Indy coming to Baltimore

[Colts]

Hello,

A lot of us from Indy have tickets for the Indy/Ravens game this year. We are looking forward to coming to the city for what should be a key game for playoff seeding. This will be my first visit there for football and I've heard it can get pretty rough for the Indy fans! I'm not worried...I'm not one of those rude fans from the other team that talks trash or starts fights. I've seen the Colts at several road games and find most fans to be very hospitable for the most part.

Just want to know: how bad is it really for a Indy fan in Baltimore? The circumstances are different because there is some "bad" history there. I've heard some crazy stories from friends that went to the playoff game there last year, but wanted to get your perspective.

Either way, it should be a great game.

[Mista T]

Hello,

A lot of us from Indy have tickets for the Indy/Ravens game this year. We are looking forward to coming to the city for what should be a key game for playoff seeding. This will be my first visit there for football and I've heard it can get pretty rough for the Indy fans! I'm not worried...I'm not one of those rude fans from the other team that talks trash or starts fights. I've seen the Colts at several road games and find most fans to be very hospitable for the most part.

I would seriously reconsider coming if I were you. There is downright hatred against the team that plays in Indianapolis for the Irsay family, for stealing our team; that hatred unfortunately overflows onto the fans of the Indianapolis NFL franchise.

Just want to know: how bad is it really for a Indy fan in Baltimore? The circumstances are different because there is some "bad" history there. I've heard some crazy stories from friends that went to the playoff game there last year, but wanted to get your perspective.

As to other fans of the Indianapolis NFL franchise, here's an example as to how fans of the Indianapolis team taunted and provoked a reaction: hoisting of a Mayflower van flag on a 20+ foot flagpole inside one of our tailgate lots. This resulted in city cop intervening, lots of yelling threats, and the ultimate burning of that flag by Ravens fans. If your friends were part of this group, they got the reaction that they should have anticipated.

[FellsPointRaven]

If you show respect for your surroundings and don't act like an idiot, you should by and large be OK. As you have said, there is a considerable amount of extra baggage that comes with games between our two teams, particularly when played in Baltimore. This is not helped when a bunch of Indy fans show up, as they did in our tailgate lot last year, and hoist a Mayflower flag above their RV. Fortunately they were 'persuaded' to take it down before anyone got seriously hurt but you'd understand that it didn't go over especially well.

Bear in mind that, as you have said, the game will likely be highly charged being late in the season and night games give people more time to drink. You should therefore expect hostility. If you are as respectful as you say you are, then you'll be OK but I want to paint a realistic picture for you, and the fact is that every fanbase has its share of people who want to antagonize, and no more so than against either the Steelers, or Indy.

I think a saving grace for you could be that last year's game MAY have taken the sting off the matchup a little bit by at least allowing Baltimore fans to voice their feelings and let go of some frustration. On the other hand, as we lost a lot of people will be looking for payback!

Either way, I agree it should be a great game. The majority of Ravens fans are good people and, provided you can take your share of abuse and resist the urge to respond to it, you should have a good time on your trip to Baltimore. Although with the greatest respect, I hope we whip your butts.

[baltimoreravens00]

baltimore is generallly a nice place to be as long as you dont talk too much trash to ravens fans. yes, you most likely will have someone say something to you like "colts suck" or something.. but as long as you dont start anything, i think you'll be fine. But, then again, im only speaking for my section of the stadium which generally is a nice spot. so i dont know about any of the other sections.

[Colts]

I would seriously reconsider coming if I were you. There is downright hatred against the team that plays in Indianapolis for the Irsay family, for stealing our team; that hatred unfortunately overflows onto the fans of the Indianapolis NFL franchise.

As to other fans of the Indianapolis NFL franchise, here's an example as to how fans of the Indianapolis team taunted and provoked a reaction: hoisting of a Mayflower van flag on a 20+ foot flagpole inside one of our tailgate lots. This resulted in city cop intervening, lots of yelling threats, and the ultimate burning of that flag by Ravens fans. If your friends were part of this group, they got the reaction that they should have anticipated.

