What's the story of why you're a Baltimore Ravens fan?

[bacchys]

I was born and raised a Colts fan. Johnny U. was a god and Bert Jones was the Second Coming.

They snuck out of town on my sixteenth birthday. I've hated them ever since.

I'm one of the few old Colts fans who rooted for the Redskins afterwards. My mother's from the D.C. area, and her family is all 'Skins fans, so it wasn't as hard a switch for me as it was for most. I remained a 'Skins fan even after the Ravens moved to B'more, though I certainly wished the new B'more team well. Dan Snyder is such an asshole weasel, however, that it didn't take long for me to prefer the Ravens over the Redskins after he bought the team. I think it was about two weeks...

[TheOrioleWay]

[QUOTE=RavensNest;589266]Ironically, I now live in Cincinnati and STILL hate their football fans. Everyday I'm reminded that I made the correct choice. QUOTE]

Ravens Nest: What part of Cincitucky do you live in?? I'm in White Oak. We should hook up with CincyCat for a game or at least a tailgate.

I'm from DC area and should be a 'Skins fan, but always rooted for the Colts and O's and took a lot of shit for it. Still hurts to think about the horror of 1969 and then the glory 2 championships the next year.

Will never forget my first O's game against the Senators at RFK stadium; Frank Robinson hit TWO Grand Slams, both balls traveling right over my head.

Moved to Cincinnati for college in '74 and suffered there when the Colts left. Got Bengals season tickets in the meantime, more for a social thing than anything else, I almost never sat in them. Joyfully cancelled them when the Ravens arrived.

Don't get to many Ravens games, but I retire June 1 and hope I can get east and snag a ticket at least a couple of times a year. We have a beachfront condo in OC on 29th St. and try to get a few O's games in while we're there for the summer.

For 10 years, I would drag my kids to Training Camp, which used to be 20 minutes from my Mom's house, and bribe them with candy, etc. for autographs. My wife worked with Harbaugh when he was an Asst. coach at UC and a friend of mine was his next door neighbor and they're still close friends. Between these 2 connections, they got me & the kids a Family/Friends pass and we were on the field for practice, got some great autographs (I accidentally walked in on the team breakfast when I was picking the passes up at the hotel!).

It's rough rooting from out of town, but am currently getting a lot of jealous looks as I parade around in SB champs gear!

So the year pretty much revolves around following Ravens, O's Terps and also DeMatha Stags!!!!!!!

[Raven Rick]

I grew up in Baltimore County. My parents are from Canada, so they were hockey fans. I got hockey sticks and hockey skates at Christmas. Kids in my neighborhood were signing up to play football, but I was a year too young (3rd or 4th grade). One of my friends told me the rec council needed more players and were taking kids a year younger. So I bugged my parents until they brought me up to the preseason athletic training at the school field. I ended up being one of the smallest kids on any of the teams. I already had learned about football from watching the Colts on TV and listening to their games on the radio. I loved tackling kids that were bigger than me after I was told that my pads and helmet would protect me from any serious injury. I still have pictures of Johnny Unitas and other Colts that the players autographed at our annual football banquets. I remember Ameche's burger joint drive-in at the southwest corner of Taylor Avenue and Loch Raven Blvd. Football is the greatest game. Jump forward, I mourned the loss of the Colts even though they were no longer the great team of my youth. When the mourning ended with a new team called the Ravens, it never occurred to me that their was a choice to make. I had buried the Colts on that fateful morning when everyone learned the team had been snuck out of town in Mayflowers moving trucks. I was automatically one of the biggest fans of the Ravens. Art Modell, what a class act? I love that guy! He did the right thing and left the Brown's name and memorabilia in Cleveland where it belongs. If was painful when we lost to the Patriots at the last minute last season, but somehow I knew the 2012-13 season was going to be our year. I went to watch the Ravens' preseason practice at M&T Stadium. I saw this young kicker who was booting field goals from ten yards further back than Cundiff. WOW There was this lanky guy catching punts named Jacoby Jones. He ran like a gazelle. OMG Then I saw Jacoby catching passes from our boy Joe Flacco. Our receiving core would be unbeatable. Flacco looked really good! I told my friend Richard while we watched the practice that the Ravens were definitely winning the Super Bowl this year. The only thing I kept complaining about all year was Cam Cameron. Thank you whoever forced the change in offensive coordinators (hint, Steve Biscotti, a great owner). I have coached girls lacrosse for 15 years and could easily see how discouraged the Ravens players would get with Cam's play calling. It was ridiculous. I anxiously watched every game this season. The only thing I missed was the public practice in Annapolis. I love football, and I love the Ravens. Football has been in my blood since I was a kid. My mother is a great Ravens Fan, also. She always has questions for me after their games. She called me at work to tell me that Cameron was being replaced when the news broke!!

