As Ravens soar, can the city fully appreciate the view?
As time expired in the Ravens-Dolphins game last Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium, a lopsided 56-19 victory that clinched a top playoff seed for the home team and likely a Most Valuable Player Award for the starting quarterback, I turned to my spouse to get her reaction. From the comfort of our home, we had witnessed this entire, truly delightful season unfold on television — much as we had shared a stunningly successful turnaround season for the Orioles earlier in the year. Did she jump up and down? Did she let out of shriek of joy. Did she chant “MVP” as so many did from the bleachers in recognition of Lamar Jackson’s dominant five-touchdown performance? No, she did not. Here is exactly what she said:
“Well, looks like they may have peaked too early.”
Now, my significant other is not by nature a pessimist, although it’s quite possible that more than three decades in my company may have jaded her a bit. And she may well still be feeling the after-effects of the Orioles’ early exit from the playoffs this year. But I mention this because I fear it reflects a larger condition. For all the excitement the dual success of the O’s and Ravens have generated — clinching their respective divisions for the first time in the same year and both getting much attention far beyond the Greater Patapsco Drainage Basin — I fear that there are quite a few Baltimoreans who are bracing for the worst. It’s not really about the players, the managers or even necessarily the owners (with the possible exception of Orioles CEO John Angelos), it’s about us. Can Baltimoreans handle success?
That may seem an absurd question on the surface. Plenty of local football fans have been jumping up and down and whooping it up in recent weeks. But I also bet there are plenty of households that are trying to rein in their expectations. This is not just about injuries or playoff matchups or strategies. It’s clearly also a touch of impostor syndrome and the sneaking suspicion that Baltimoreans are undeserving of such success. Charm City has a chip on its shoulders in this regard. Part of it comes with living in the Boston-D.C. corridor and comparing oneself to New York, Boston, Washington, D.C., and even Philadelphia. This is worsened by continued struggles with concentrated poverty, drug abuse and crime. Homicides fell below the 300 mark in 2023 for the first time in nine years but that doesn’t seem a cause for celebration exactly.
It’s essential that we work collectively to address Baltimore’s problems, of course. Just as the Ravens are built on teamwork, Maryland’s future depends on broad public-private efforts to address such vulnerabilities as underperforming schools, housing, lack of economic opportunities, poor health care and on and on. But we must do this with a certain level of confidence and ambition or we are likely doomed to failure. Football players often tell interviewers that the team is approaching the season one game at a time. What they don’t say is, “Well, we’re probably going to lose but we’ll give it a shot.”
See the difference? Some mocked a certain former Baltimore mayor for touting the motto “The City That Reads” even as K-12 standardized test scores fell. But there’s also a reason why Coach Ted Lasso (although fictional, of course) had a “BELIEVE” sign mounted prominently in the locker room. Success starts with a belief in yourself and those around you. That’s not about ignoring problems, it’s about knowing that we can be better, that we can win.
I’ll admit that if spouting negativity is a crime, I’m going to have to plead the 5th. Opinion writers are not about finding the good in people or their plans, necessarily. Skepticism is my jam. But I also tire of those who fail to see how great this city is, who ignore extraordinary assets like Johns Hopkins Hospital or the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, the Port of Baltimore or the Baltimore Museum of Art. Or those who, when confronted by a favorable event like the falling homicide rate, simply shift to a less favorable measure like car thefts, often without acknowledging national trends. Social media is filled with trolls who love to spew hatred of our city, often with a racist edge.
And so I would ask just this: Let’s go out there and have some unrestrained fun. Let’s be optimistic and enjoy the moment. But let’s also take some pride in how our professional baseball and football teams are representing Baltimore. Not Cleveland. Not Pittsburgh. Not Cincinnati. All hail the Ravens — and the great(er) metropolitan area they call home.