I actually heard about that incident with the Mayflower flag. That's a dumb thing to do and I wouldn't consider doing that ever. That's just asking for a fight, really. As a Colt fan, sorry that happened.

There are several bus loads of Colts fans coming to this game in December, the majority are good people. I'm sure there will unfortunatley be some iditos that will mix with some of your "lesser" fans. That's unfortunate.

For me, I love going to new stadiums and watching my team. Most of the fun is meeting fans from the opposing team and talking football, getting differnet perspectives, having some beers, etc. Obviously, I hope we win...but seeing a new stadium and meeting fans from other teams is always worth the trip.

It's too bad those Colts fans had to be that way, I can assure you most Colts fans are very nice people. What do we have to angry about?

[Mahatma_Sloth]

probanly no diffrent than me bein a ravens fan goin to a broncos v. ravens game..... except of course stealing a team and its history and shattering a citys pride for 4 decades( think about that, 2 generations of sons(and doughters) without the tradition of football in one of the richest cities of football history, it mustof made all fathers and grandfathers of the city sick to thier stomach to rais thier kids on skins and stealers ball. i know i never watched ball growin up there) .... but they(broncos fans) were pissed about shannon sharp and trevor pryce

[Drkraven]

There was a ton of bad blood last year, I too saw the incident that T and Fells were referring to. It did not help that the media had 2 weeks to stir the pot, and did it quite well. The Colt fans I ran into last year, screamed "get over it Baltomorons" and the like as they walked to the stadium. That does not inspire the warm fuzzies. Personally I would not come here if I were a Colt fan, but thats your choice. I suggest staying with your group and being respectful to the fans around you. Ask BrownsFan what its like, he has been to M and T a couple of times.

[Tiz]

probanly no diffrent than me bein a ravens fan goin to a broncos v. ravens game..... except of course stealing a team and its history and shattering a citys pride for 4 decades( think about that, 2 generations of sons(and doughters) without the tradition of football in one of the richest cities of football history, it mustof made all fathers and grandfathers of the city sick to thier stomach to rais thier kids on skins and stealers ball. i know i never watched ball growin up there) .... but they(broncos fans) were pissed about shannon sharp and trevor pryce

LOL. They let Trevor go. It's their own fault they couldn't use him right.

I remember sitting in the South End zone for the Philly-Denver 2 years ago near Halloween. My wife is a philly fan for some odd reason so i was sporting a Mcnabb jersey. There were alot of eagle fans in the SEZ so the Bronco fans were upset that we were in "their" house. So i apologized to one stating that I was sorry that Bronco fans were too poor to afford a ticket and if they want to come do some landscaping for me I'm sure they can buy a ticket next time.

Anyways for most of the game Denver was winning so Bronco fans were talking mess and Eagle fans were just taking it. Philly started to come back and the fans started talking mess at that point the Bronco fans wanted to fight. One Bronco fan told an Eagle fan to shut up or all him and his fellow fans would jump him. Seriously you couldn't take the trash talking so now you want to have the guy jump!

Anyways I stood up and said fine I'll join in and the other guy sat back down and shut up. It was quite sad....

[ravensfan1996]

No its alot different then a broncos ravens game. There is no "rivalry" or history between our two cities, excpet that elway thing, but that wasnt denvers fault that was the stupid colts owner. Anyway, to get an idea what its like, the Steelers and ravens teams and fans hate each other, those games are always intense. The colts game last year was 100x worse then any steelers game.

For the most part m&t bank is a good football crowd, they tailgate, they rib the opposing fans, but doesnt get out of control. Of course every city has the drunken fool that wants to start trouble.

