl — and those seven points came on a kickoff return.

But it is the personalities that make the film work.

“Sometimes you have the story and not the juice, or the entertainment factor,” Rodgers said. “I didn’t have to worry about that this time. Everyone on stage we knew was going to be great on camera and enjoy themselves.

“When they’re together, you can just sense it. You feel the friendship, you feel the humor, the inside jokes, the respect. We didn’t really have to do much to show what they mean to each other.”

If those Ravens had won more than one title, Rodgers wonders if their coach’s leadership style would have rubbed off on others. But come the next season, Bill Belichick’s Patriots were champions, and . . . well, that began a different era of coaching style.

“Everything changed,” Rodgers said.

About that Giants game . . .

Even after the Giants crushed the Vikings, 41-0, in the NFC Championship Game, Ravens defensive coaches watched that film and sensed they would be fine. They say so colorfully in the film.

Sure enough, it was no contest. The Ravens are shown watching that Super Bowl together two decades later, but there is relatively little footage from the game included in “Bullies of Baltimore.”

Why?

“There wasn’t a lack of confidence [on the Giants’ part], but it was that bully attitude that this film is all about that set the two teams apart in my mind, and that’s what we wanted to focus on,” Rodgers said.

“It’s not about this matchup, or the coverages. It was more about from the very start, one thing decided this game, and it was the bullies of Baltimore were ready to fight a lot harder than the Giants.”

The next summer, those Ravens were featured in the first season of HBO’s “Hard Knocks,” further adding to their lore.

Will all this be difficult to take for Giants fans and those of Ravens divisional rivals such as the Steelers, Ravens and Browns?

“I understand there will be a good portion of fans who hate-watch this,” Rodgers said.

He is fine with that. As long as they watch.

By Neil Best

neil.best@newsday.com@sportswatch

Neil Best first worked at Newsday in 1982, returned in 1985 after a detour to Alaska and has been here since, specializing in high schools, college basketball, the NFL and most recently sports media and business.