Sad Day But Hopeful Future in Baltimore
January 19, 2009 by Marney Kirk
Filed under Baltimore, Blog
Well, last night of course did not go as hoped with the Ravens’ playoff drive ending in a 23-14 loss in Pittsburgh.
The loss was marred more by the terrible injury on Willis McGahee, who was carted off the field with 3:29 left in the game. The hit was hard — the helmets crashed, and you could visibly see McGahee’s neck snap back and forth. We are still awaiting updates, but he was able to speak and move a little, which makes me hopeful that he is not paralyzed.
A few things happened after that point that 1) made me respect Pittsburgh fans a little more and 2) made me proud yet again of being a Baltimorean. As Willis was taken into the tunnel, a few Steelers fans right there yelled GOOD LUCK WILLIS one after another — which I found VERY classy and nice. In general Pittsburgh fans have not been kind to Ravens players or fans, as demonstrated by a few signs in Heinz field last night (“You’re still Cleveland to us and you still suck” anyone?), not that Baltimore fans are necessarily sweet on the yellow & black either.
But what really made my pride swell, was when I checked my Facebook friends’ statuses:
…is bummed we didn’t make it into the Superbowl but still grateful we made it as far as we did.
…is proud that the Ravens made it this far and prays Willis will be okay!
Amen – 23 is my jersey but I’m thankful he is able to move and talk
It was a bad way to end his year. Lets pray for a quick recovery
Even my Pittsburgh fan friend:
Is psyched the STEELERS R SUPER BOWL bound, but my thoughts and prayers are with the RAVENS that Magayhee (sp) is OK….
And mine: Marney is praying for Willis McGahee’s health hoping he is not paralyzed, and sad yet proud of our home team.
Wait for it: The comment from my Pittsburgh fan friend: My thoughts r with ur team, my heart sunk..
Without that injury, we would have smack talked, been probably a bit nasty to each other, I know from past discussions! But I really felt this brought us more together rather than the hatred we have felt towards each others’ teams for a long time.
I loved reading the Baltimore Pride again. We made it SO FAR! Can you believe with a rookie QB, a rookie head coach, and a team of misfits who weren’t even supposed to be playoff material made it to the CHAMPIONSHIP GAME?
AND HOW COOL that our city realizes this feat? Watch this video from WJZ where hundreds waited for the team to come home until 2:30 am — just to say THANK YOU!
We are a VERY proud city and I am so proud to be a Baltimorean when we can demonstrate that the “stuff” you see about our city does NOT define who we really are.
GO RAVENS, THANK YOU, GOOD LUCK WILLIS, AND THANK YOU BALTIMORE!
Baltimore Ravens Fans show Baltimore Pride
January 12, 2009 by Marney Kirk
Filed under Blog
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.
