Well, I just returned from Tennessee where the Baltimore Ravens WON their playoff game — and have advanced in the playoffs.

What I was BOWLED over by, AMAZED by, AND PROUD OF, was the number of Ravens fans who traveled for the game! The pre-game rally that WNST 1570 held at Nashville’s Graham Central Station had 2200 Ravens fans in attendance. No, that was not a mistype. OVER TWO THOUSAND PEOPLE WERE THERE — and that wasn’t even the best of it!

Not unlike Baltimore, you need to cross one of two bridges to get from the city to the stadium. What the Ravens fans did was meet up in the street  (2nd Avenue)– where another bar let out a whole mess of fans. And we took over the street. Cars tried (almost fruitlessly) to come down. People were chanting LET’S GO RAVENS. The police ended up having to arrive to ensure traffic could get through.

AND THEN WE MARCHED. A sea of purple and black in two directions crossing both bridges into the stadium. 20 Ravens fans to 2 Tennessee fans. I have never experienced anything like this before.

The pride, the love, the anticipation, the thrill. It pulsated throughout the crowd. Wave after wave of Ravens fans crashed into the stadium lines. Everywhere you turned once you got into the stadium, you saw purple and black. It was just amazing.

The Tennesseans didn’t know what hit them. We heard time & time again how they couldn’t believe how many people traveled to the game. They were so gracious and nice and welcoming, we almost felt bad taking the game from them! (Almost).

I was PROUD to be a Baltimorean on Saturday. Thank you, fellow Ravens fans, for making me so.