Home Games

[Dudeman]

A lot of people outside of Baltimore have a hard time figuring out why the Ravens are so good at home. We are on the longest current winning streak at home and historically have been a tough place to play.

The analysts aka "talking heads" think it's a great big mystery, and many sports writers have simply summed it up as we play better at home.

But there is so much more to it than that.

I think now more than ever we have built such a strong connection between the team and fans ON and OFF the field.

In the beginning the Ravens were trying to fill a void left by the Colts shipping out in the middle of the night. We were underdogs searching for an identity and looking to make a name for ourselves. Ray Lewis found a pulse with a tough, relentless, blue collar approach that fits Baltimore culture perfectly. That atitude brought us a championship, and a certain respectability that put us on the map. Teams were not going to keep looking past the Ravens anymore.

As much as I loved Billick, the 00 Defense, the 06 defense, and everything Ravens the bond has gotten stronger more off the field with Harbaugh. I can name a dozen guys that are easily some of the most stand-up people on/off the field. The countless charity drives, and autograph signings are more important to the community than words can say.

So when those guys come out of that tunnel they are OUR guys, our family, and that bond is keenly strongly felt when we are all together at M&T from tailgating in the parking lot to being in the stands and probably down on the field as well. Our players feed off of that energy, and I am glad that the Fans really make sure they bring it to the home games.

Again, the home games are special in a way that people outside of Baltimore cant understand because words arent enough. I can't paint a better picture of a more perfect day than the 8am tailgate with my best of friends/family to sit in the stands where there isn't a bad seat in the house, to watch a team that I love to watch play.

Thank you Ravens for all the great memories!!

Thank you Fans for being the very best in the whole world of sports from the O's to the Ravens.

Lastly, we needed that Rally game against the Raiders. Let's go out and make the Statement game. Let's go beat a team in their stadium and prove to the naysayers that we can take our offense on the road, that they can win in the clutch against a team that MUST win that game.

Just wish that I could be there!!