Ive been to ravens games in Denver, San Diego, Houston, Tampa, and Detriot, and never had a problem excpet in detriot. A fan wanted to heckle us all game which is fine cuz we are out of town, but they wanted us to start something back and we just sat there and made them look like idiots. fans around us told us hey, if you want to come sit by us and get away from in we could. Luckily that was the detriot game fiasco and the ravens had no chance.

Anyway id have to say, if you come, be prepared. dont talk trash, but yes it can be that bad. you see that video on you tube?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7I31b6krPCc

[Guest Birdfan]

I've had "trouble" in Landover, Carolina, and Tennessee. In every case it was some drunk wanting to start in on someone much smaller. Luckily none of it ever amounted to much, probably because I'm not stupid enough to drink in another team's house.

[baltimoreravens00]

yeah, i remember last year when i went to the baltimore vs steelers game [at home] and some steeler fans paid some company to fly around a flag that said "this is steelers country" you can image how much tension that brought up. so pretty much every ravens fan was pissed about that. anyone else see that stupid thing flying around? ahah i would have shot it if i had a gun. ahah

[Drkraven]

yeah, i remember last year when i went to the baltimore vs steelers game [at home] and some steeler fans paid some company to fly around a flag that said "this is steelers country" you can image how much tension that brought up. so pretty much every ravens fan was pissed about that. anyone else see that stupid thing flying around? ahah i would have shot it if i had a gun. ahah

Hehehehehe we asked one of the cops to shoot it down for us, he said he wished he could!

[ravensfan1996]

But remember we had a plane over pittsburgh which read:

"Pittsburgh is Raventown AFC N Champs!"

[BrownsFan]

Personally I've been there twice now and had two good overall experiences. Of course there was mild heckling and ragging on me, I'm a Cleveland fan in Baltimore and it's gonna happen. However overall I really can't complain and I actually met some really cool Ravens fans too.

With this being said, I'm guessing this isn't nearly as bad as being a Colts fan. It'd be like a Ravens fan coming to Cleveland to see a game to an extent but I'm guessing Colts/Ravens would be a bit more sensitive due to the circumstances around it all and the fact that they're both two really good teams which would make for a great game.

Hopefully you meet some cool folks that won't hold it against you *too* much and it'll be a fun time. And I ain't gonna lie either I hope Indy wins.

[Drkraven]

Personally I've been there twice now and had two good overall experiences. Of course there was mild heckling and ragging on me, I'm a Cleveland fan in Baltimore and it's gonna happen. However overall I really can't complain and I actually met some really cool Ravens fans too.

With this being said, I'm guessing this isn't nearly as bad as being a Colts fan. It'd be like a Ravens fan coming to Cleveland to see a game to an extent but I'm guessing Colts/Ravens would be a bit more sensitive due to the circumstances around it all and the fact that they're both two really good teams which would make for a great game.

Hopefully you meet some cool folks that won't hold it against you *too* much and it'll be a fun time. And I ain't gonna lie either I hope Indy wins.

Burn!!!!!!

[ravensfan1996]

Notice how he said he hopes the Colts wins........and not the Browns! hehe They have no chance.

But yes browns and colts have that same hatred, but it was VERY short lived, you missed 3 seasons, while we missed 13! so the hatred lingered much longer. You guys were only without a team for a year or so before you knew you were getting a new team and stadium and the nfl bailed you out, Baltimore had as much history if not more for the NFL and the league didnt try and help us at all get a team back.

[Mista T]

With this being said, I'm guessing this isn't nearly as bad as being a Colts fan. It'd be like a Ravens fan coming to Cleveland to see a game to an extent but I'm guessing Colts/Ravens would be a bit more sensitive due to the circumstances around it all and the fact that they're both two really good teams which would make for a great game.

The Browns-Ravens "rivalry" is pretty much just one-sided. Most Ravens fans do not get worked up over a Browns game, while Clevelanders (understandably) view the Ravens as Darth Vader.