[Purpleguy]

This is kind of cool to see the development of the fan base. A lot of us on this forum are true die hards and had season tix out of the gate. The most fun I've ever had at a game was sitting in Memorial Stadium in the freezing rain and watching the Testeverde led Ravens beat the Steelers when their fans outnumbered us by about 4-1. It's cool to see that some of you were just kids when we won that first Superbowl and that made you die-hard fans. Think of all of the kids that are going to jump on after this Superbowl. Nothing builds a fan base like winning Championships.

[Dark&Stormy]

Was a Colts fan and really latched on during the Bert Jones- Lydell Mitchell years. I was crushed in '84 when they left. They were so bad they were easy to let go, and I was extremely pissed- off. Put up with NFL Purgatory for 12 years. When Ravens arrived there was never any doubt. Caught my first game vs. Patriots in '96. Hooked ever since. Oh, and yeah, I'm a Baltimore guy.

[Tolucaraven]

WOW. That's an amazing thing, to know you grew up in the house Johnny U called home when he was in his prime!

I kinda of is. My father tore down a huge trophy case Unitas had in the living room because it took up so much room. It was the first house Unitas bought when he moved to Baltimore fulltime and purchased it in 1957. I have pictures from books and references of Johnny shown in the house. My neighbors would tell me how nice Johnny was to to EVERYONE. He used to throw with his kids and neighborhood kids in the backyard. He addressed everyone by calling them Mr. also. So many Colts lived in Campus Hills at that time, Marchetti and Shula and alot of others as well. I loved the neighbors old stories about Johnny and how humble he was. I remember a neighbor telling after he won a championship he won a sports car but traded it in for a station wagon. It's pretty cool to cut the same lawn Johnny would cut when I find I am not enjoying it. I dont know if I can ever sell it, it has a lot of sentimental value and was the house I was born in. Ironically my father wouldnt let me play football even though I could of been a QB and could throw a football accurately for 55 yards, he didnt want me getting hurt, I wasnt big enough in his opinion at 6'1" but lanky. I still can heave it 50 yards today. If anyone wants to visit it message me and they can come over and I can take thier picture outside of it. I am in LA now, but have a house sitter living in it and my sister stays thier as well. I love reading everyone elses stories, I am proud of all the Colt and Ravens fans and fascinated by everyones stories on how they became fans. Every summer was spent a few minutes away from the Colts practices at Goucher college and running through the woods or riding our bikes and hanging out with the Colts before they left. Bert Jones was my hero, real nice guy, so was Randy McMillan they used to steal my bike and ride it around and hide it from me. Those new Colts would remember every kids name in the neighborhood and play catch with us between practice. I wish our kids today could get that same daily contact we enjoyed growing up. Those were the best days of my life.

[jonboy79]

Born and raised in Northern Vermont, technically closer to Montreal teams, but we aren't Candadians, so around there we are all Red Sox, Celtics, Bruins Pats fans...

