Baltimore Benefits From Ravens’ Success

The Baltimore Ravens have worked hard all year to earn a spot in the NFL playoffs as one of the top-seeded teams.  The motivation was to secure home-field advantage. The Ravens fell one game shy of home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, but they did earn a first round bye and a home game against the Houston Texans in the Divisional Round of the playoffs this coming weekend.  For the Ravens, a home game means an advantage on the field, but for the city and state it means dollars being pumped into the local economy.

No Holiday Hangover in Baltimore

The holiday season offers many things to be thankful for and celebrate: family, friends, health, presents and copious amounts of food.  Oh, and football playoffs!  To properly ring in the New Year, the Ravens clinched a home playoff spot New Year’s Day by defeating the Cincinnati Bengals. 

Coming Home to Roost

Yes, it was a treat for the football-hungry fans, still in semi-withdrawal and faint without fantasy.  But imagine the players, taking the field for practice, being greeted with this:  more than 24,000 energetic supporters, eager for the first look at their heroes, on a hot Saturday morning in August.

The View OF Bin 400

While I sometimes write about the view from Bin 400, Warehouse B,  (which is much quieter and more pleasant since the jackhammers moved on) this is the first time you get to see a view of  Bin 400. 

The 3 x 5 foot tribute went up last night during the snow storm.  It glows in the dark, thanks to a black light and custom mixed Day Glo paint.  (I didn’t go through the 60′s for nothing.)

This exercise was more fun than painting psychodelic designs on my dorm room walls.  (and I don’t have to forfeit a security deposit, either)

You’ll see signs of appreciation for our field general and his troops all around the Baltimore area this week.  The fans are psyched, and supremely proud of the home team.  Purple passion is everywhere.  And hopefully it will keep us in the game all the way to Dallas.

In Pursuit of Purple Passion

Other than Anne Boleyn, I don’t know anyone who dreaded a trip to the tower more than this acrophobe. But with the Ravens in the playoff hunt, Camden Yards needs to put on our brightest purple face.  Or faces.

That’s right — when the sun goes down tonight, the clock tower of Camden Station will be beaming purple in all four directions.

This is the third straight year we’ve made the trip to the tower, armed with violet gels, and this is the highest I’ve ever made it.  Admittedly, the hatch on the roof is a sissy place to stop, but it did give me a good vantage point to snap our electricians as they made their way to the clock tower. 

(Special thanks to Ray Winfrey, on the left, and Donendo Bryant on the right. John Waters, who led the mission, is already scaling up the inside.)

Yesterday was Paint the Town Purple Day, and the most visible sign is this Ravens logo on War Memorial Plaza at City Hall.  This year, Ravens fans went on a stealth recon mission, hitting the streets of Baltimore under the cover of darkness to spray washable lavender chalk paint onto Raven head stencils with WIN  — What’s Important Now — in black under them.

(Lest you think we are encouraging tagging, fear not. This graffiti is legit because the chalk washes off in the rain.)

So join in the fun and mark your territory for the home team.

These stencils and supplies are available for $10 through the Ravens Store at the Sports Legends Museum, where you can get Ravens gear and other spirit merchandise.

You won’t have any trouble finding Sports Legends Museum here at Camden Yards.  Just look for the clock tower with the four purple faces as your beacon.

 

No Reindeer Required

You never know what you’re going to see on Ravens Walk.  As the band filed through the festive crowd yesterday, one of the Saints fans said it reminded him of Mardi Gras.

But this little trinket, wrapped nicely with a Christmas bow, didn’t look like anything you’d see on Bourbon Street.  More than a few onlookers said they’d like to find it under their tree.

While that probably isn’t possible, there is always the next best thing — tickets to the 2011 Baltimore Grand Prix.  Which is just what this vendor was encouraging fans to do.

After so many weeks of behind the scenes activity, the Labor Day event is all over the airwaves now that tickets are available.  Folks streaming across the construction on Lee Street could see how the work is incorporated into the race by studying the exhibit on display with the car.

With these visuals, the layout is easier to understand.  Instead of a mere concept, the event is a reality — and coming soon to Camden Yards.

It was only a few months ago we were gathered at the Convention Center for the official announcement of the race.  Now, you can hear the buzz all over town (not to mention the din under Bin 400)  If you haven’t reserved your tickets, now is a good time to do so.   The good seats are going fast.

As our friends on Ravens Walk reminded us — tickets make a great gift idea.  And they’re easy to wrap (or stuff in a stocking.)