Fans regret missing out on ‘MNF’ magic
They won’t be inside stadium, but Chiefs visit still excites them
WhentheNational Football League released its 2020 regularseason schedule during the first week ofMay, it looked as if Baltimore fanswere going to get an early look at the possible AFC championship game that had eluded them when theTennessee Titans knocked the Ravens out of the playoffs last January.
The schedule makers have the defending Kansas City Chiefs coming to Baltimore onMonday in a game many predict will eventually become the 2021AFC title game. But because of concerns fromthe highly contagious
coronavirus, state and city officialswon’t allowthe usual 70,000 to attend the game. Just 250 family members and friends of Ravens players and coaches will be allowed to attend.
This has been another bummer for Baltimore, but the optimism remains high.
“I remember seeing that schedule when it first came out, and itwas exciting,” said Andy Gage, 55, an original Ravens personal seat license holder and health care consultant from
Hagerstown.“We’re finally playingKChere after having played them two straight years and losing two close games in Kansas City.
“Itwas going to be onMonday night, and then knowing howcrazy Baltimore is going to be at that game— itwas like Christmas in April. And nowit’s like the football gods don’twant the Ravens to have a trueMonday night game.
“Unfortunately, the fanswon’t be there, but I still feel good about this team. I think they’ll win.”
Lou-Ellen Lallier, a Severn resident and an acute care nurse practitioner at theUniversity ofMarylandMedical Center, had declared the Ravens-Chiefs game her Super Bowl, and therewas good reason. The game matched the last twoNFLMVPs, quarterbacks PatrickMahomes and Lamar Jackson, against each other, and both Kansas City and Baltimorewere rated the top two teams by most league experts heading into this season.
Lallier and her husband, Chad, a Battalion Chief in Alexandria, Virginia, had visited several other stadiums around the country but didn’t think any could match the sounds, intensity and atmosphere ofM&T Bank. Some of the home-field advantage has disappeared with the fans.
TheMonday night game herewould have only been the third since JohnHarbaugh became head coach in 2008.
“Iwanted this so much, andwe have a really good team and it’s going to be that way for a few years,” Lallier, 47, said. “And if it had happened, Iwould have been the happiest person on the planet. There is no other place that has this energy. The whole city can feel what is coming and emanating fromthat stadium. To not be there cheering, screaming, singing— well it’s devastating.”
Alot of Baltimore fans feel the sameway. They describe missing the game as disappointing, unbelievable or depressing. As usual, some Baltimore fans think theNFL has conspired against them, but that’s going too far. It is, however, easy to understand their psyche.
Last year the Ravens finished the regular season with a14-2 record, including 12 straight wins. They produced the best rushing attack inNFLhistory and secured home-field advantage in the playoffs. If they had beaten the Titans, it appeared the Ravenswere destined for a conference title game atM&TBank against Kansas City.
It never happened. Fan spiritwas crushed.
“Before the game, the whole citywas energized,” Lallier said. “You could feel it everywhere. Driving up [I-295] into the city, it almost seemed like the whole city glowed purple. Everybodywas out tailgating, the weatherwaswonderful. All of this made sense, everythingwas right with theworld. We knewwewere going to win.
“Thenwalking back [to the car], you could hear crickets all throughout Baltimore. All the lights seemed to go out. Everybodywalked shaking their heads. Everyone was a zombie, everyonewas numb. You couldn’t believe it happened.”
No onewasmore demoralized than Paul Hocheder, 86, fromTaylorsville in Carroll County. He had been a Baltimore Colts fan beforewelcoming the Ravens to the city in 1996. TheTennessee loss brought back memories of Super Bowl III, when theNew York Jets upset the Colts 16-7 in 1969.
“That loss to the shaggy-haired JoeNamath, it tookme10 years to get over that,” Hocheder said. “After the loss to the Titans, I didn’t talk about the Ravens for six months; Iwas so angry and disappointed that they had to have a rotten game on that day after winning14 games.”
Ravens fans have recovered and are enthusiastic about the season, especially the 2-0 start. But they have had to reinvent themselves for home games.
Hochederwatches the games on a bigscreenTVat home, but not before his wife, Ellen, prepares him a pregame meal that usually consists of either crab cakes, steaks or shrimp. He is a die-hard fan, even naming his 3-poundYorkshireTerrier Lamar, after the Ravens quarterback. Like Jackson, the dogwears aNo. 8 jersey.
Lallier plans towatch the game with some fans she has been tailgating with for years, including their trip to London several years ago when theRavens played Jacksonville.
Brian Snyder, 36, is the owner and creator of BmoreAroundTown, which he started in 2010 to bring the game-day experience to fans at both home and at away games.
He is used to having1,500 to 2,000 people attend his events throughout theweek, usually about 750 to 1,000 for tailgating events at home games. But nowhe has teamed with Power Plant Live where fans can come towatch the Ravens on the big screen whilewearing masks and practicing social distancing.
There are servers there, even aDJ who provides music during commercial breaks. There isRavens trivia, “SquirrelDance” contests and even appearances by “Real Fan Dan” and “Captain Defense.”
“It’s been different,” Snyder said. “You have to be aware of every feeling, whether it’sCOVID or politics, and give everyone an outlet without theCOVID or safety fears.
“More people are starting to venture out in their norms now, and by that I mean they aren’t breaking rules but [are] willing to do things and honor guidelines in a safe manner.”