Well fast forward to Drew Bledsoe getting injured and being replaced by a butt chinned, limp armed wimpy pest named Tom Brady. The coaches abandoned the deep passing game and ran the ball over and over and occassionally allowed brady to do extended handoffs(but never down the field or outside the hashes). THey start winning consistantly. Bledsoe is back healthy, and with the newly found running game should have had great success, but they stick with the wimp. BY the time they make the SB, I'm rooting for St Louis and against the local favorite Pats because they "did Drew Wrong". They win to my dismay, and Drew is shipped to Buffalo, whom I become a fan of for 1 year. They sucked and I moved to Baltimore summer of '02. Needless to say, i was basically an orphan with no team, and we have a local team. Been a die-hard Ravens fan ever since... was on the Boller side of the Boller/Radio arguments and couldn't be happier tha twe now have JOe FLacco and the consistant success that accompanies him.


And FWIW, s wrong as I could possibly havebeen about Brady, I still attribute much of his success to the VERY obvious(IMO) use of PED's(most likely HGH) after his rise to fame following his 2nd SB. He came back the following year withDRASTICALLY increased velocity on his passes, MUCH bigger frame, and even to me, an obviously larger melon, a thing pointed to by many Barry Bonds detractors. Yet for some reason, Brady is never questioned, while, IMO it's as obvious or more so then Clemens/Bonds.

[Bigfish]

I grew up in Maryland closer to DC than to Baltimore. Nevertheless, I have always been a fan of the Colts and Orioles and especially idolized Johnny U. I became a fan as soon as I was old enough to care, around 63 or 64. As a little kid I can remember seeing John Mackey, Johnny U and a few other players when they made appearances. Now that I think about it, I wish I had asked my mother where we were when that happened. My entire family were Redskin fans but I never swayed in my support for the Colts. A childhood friend was the only other fan I knew and it was always a challenge to find a black and white TV to steer the rabbit ears towards the Baltimore broadcast. When I was a young adult I was a season ticket holder in the Bert Jones era and was crushed when the Colts left town. During the dark years my interest in football was as low as it's been in my lifetime. As soon as the Ravens arrived in Baltimore I latched onto them immediately.

[Tolucaraven]

Born and raised in Northern Vermont, technically closer to Montreal teams, but we aren't Candadians, so around there we are all Red Sox, Celtics, Bruins Pats fans...

Well fast forward to Drew Bledsoe getting injured and being replaced by a butt chinned, limp armed wimpy pest named Tom Brady. The coaches abandoned the deep passing game and ran the ball over and over and occassionally allowed brady to do extended handoffs(but never down the field or outside the hashes). THey start winning consistantly. Bledsoe is back healthy, and with the newly found running game should have had great success, but they stick with the wimp. BY the time they make the SB, I'm rooting for St Louis and against the local favorite Pats because they "did Drew Wrong". They win to my dismay, and Drew is shipped to Buffalo, whom I become a fan of for 1 year. They sucked and I moved to Baltimore summer of '02. Needless to say, i was basically an orphan with no team, and we have a local team. Been a die-hard Ravens fan ever since... was on the Boller side of the Boller/Radio arguments and couldn't be happier tha twe now have JOe FLacco and the consistant success that accompanies him.


And FWIW, s wrong as I could possibly havebeen about Brady, I still attribute much of his success to the VERY obvious(IMO) use of PED's(most likely HGH) after his rise to fame following his 2nd SB. He came back the following year withDRASTICALLY increased velocity on his passes, MUCH bigger frame, and even to me, an obviously larger melon, a thing pointed to by many Barry Bonds detractors. Yet for some reason, Brady is never questioned, while, IMO it's as obvious or more so then Clemens/Bonds.

Interesting Brady theory, I wouldn't doubt it. We know he got hairstransplants for sure though, look at his hair now and 12 years ago, he was balding bigtime getting very thin.

