Slighlty OT: Why the Ravens might not have our undivided attention until October

[BcRaven]

TattoohamRaven, the Ravens are always my #1 all year round... Bc

[Tottenham Raven]

And don't get me wrong, the Ravens are still in the drivers seat for me. But as an Ravens/Orioles fan, I'm sure I speak for most when I say I've gotten used to putting the Orioles in the back seat by mid August at the latest. I just think they are going to be in the passenger side right next to the Ravens until mid-October or later.

[Tottenham Raven]

TattoohamRaven, the Ravens are always my #1 all year round... Bc

Understood, and I'm sure most on hear would say the Ravens are #1 for them. And I would say they are for me, though I wouldnt say year round. When the Ravens arent in season my #1 is Tottenham Hotspur of the English Premier League, been a supporter for about 26 years. When the EPL ends my #1 becomes the Orioles. And when I say #1 it means they get the most of my attention when it comes to sports.

But even with the Ravens being your #1 year round, can you honestly say if the Orioles were playing in the Post Season that you would pay no attention to them? Thats all I'm saying. I'm not saying anyone would put the Orioles over the Ravens, I'm just saying the Ravens might not have our undivided attention, which I think would be accurate for the majority of the Ravens fanbase.

[HotInHere]

It always amazes me when this topic comes up how many people consider it an either/or proposition. Like Baltimore has to be a "baseball town" or a "football town." I've never had a conflict, never had a hard time supporting both. One of the best days I remember was watching a Ravens/Steelers game at Memorial Stadium, then jetting downtown for Mike Mussina v Randy Johnson at Camden Yards in the deciding game of the ALDS.

(Of course the Ravens game itself was kind of painful. It was the one where we were kicking Steeler ass at halftime, giving all kinds of shit to Steeler fans in the concourse, only to watch Kordell Stewart bring them back from 24-10 with a long TD run, and the inevitable Vinny implosion.)

[Tottenham Raven]

It always amazes me when this topic comes up how many people consider it an either/or proposition. Like Baltimore has to be a "baseball town" or a "football town." I've never had a conflict, never had a hard time supporting both. One of the best days I remember was watching a Ravens/Steelers game at Memorial Stadium, then jetting downtown for Mike Mussina v Randy Johnson at Camden Yards in the deciding game of the ALDS.

(Of course the Ravens game itself was kind of painful. It was the one where we were kicking Steeler ass at halftime, giving all kinds of shit to Steeler fans in the concourse, only to watch Kordell Stewart bring them back from 24-10 with a long TD run, and the inevitable Vinny implosion.)

I think its just what we've grown accustomed to. A decade and a half of losing paralleled with success of the other sport tends to separate the dedication each fan has to each team/sport. Every city is a fair weather city when it comes to their sports teams. That might ruffles some feathers with some folks, but it is the truth. I think if we can get a winning team out of the Orioles on a consistent basis it will change things, but it took a decade and a half to create what we have now, so it may take a few years of playoff success to change that. But Baltimore is a "football town" that used to be and therefore is more than capable of returning to its roots as a "baseball town".

[HotInHere]

I think its just what we've grown accustomed to. A decade and a half of losing paralleled with success of the other sport tends to separate the dedication each fan has to each team/sport. Every city is a fair weather city when it comes to their sports teams. That might ruffles some feathers with some folks, but it is the truth. I think if we can get a winning team out of the Orioles on a consistent basis it will change things, but it took a decade and a half to create what we have now, so it may take a few years of playoff success to change that. But Baltimore is a "football town" that used to be and therefore is more than capable of returning to its roots as a "baseball town".

This is true. I remember the pre-move Colts playing to half-empty stadiums while "Orioles Magic" was in full swing. Success and failure of teams is the key component. Some cities (Miami, Atlanta, DC) suffer more from fair-weatheredness than others, but it is as true of Baltimore as pretty much anywhere else: if you win it, they will come.

