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  1. #1

    Thumbs up Ravens Fans in San Francisco

    I originally posted this on another site, but after reading Ravenous' excellent thread on what "RAY RAY said" to the fans in SF, i figured i'd post this here for you guys as well.

    - regards, rfd
    ---------------

    Forty Eight die hard fans from Ravens Roost 18 Glen Burnie made it out to the Left Coast in support of our beloved Ravens this past weekend. i humbly submit the following trip report.

    THE VENUE: Monster Park (Candlestick to those of us who abhor the capitalistic corporate name-stealing of our much loved ballparks ) is pretty old and outdated (some might call it a dump ;) ), but it does have some character. The free standing exterior escalators are mounted on angled concrete structures that give a 'flying buttress' effect found on medieval cathedrals in Europe. The bright red 49er logo painted on the sides makes them look pretty cool. They have a really neat fan area that includes a 40' tall football player and a lot of NFL related games in their tailgate lot. The concession areas are probably half as wide as those at M&T and they are constantly jammed. They have some mouthwatering ammenities however, to include Gordon Birsche (sp?) micro brews; featuring a thouroughly enjoyable marsden, and the king of yuppified californication stadium food; french fries absolutely saturated with garlic and garnished with chives. We attended the "49er Alumni Tailgate" as part of our ticket package. This featured an excellent cut of beef called 'Tri Tips' marianated in barbecue sauce, a fine beer selection, and the company of the gorgeous 49er cheerleaders (Woo Hoo!). We have a former Ravens cheerleader in our group and it made for some interesting pics as they practised each others cheers. Their mascot Sourdough Sam, was a bit of a jerk however, shunning several of the Ravens fans even though we dominated the tailgate crowd. I must beg to report that San Fran has the very finest porta-potties in the known World; impeccably clean they come complete with flush toliets and hot running water . After the tailgate, we were seated in the sun baked endzone with the scoreboard directly behind us. The buxom lasses of the 49er cheerleading squad danced merrily before us , accompanied by a small drum corps. From our vantage point, you could see that there are a number of sections that have seating you absolutely want to avoid at all costs. I understand there are a few hundred seats that are at such an angle you can hardly see the field. Others have "obstructed view" seats like old Memorial Stadium, although the columns in Monster park are only about a third as wide as those that used to grace 33rd street. I highly recomend that you check out a few on-line reviews before purchasing tickets here. The better ticket websites will tell you the sections and rows to avoid. As for our seats in the end zone, like all parks it is sometimes difficult to follow the ball and the development of the play. Your depth perception goes awry and you have to check the scoreboard and the big screen often to keep up with what's going on. Still, the ambience of the place is terrific. The throngs of red jersey wearing Forty Niner Faithful stretching out to left and right complimented our solid knot of magnificent purple centered in the middle of the endzone most effectively, and of course nothing beats enjoying a finely aged brew-ha-ha at halftime while looking out over the spectacularly beautiful San Francisco Bay.

    THE GAME: As i said before it's sometimes tough to follow the play from a lower endzone vantage point, but it was highly enjoyable to watch our D make big plays. Our players most definitely knew we were there and exhorted the purple faithful to rise up and be recognized. On one series we did a rousing rendition of the DEE-FENSE chant and the nearby Niners fans chimed in with "SUCKS". On the next play Buddy Lee and Haloti Ngata tossed the SF RB up in the air like a fricking ragdoll lol! A bunch of Ravens fans turned to the Niner fans and hollered "Yeah the D really sucks don't it Hon?!" :D Even though our angle was not the best, a couple of things stood out to me. McGahee is a determined back who seems very adept at getting something out of even the smallest of seams; our D line is plain awesome; and McNair seems to underthrow or overthrow almost everything over 15 yards or thereabouts.

    THE NINERS FANS: Very friendly and accomodating. There were very very few jerks. One of our members said a guy took a swing at him coming out of a restroom for no apparent reason but then quickly disapeared. We got into some good football conversation with quite a few 49er fans and they are generally pretty knowledgeable. Some of them booed us when we did our R-A-V-E-N-S cheers but that's to be expected. After their TD, they showed a lot of spirit with a booming "LET'S GO NINERS!" chant, keyed on by their drum corps. It seemed pretty universal and was very impressive. The noise on Defense however, was in no way up to par with the Vault. We were able to carry on our conversations even on third down, and that is darn near impossible in our house. All in all I'd say the Niners Fans are an excellent bunch and I'd put them right up there with Titans fans as far as hospitality goes.

    THE TOWN: i think it's safe to say that nearly anyone who has been there will tell you that San Fran has to be one of the most beautiful cities in the world, it is that awesome. About 20 of us took the ferry across to Alcatraz on Saturday. The view from the top of the Rock is unbelievable, and as an extra bonus it just happened to be Fleet Week . Against the backdrop of the magnificent SF skyline, huge Navy ships steamed under the Golden Gate bridge into the sailboat filled harbor while the U.S. Navy Blue Angels performed incredible feats of avionic acrobatics in the cloudless blue skies above. It was so freakin' beautiful i am not ashamed to say it brought a tear to my eye. Many Ravens fans were seen at Pier 39 with it's sunbasking sea lions and amongst the Lexington Market-like sidewalk seafood stands of Fishermans Wharf. Many of the fans in our group took cable car rides, watched Dragon dancers in Chinatown, or took wine tasting trips to Sonoma and Napa Valley. Others rented bikes and rode across the Golden Gate, returning by ferry from Sausalito, or took extended day trips to see the Giant Sequoias. All in all it was generally agreed that SF is one of the very best Away Trip destinations and we'd recommend it to anybody. Everyone enjoyed themselves, everyone got home safe, and best of all (even tho it was painfull at times) the Baltimore Ravens won!!!

    GO RAVENS!!!

