I very much want the Ravens to beat the Colts this coming weekend. Not so much for me personally, but for the generation of people in the area who are older, remember, and are still angry. I'm barely old enough to remember, and I'm not sure whether or not I actually recall the Mayflower trucks leaving in the early morning snow of late March, or if I just think I do because I have seen the footage so many times. Should the people of Baltimore be over it? Probably. But they're not. And if you have any doubt, it's all over the Sun. Even already bristling at the suggestion that Baltimore should be over it. So Saturday will probably be one of those days where I won't get too excited so that I won't end up too disappointed.
Hopefully Roy will write something about his Eagles.
For the record, the Ravens are favored by 3.5, the Saints by 4.5, the Chargers by 4.5 and the Bears by 8.5 (?!?)
Personally, I'm happy for the Ravens fans, and if they want to still be pissed about it, I don't have a problem with it. I will probably never be a Ravens fan, but now that I don't have to come into close contact with purple-Zubaz-wearing Dundalk residents, I hope they do well. I am looking forward to seeing the purple road salt that they city looked at buying. I saw it in a Sun article a few weeks back, I'm curious if they went ahead with the purchase or not.
Posted by: Mike at January 8, 2007 02:13 PMOf course I don't remember any Baltimore Colts games, and just as John explained I'm not sure if my memory of the Mayflower trucks is actual or simply the cause of so many repeated viewings. But I do feel Baltimore is a football town, and they/we had a great and storied team, and that team was taken from us. However, since the Ravens came I think the perception has shifted. Indy hasn't stolen our team, only our name. Baltimore's football past belongs to Baltimore, and our future, both immediate and beyond, looks to be meaningful and something we can stand behind. For better or for worse, I think the Ravens are a team like the Steelers and the Packers, where the city identifies with the players and something happens that's bigger than entertainment for a Sunday afternoon. Compare towns like ours to places like Arizona, Carolina, even Seattle despite the whole 12th man campaign, and it feels like the Ravens are truly Baltimore's team, not just a team that plays its home games here. It was there with the Colts, and it is here now.
Yes, defeating Indy in Baltimore, possibly en route to a Super Bowl victory, might feel like another nail in the coffin of a painful past. But at every game I ever attended at the Ravens stadium, whatever it was called at the time, I've seen older generations stand and applaud for retired Baltimore Colts the way you imagine people saluted soldiers returning from World War II. Johnny U, John Mackey, and Raymond Berry, and more...for many, those names are equal to Brooks Robinson and Cal Ripken. There's a respect and a reverence there that doesn't grow in many places. There's a reason a statue of Johnny Unitas stands sentry over the stadium in Balitmore and the not the one in Indy. Football never really left Baltimore, they just didn't let us play it for a while.
Posted by: Chris at January 8, 2007 04:54 PMThe Eagles are playing far above themselves right now. Brian Dawkins looks like the player he was 5 years ago, and they've decided to run the ball more. They've gone farther than I would have imagined and it's all gravy from here. Still, I would have preferred them to be playing the Bears, as I think they're more beatable than the Saints.
Posted by: roy at January 10, 2007 06:54 PM