[wickedsolo]

I am excited as anyone about the O's this season, but lets remember we've seen this before -- first half of the season strong, second half a dud.

Just last year, they were 47-36 going into July and tanked the remaining three months.

:word


The bullpen just seems to wear down far too quickly.

[Darksouleyez]

Question for everyone -

(hypothetical of course) you are a Season Ticket holder for the Orioles, Ravens have an away game at the same time O's have a home game on a Sunday afternoon game. Do you stay home and Watch the Ravens or Go to the game?

(Hypothetical again) You are a season ticket holder for the Ravens, O's are away playing the same time (lets say sunday night or thursday night) for a spot to clinch the playoffs or sometime in the playoffs. Do you stay home to watch the O's or go to the Game?

Which one did you think the hardest on before you made the decision?

[AirFlacco]

Why? Because the Orioles are looking about as legitimate as they have since 1997. With Davis, Machado and Hardy all starting to hit, this team will put up runs. Steve Pearce and Nelson Cruz have very nice surprises and I think we could still make a move before the trade deadline whether it be pitching or a guy like Chase Utley. Bud Norris is back and with Gausman looking the real deal, the starting rotation can certainly matchup with the best of them. Nine games above .500 and the season is more than halfway complete. 5 more games until the All Star Break with 3 being against the Yanks. The Yanks are already 4 games out of first, if the Orioles can take the series 2 out of 3 or even sweep them, it could be a two horse race between the Jays and the O's for the division. Normally this time of year I'm extremely excited about training camp approaching, but my eyes are all on the O's.

Ravens will always have our un-divided attention. The guys posting on message boards and calling radio shows are the hardest of the hard core Ravens fans. They want Ravens talk 24x7.

Baltimore has always been a football town first. There were tons of empty seats during the O's glory years til they moved down town and sold out until DC got a team. Even now they have about 1.5M and could reach 3M fans if they make the POs which they seem to be making.

Buck has given Baltimore two pro teams again and something to hope for in baseball. Petey has had a good front office with the past 2 GMs.

Take their 3rd basemen. Ray Knight the Nats analyst said the other night he has the strongest arm in the league making throws from the out field grass. I believe he came up thru the system.

Knight also said that the O's are the hottest hitting team in the league right now and what would we be without Cruz and all those
HRs. Another great move by the front office.

But the Ravens will never be w/o our undivided attention. Never.

[AirFlacco]

Question for everyone -

(hypothetical of course) you are a Season Ticket holder for the Orioles, Ravens have an away game at the same time O's have a home game on a Sunday afternoon game. Do you stay home and Watch the Ravens or Go to the game?

Easy. I watch the Ravens on my 60'' wide screen with bose surround surround system.
I never miss a Ravens game. There was a poll taken years ago where like over 90% of the people said they'd rather watch a pre-season NFL game than the 7th game of the world series.

(Hypothetical again) You are a season ticket holder for the Ravens, O's are away playing the same time (lets say sunday night or thursday night) for a spot to clinch the playoffs or sometime in the playoffs. Do you stay home to watch the O's or go to the Game?

Which one did you think the hardest on before you made the decision?

Never miss a Ravens game at home or on TV.

[AirFlacco]

It's baseball. A regular season NFL game will attract more viewers and attention than a playoff MLB game.

An NFL pre-season game will attract more viewers than the 7th game of the world series
according to a poll a few years ago.

HARRIS POLL: NFL more popular than MLB for 30th straight year by 35-14%.

______________________________________
In 2014, 35 percent of fans call the NFL their favorite sport, followed by Major League Baseball (14 percent), college football (11 percent), auto racing (7 percent), the NBA (6 percent), the NHL (5 percent) and college basketball (3 percent).
______________________________________






http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/10...opular-mlb-2nd

[Ravenswintitle]

It warms my heart to see the O's in first place and Boston in last place. It could change tomorrow but it's sweet today ;)