Browns at Ravens, Jan. 4, 2025

Back at the beginning of this NFL season, my cousin — a Baltimore Ravens season-ticket holder — invited me to join him in Charm City for a game. My schedule was such that the only game I could get to was the season finale against the Browns. Given the state of the Browns, I didn’t expect it would be a compelling matchup and the winter weather made travel uncertain, but hey: any time you get a chance to see Bailey Zappe play quarterback in person, you have to take it.

The day wound up being a mini family reunion. In addition to my cousin and his son, by nephew came along with his wife and kids. It was good to see so many of my Maryland-based relatives, even if this Bills fan was the odd man out among all of his Ravens-loving kin.

I didn’t capture as many photos of the day’s proceedings as I should have, but here are a few shots:

*The view from our seats before game time.* The temperature at M&T Bank Stadium when this picture was taken stood at around 32 degrees, and it dropped after sundown. As the resident northerner, I loudly proclaimed the conditions as “football weather,” but in all honesty, I froze my ass off.

The resolution isn’t good, but here is a close-up of the aforementioned Mr. Zappe and some of his Cleveland teammates milling around on the field before kickoff. I’m told that Zappe became the 40th quarterback to start a game for the Browns since the franchise re-entered the league in 1999. That’s a truly breathtaking stat illustrating the team’s revolving door at the position, and it makes me wonder what Tim Couch is up to these days.

The Ravens lean into the gothic-horror associations of their name. When the team comes out of the tunnel at the start of the game, they run past these structures that look borrowed from Disney’s Haunted Mansion. I don’t know how many goths are into football, but any who might be, are probably split between the Raiders’ and Ravens’ fanbases.

*Two of the people in this family photo mistakenly believe Lamar Jackson should be this season’s NFL MVP. The one in the middle knows it should be Josh Allen.*

*Some game action. Baltimore ultimately won 35-10, covering the eye-popping 20-point spread (noted for entertainment purposes only).*

It was interesting to attend a football game as a neutral observer. I might have been the only disinterested party in the whole stadium, based on the sea of purple and back-clad humanity surrounding me. Bills fans take pride in the passion and fanaticism they display at games, even in frigid temperatures. That reputation is well-deserved, but my visit to Baltimore has shown me that Bills Mafia doesn’t have a monopoly on those traits. Ravens fans are intense, they are proud, and they gladly endured several hours of frosty conditions to see their team claim the AFC North title. Nationally, I don’t think Baltimore gets enough credit for being a diehard football town. After this visit, I can attest that it most certainly is.

One response to “Browns at Ravens, Jan. 4, 2025”

wardo68

January 6, 2025 at 9:52 pm

A long-suffering Cleveland native I know had invested in a Couch jersey years ago, and ongoing disappointment led him to simply cover up the first C and continue wearing the jersey on Sundays in an accurate statement.

The Browns hiring Deshaun Watson was the final straw, and he picked a good year to root for Detroit.

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a.k.a. V.J.