[GOTA]

I'm from New York but I've never been one to root for the home team. I always been a pain in the ass like that. I wanted to see something more. Growing up the team that really stood out was the Cincinnati Bengals. That may seem like an odd choice to many but in the late 70s Bill Walsh was the OC and they were running the very first west coast offense. I never saw a QB complete pass after pass like Ken Anderson. That style continued through the 80's until the legendary Paul Brown died and his moron son Mike Brown took over. By the mid-90s SoP, Son of Paul as he was called, had ruined NFL football for me. Every year we knew the team had no shot and never would as long as Mike Brown owned them. I had done the one thing a fan should never do and had given up on my team but since my team had given up on the fans years earlier I really didn't care.

It was very easy to get Jets tickets back then and we would go to a lot of their games. In 1997 the Ravens came in early in the season in a crazy rainstorm. The lower deck of the Meadowlands was completely flooded but the game was awesome. Both teams slugged it out to overtime where the Jets finally one. Later Parcells would say that was the game that made him decide to sign Vinny once he hit the free agent market. I loved watching the Ravens play their asses off that game. I also loved everything about the passion of the Baltimore fans. Everyone made the Ravens out to be evil. Modell was Darth Vader to the rest of the league but they didn't care about any of that in Baltimore. They just loved their team and Modell in turn did everything he could to give them the best team he could. It was obvious even on those early teams.

That's what I wanted to be a part of. My friends all thought I was nuts. NFL fans were supposed to hate the Ravens. The media told us that every night. Why would anyone want to become part of that? I told them at least no one would consider me to be a bandwagon fan because outside of Baltimore there was zero bandwagon to even jump on. In just a couple of years Art put a ton of money into free agents and a hired Billick who I absolutely loved at the time. The Ravens always gave their all to the fans and I never looked back and my love of NFL football returned and grew bigger than it ever was in the past.

[Loco Ravens Fan]

Born and raised in Baltimore.
1966-1983: Colts fan.
1984-1995: Watched maybe a total of 5 NFL games on TV, per year.
1996-present: Ravens fan.

This story is a lot like mine. I am a little older, so a Colts fan from 1960 until they were stolen from Baltimore. I live in Howard County and wrote many letters to keep Jack Kent Cook from building his stadium in Laurel! Although I worked in the DC area when we had no team, I never ever rooted for the Redskins even when co workers kept telling me Baltimore would never get an NFL team again. Baltimore's expansion offers were unfairly turned down and I began hating the NFL UNTIL... the news broke about the Cleveland Browns coming to Baltimore. My family and I have had season tickets since 1996 and like many went down for Super Bowl 35 but didn't get in. For Super Bowl 47 unless we had a ticket in hand we were not going down, so we bought tickets from a private ticket broker that included going on a charter flight down to New Orleans. Our Super Bowl win was one of the happiest days of my life! GO RAVENS!

[JohnBKistler]

I loved watching the Ravens play their asses off that game. I also loved everything about the passion of the Baltimore fans. Everyone made the Ravens out to be evil. Modell was Darth Vader to the rest of the league but they didn't care about any of that in Baltimore. They just loved their team and Modell in turn did everything he could to give them the best team he could. It was obvious even on those early teams.

That's what I wanted to be a part of. My friends all thought I was nuts. NFL fans were supposed to hate the Ravens. The media told us that every night. Why would anyone want to become part of that? I told them at least no one would consider me to be a bandwagon fan because outside of Baltimore there was zero bandwagon to even jump on. In just a couple of years Art put a ton of money into free agents and a hired Billick who I absolutely loved at the time. The Ravens always gave their all to the fans and I never looked back and my love of NFL football returned and grew bigger than it ever was in the past.

For the relatively newer Ravens fans, it is hard to describe to them how really hard it was to be a Ravens fans back in those early days. And you are right...there was out-and-out hostility towards them by fans around the league, by the national media, and (probably) by some in the league offices.

That is why, as much as this last championship was about love for a team by a city, that first one was just sweet, sweet revenge for all the shit you took for having the nerve to be a Ravens fan.