Born and raised in and around Baltimore. The Colts left when I was 12 and were a laughing stock for years before they left. My father was never into football, so I never really paid much attention to it. I was a huge Orioles fan. I got into football in 7th or 8th grade and was a 49er fan since they were the top team at the time. I never really felt a connection to them though, but I did enjoy watching games. In the early 90s I started betting on games, and you always feel a real connection to whatever team you have money on. I started to really love the game of football and really wanted to have a home team. When the Ravens came, I immediately signed up for season tickets. The only NFL games I had been to before that were Niners games in DC and Pittsburgh. There was nothing like having a home team to pull for. It was better than betting.