    Respectfully submitted,
    - Real Fan Dan
    Last edited by Real Fan Dan; 10-10-2007 at 10:37 AM.
    Twenty years of Cheers.
    Thanks Baltimore Ravens Fans - You're the Best!





  2. #2

    Re: Ravens Fans in San Francisco

    AWESOME!! Pretty much one of the top 2 or 3 travel destinations for an away game I can think of!





  3. #3
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Location
    Houston, TX Y'all
    Posts
    34,414

    Re: Ravens Fans in San Francisco

    San Fran blows ....

    I lived there for longer than I care to admit. The people who actually live there (off the tourist paths) are cold, heartless and wacked out of their goards!

    It did warm my heart seeing so much purple in the stands!





  4. #4

    Re: Ravens Fans in San Francisco

    Quote Originally Posted by HoustonRaven View Post
    San Fran blows ....

    I lived there for longer than I care to admit. The people who actually live there (off the tourist paths) are cold, heartless and wacked out of their goards!
    Glad you had a good time.
    Go Ravens! :)
    Twenty years of Cheers.
    Thanks Baltimore Ravens Fans - You're the Best!





  5. #5
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Location
    "Merlin", Hon!
    Posts
    7,947

    Wink Re: Ravens Fans in San Francisco

    A few other items:

    • A good portion of your 48 person contingent swung by our tailgate party early in the morning. We were parked in the first spot - great vantage point (see below). Many familiar faces stopped by - I would guess about 75 stopped by, perhaps 40 visited (some for the entire tailgate party time). I wish I had had more OJ, although the vodka and the snacks & ale stretched out until the end.
    • I was pleasantly surprised at the number of Ravens fans in attendance. Along with the ravenstrips.com, Roost 18, etc groups, and fans like us who travel individually, there were many were local Californians who had emigrated from Baltimore. Not a mass showing like we've seen in Jax, Nashville, or New Orleans, but a good & loud crowd nonetheless. Perhaps a thousand.
    • Did anyone see what led to the female 49r fan passing out & getting hauled away from Section 59 or 61 in the 1st half? Sunstroke? Alcohol? I had initially thought it was a fan-fight by the way that stadium security was shoving a few Ravens fans aside. The 49rs fans laughing about the situation was pathetic. I saw her at half-time in a gurney with an IV in her arm, still lights out.
    • I am sorry that I didn't have my camera ready to catch Ravenous52 working the crowd & the players -- Ray Lewis, Ed Reed, Demetrius Williams, Willis McGahee, Kyle Boller, Kelly Gregg. As luck would have it, the area for the players coming out for postgame fan interaction was a few feet from our tailgating spot. Player after player came out in response to the crowd chanting "Re-e-e-e-e-e-d" and "Buddy Lee, Buddy Lee"-- led by Ravevenous52. Hopefully, he'll send some photos he had taken.
    In a 2003 BBC poll that asked Brits to name the "Greatest American Ever", Mr. T came in fourth, behind ML King (3rd), Abe Lincoln (2nd) and Homer Simpson (1st).





  6. #6

    Re: Ravens Fans in San Francisco

    Mista T, it was a pleasure meeting you and your wife. :)
    I was the guy sporting #33, & i'm a friend of Sports Steve's (but don't hold it against me ;) :D ).
    Twenty years of Cheers.
    Thanks Baltimore Ravens Fans - You're the Best!





  7. #7
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Location
    Cub Hill, MD
    Posts
    8,267

    Re: Ravens Fans in San Francisco

    I want to see pictures!


    WORLD CHAMPIONS 2000 * 2012





  8. #8
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Location
    Tenuous
    Posts
    4,920

    Re: Ravens Fans in San Francisco

    Quote Originally Posted by Mista T View Post
    [*] Did anyone see what led to the female 49r fan passing out & getting hauled away from Section 59 or 61 in the 1st half? Sunstroke? Alcohol? I had initially thought it was a fan-fight by the way that stadium security was shoving a few Ravens fans aside. The 49rs fans laughing about the situation was pathetic. I saw her at half-time in a gurney with an IV in her arm, still lights out.
    Hey I was right there as well. We must have sat pretty close. It looked like the guy she was with was laughing and clapping as she was slouched over in the chair. My wife kept commenting in the people in her row. They seemed to think it was funny...I thought she was dead. She was still out at halftime when they took her down the ramp.









  9. #9

    Re: Ravens Fans in San Francisco

    Hey Ted, I just figured out how to download those pictures from my camera this morning. I'll send them to you today after work.

    Fun, Fun, Fun! (BTW, chicks absolutely go Coo-Coo for Boller-Puffs...)





  10. #10
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
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    in my house
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    135

    Re: Ravens Fans in San Francisco

    Quote Originally Posted by Galen Sevinne View Post
    Hey I was right there as well. We must have sat pretty close. It looked like the guy she was with was laughing and clapping as she was slouched over in the chair. My wife kept commenting in the people in her row. They seemed to think it was funny...I thought she was dead. She was still out at halftime when they took her down the ramp.
    She was a couple of rows down in front of us. She passed out from the booze and lost her cookies all over the seats in front of her.





  11. #11
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Location
    Hoes Heights, Baltimore
    Posts
    65

    Re: Ravens Fans in San Francisco

    Frisco rocks.

    Good food, great wine, and some awesome fans.

    I'll make the trip next round.





  12. #12
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
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    "Merlin", Hon!
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    Re: Ravens Fans in San Francisco

    Quote Originally Posted by CrowMST3k View Post
    I'll make the trip next round.
    That will be in 2015.
    In a 2003 BBC poll that asked Brits to name the "Greatest American Ever", Mr. T came in fourth, behind ML King (3rd), Abe Lincoln (2nd) and Homer Simpson (1st).





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