My First Ravens Game

Two Sundays ago, October 5th, I finally went to my first Ravens game versus the Houston Texans at M&T Bank Stadium. As a lifelong sports fan, this was something I’ve had on my bucket list since coming to Loyola freshman year. My friends from Philly along with my brother were visiting for the weekend to join in on the fun with some Loyola buddies and I. 

As a sports lover, there is nothing like waking up on a Sunday morning feeling energized to watch football, whether it's with family, friends or both! Moreover, going to the game to cheer on your favorite team is a feeling like no other. Just this time, I was going to be a fan of the game rather than cheer on one team. Yes, maybe I’d rather see the Ravens win considering I’m at the game and having been living part-time in Baltimore for the past 4 years, but I’m an Eagles fan at heart. And yes, I am true to my team so I did not wear any Ravens attire! 

The minute we stepped out of the car, I could feel the buzz and knew it would be a day to remember, especially having the opportunity to spend it with my brother and friends I grew up with. As we were heading to the stadium, we could smell the charcoal smoke as we walked past the tailgating fans who were grilling burgers, hot dogs, sausage, and even homemade chicken wings! Purple jerseys everywhere, speakers blasting, people dancing, playing cornhole, and tossing footballs, we were able to feel their sense of community regarding football. You could see smiles everywhere and it made me remember how sports can bring people together. I was also surprised by the amount of people I saw wearing Eagles jerseys, compelling us to look at them and say, “Go Birds!” With that being said, not only did it reinforce how loyal Eagles fans are, but the energy at M&T Bank is nowhere close to the Eagles fans’ energy at Lincoln Financial Field. Yes, these fans are passionate and have great energy, but it was missing something that Philly fans have that is simply unexplainable. 

When we finally made our way into the stadium and got to our seats, the energy was electric. The crowd was roaring as the players ran out of the tunnel surrounded by all of the smoke and you could feel the vibration from the bass of the music playing. They even play Omar’s whistle from The Wire! It was a thrilling environment to be around, especially seeing how the fans root for their team in a different city besides Philly. 

                                                            

Unfortunately, a lot of the core Ravens players were injured including star players that we had been looking forward to seeing like Lamar Jackson and Roquan Smith. Once the game started, it went downhill pretty quick. The Texans came to play and the Ravens were clearly out of sync. They scored on each possession while the Ravens could not get anything going. Still, the fans were cheering and trying to help their team get over the hump. In these moments, I aimed my focus towards taking in those moments. Coming out for the second half after being down 14 points, my friends and I thought that the Ravens could make some noise and rally a comeback. However, the Texans continued to push their foot on the gas and essentially took over to win the game 44-10. 

Even though they lost the game, it was still a memorable experience, especially for any sports lover. Following the crowd of fans out of the stadium, we knew we had to get in line to take a picture with the famous Ray Lewis statue and it turned out to be a great picture for the archives. We were all emphatic talking about every aspect of the game, from the food to the fans and to the atmosphere as we were on our drive home. It was cool to see that for the most part, a good bit of the fans show up, win or lose, which says a lot about the city. If you’ve never been, I definitely recommend spending a Sunday at M&T! My first Ravens game didn’t end in a victory, but it gave me a glimpse into the heart of Charm City and the people who call this place home.