We were HOPING for a Baltimore Ravens win, since we were watching our home team on multiple screens throughout the office, but we had a victory in our own right!

Through our auction items, including VIP seating, iTunes gift cards, massages, restaurant gift cards and more, plus a raffle of 3 Ravens-Steelers tickets to the game on November 29, 2009, we raised $1,500 for the KWCares Charity!

I was so proud to be a part of the KWCares Committee who brought this event together to raise such a significant amount for our charity.

This was our first year, and we are already planning for next year to make it an annual event!

So mark your calendars for 2010 for an away game against the Bengals. Because we WILL win next year’s match-up and raise even MORE money for charity!

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!

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.

Joe Flacco has had his ups & downs. He WILL be a fantastic quarterback — this year will be a major learning experience for him. And you have to give him props for as well as he has done so far! He is smart, quick on his feet, and can read the field. He just needs to learn that he can throw the ball away and to see when defenders may jump in the path of his decent throw.

What I have been most disappointed with, actually, is our defense. We have never really had a solid offense so I have come to not expect much from them. Our defense though, should be better than that! When we were home against Tennessee, the Titans converted every third down they had. HOW could we let that happen? They marched down the field! It was ridiculous!

The very next day I had the pleasure of meeting Ray Lewis. Being a Lavender Lady has been wonderful & will certainly renew. My favorite part? I am on the front page of the photos on the BaltimoreRavens.com website! HA! As he & Chris McAllister, who was there with him, were two who actually played well, I didn’t say anything negative. These two know anyway. They know the team isn’t up to par. You can bet that Ray blasted them in the locker room. He didn’t need to hear it from a fan — especially when he was doing US a favor by being there to meet & greet & sign autographs!

What this did for me though, was realize how important a team is. Whether football or real estate, you need to have a solid base behind you in order to succeed. Right now the Ravens base is cracked a little. But I see that potential and think it will get filled with time, to create that solid foundation. Personally, I have a few people that I know are solid, and would make a great foundation for a team. These agents are newer to the business but have a thirst for knowledge, understanding, and to be the BEST they can be. I remember being that way (10 years ago, is that possible?) and want to help them to succeed — which will help me to succeed.

I am thrilled to have begun organizational meetings and structural talks. With my expertise, their ideas & energy, we shall be unbeatable.

Just like the Ravens, this will take time. It is a process, but an exciting one at that.

I look forward to sharing with you the best we can be.

And me, I’m no fairweather fan. GO RAVENS!

Team Gilbert didn’t fare so well against Team Amelia. We started out well (Well, Team Gilbert wanted us to be called Beat Amelia, but as that didn’t happen, we needed the name change) but then some CHEATERS took us down! UGH!

Amazingly we were all extremely competitive — and ready to take each other DOWN when necessary! There was some decent ball playing going on that day at Training Camp — and I’m not talking about the Ravens! We even lost one of our players to a torn achillies — Q HOPE YOUR SURGERY WENT WELL!

So, with the Ravens, well, we haven’t been looking so hot in the preseason. Hoping that poor preseason makes for good regular season! Preseason is there to help is work out the kinks, which is what I am hoping we are doing. We’ll see how we look tomorrow…

My fall & winter schedule literally is based around the home Ravens games. I have missed only 9 home games since the team arrived in Baltimore in 1996, mostly due to illness or unchangeable travel plans. (Those darned weddings, don’t people KNOW about MY schedule? )

So right now I am pumped. WHY? It’s TRAINING CAMP TIME! I am a founding member of the Lavender Ladies, a group of football obsessed women who could rival most men in terms of knowledge and understanding of the game. This is a group founded by the Baltimore Ravens organization. The group began as RAVENS 101 — for women to learn about football. What they found was we knew plenty — we just needed an outlet & fun times and to be surrounded with other women who thirsted for more FOOTBALL!

So, again, the pumped-ness. Next Monday is a flag football tournament with the other “ladies” (yes, the quotes is because I use that term very loosely — “ladies” most of us aren’t) at training camp! This will surely be a blast & I can’t wait to play!

Next week look for my follow up to the flag football tourney. Should be interesting!