If you ask Ravens fans about teams to hate, most will give you some combination of Steelers, Colts, and/or Redskins.

[NaptownShorty]

If you ask Ravens fans about teams to hate, most will give you some combination of Steelers, Colts, and/or Redskins.

Or all 3 equally.

I'm not old enough to remember the Colts leaving town and going to Indy, but my father and grandfather have made it clear that if I ever cheer for Indy, they'll disown me.

From both the tailgate lot and the seats I was in for the Colts game last season, I didn't witness too much heckling going down. Then again, there were only a few Colts fans where I was, and they were widely scattered.

As for the worst heckling that I've personally experieced, nothing beats the time when I went to a Ravens/Bucs game in Tampa a few years back. I had family down in Tampa and went to the game with my cousins. As I was leaving the stadium, Bucs fans were threatening to kick my a** and rape me (keep in mind, at the time I was around 17 years old). Totally not cool.

[BeaconofLight]

But remember we had a plane over pittsburgh which read:

"Pittsburgh is Raventown AFC N Champs!"

Now that was priceless!

I don't have a problem with any fan as long as they are respectful. Personally, I could really care less about Colt's fans, it is the Steeler's fans that can get quite rowdy.

[MrRyder]

Hello,

A lot of us from Indy have tickets for the Indy/Ravens game this year. We are looking forward to coming to the city for what should be a key game for playoff seeding. This will be my first visit there for football and I've heard it can get pretty rough for the Indy fans! I'm not worried...I'm not one of those rude fans from the other team that talks trash or starts fights. I've seen the Colts at several road games and find most fans to be very hospitable for the most part.

Just want to know: how bad is it really for a Indy fan in Baltimore? The circumstances are different because there is some "bad" history there. I've heard some crazy stories from friends that went to the playoff game there last year, but wanted to get your perspective.

Either way, it should be a great game.

I was just out in Indy this past week. Nice town and people. Saw their new stadium being built. When does it open. Wasnt happy about the book in the hotel room listing all the Colt hall of famers but did notice it said neither Baltimore or Indy.I think the bad blood the media tried to stir up worked against us last year.The Colts won the Superbowl last year and good for them. Now its our turn.Ravens #1

[MKdave]

Hey, colts, what you could do is come in a ravens shirt with a colts one underneath, then when you get in the stadium take off the ravens one. that way your safe either way.

[DdaddyD]

I promise no ill fortune will beset you if you do exactly as i say.

Send me your tickets ASAP so i can verify their location

and I will speak to everyone in that section to make sure they know

who will be there on gameday.

Meet me on the light rail platform 30min before KO

so you can get your tickets back in time.

What, you don't trust me? A RAVEN fan?

Your right, why take the chance, just send the tickets.

You can watch from the safety of your home.

[ravenmaniac1223]

You should stay home. Our loss was MUCH worse than the Browns because we never got our team back. The Colts was our team. We lost our team name, colors, and history. Now we have the Ravens, which I LOVE! However, having to watch an out of town team play on my field, wearing my old colors is a heartwrenching experience. You Colts fans tell us to get over it? I suggest you rename your team, return our teams history to Baltimore, then you move on from there. Will you have a pleasant experience in Baltimore!? Not if you are near me!!!

[Reed_4_President]

I feel my own personal feeling towards this. Is you should stay home and Colt's fans should NOT be allowed to come to Baltimore EVER for a Colts VS. Baltimore football game. I know fans should be able to go wherever they want to watch their team and all, but it would keep disaster's from happening and problem's down and the police from having to break up 50 million fights. It would just make it all around a better atmosphere for everyone here in Baltimore no HOSTILITY.

Thing's will never change between Baltimore and Colt's fans it just should not be allowed!..

Sometimes people have to take drastic measure's to insure thing's (problem's) don't happen and to keep people from getting hurt, and HUGE fights from breaking out and kaos from happening everywhere just for a day of football