My experience on Sunday.

[January J]

As some of you may know I was the winner of the you pick the 53 contest. I really didn't expect to win and the whole thing was absolutely surreal. I just thought i would share some of the things I got to experience. When people say this is a top notch organization they say it for a reason. They treated me like I was one of their own and made me feel like I was part of the ravens family. First off I would like to thank Dave Lang- the media director who led me through the whole process. This guy was really cool and went out of his way to make sure I had a good time. First he  brought me and my fiance down on the feild for pregame warmups- as soon as I reach the feild John Harbaugh is directly right in front of me. He was beginning to walk back into the locker room when I quickly walked over and introduced myself. We had a short Convo about the contest, the forsett fiasco- and he joked that I did better than Ryan mink and garret downing at guessing the roster. My girlfriend off to the side video taped the whole conversation lol. Immediately my day was made and it was only just beginning. Dave went to get a photographer to take some pictures of me for twitter while I watched some of the players warm up. I noticed buck allen off to the side not in uniform in street clothes and realized he was inactive. Needless to say he didnt look too happy. Also saw keenan reynolds who gave me a high five. Dean pees walked by looking real timid but to my surprise he actually shook my hand. I then watched Tucker hit a 65 yarder in warmups with about 12 yards to spare. So yeah when he said he could hit from 80+ in denver- he's not Lyin. Off to the side I then saw ed reed and Steve bisciotti chalking it up. Just took a lot of pictures and what not. Didn't really get a chance to get any autographs but I didn't care , my day was already made. ( plus Dave had just given me the flacco autographed jersey) just when I think things can't get any better- Dave pulls me off to the side and pulls something out of his pocket. Its the 2012 Superbowl ring! Not only did he let me see it- he let's me try it on. That thing must have weighed 3 pounds lol. I took a picture with the ring and then headed off the feild. Instead of Dave taking us out the normal exit- he walks us through the tunnel where the ravens run out. After that it was pretty much time for the game to start. We thanked him and then made our way up to the club level seats. We had some of the best seats in the house, after the national anthem  when the jets flew over the stadium it was hard not to get a little chill being 9/11 and all. Opening day was underway - and the only thing that could've made this day better was a ravens win. Ofcourse we got the W which was the perfect ending to a perfect day. Im probably gonna get the flacco jersey framed along with the tickets. Ive also got a rackload of sweet puctures and then memories that will last a lifetime. I feel so blessed to have been a part of all this and I had the time of my life. I just want to thank Dave Lang again for everything and the whole Ravens organization for an amazing and surreal experience. Don't mean to rub it in to anybody I just wanted to let y'all know how awesome this franchise is ( as if y'all didn't already know) and to share some of the inside details. Wish I could have brought every single member of the board with me, we're all part of ravens nation and I think were in store for great season. On to Cleveland baby.

Edited September 12, 2016 by January J

[Moderator 3]

Thanks for taking the time to share this with us. 

[K-Dog]

Yeah, I fell even more in love with this organisation when my kid was the Tee Kid. 
They can't show appreciation to all the fans like that, but they sure do roll out the red carpet for some when they are able.

 

Thanks for sharing the story and the pictures as well........ and the pictures as well........

Guess I will haveta' wait.

I am happy for you man.

[I AM LEGEND]

Cool story

[Tiznut]

On September 12, 2016 at 6:10 PM, K-Dog said:

Yeah, I fell even more in love with this organisation when my kid was the Tee Kid. 
They can't show appreciation to all the fans like that, but they sure do roll out the red carpet for some when they are able.

 

Thanks for sharing the story and the pictures as well........ and the pictures as well........

Guess I will haveta' wait.

I am happy for you man.

Yeah seeing numerous contest that the franchise had that resulted in amazing experiences at the games makes me a fan of the front office in addition to being a fan of the players on the team. 

[Filmstudy]

On 9/12/2016 at 7:06 PM, January J said:

As some of you may know I was the winner of the you pick the 53 contest. I really didn't expect to win and the whole thing was absolutely surreal. I just thought i would share some of the things I got to experience. When people say this is a top notch organization they say it for a reason. They treated me like I was one of their own and made me feel like I was part of the ravens family. First off I would like to thank Dave Lang- the media director who led me through the whole process. This guy was really cool and went out of his way to make sure I had a good time. First he  brought me and my fiance down on the feild for pregame warmups- as soon as I reach the feild John Harbaugh is directly right in front of me. He was beginning to walk back into the locker room when I quickly walked over and introduced myself. We had a short Convo about the contest, the forsett fiasco- and he joked that I did better than Ryan mink and garret downing at guessing the roster. My girlfriend off to the side video taped the whole conversation lol. Immediately my day was made and it was only just beginning. Dave went to get a photographer to take some pictures of me for twitter while I watched some of the players warm up. I noticed buck allen off to the side not in uniform in street clothes and realized he was inactive. Needless to say he didnt look too happy. Also saw keenan reynolds who gave me a high five. Dean pees walked by looking real timid but to my surprise he actually shook my hand. I then watched Tucker hit a 65 yarder in warmups with about 12 yards to spare. So yeah when he said he could hit from 80+ in denver- he's not Lyin. Off to the side I then saw ed reed and Steve bisciotti chalking it up. Just took a lot of pictures and what not. Didn't really get a chance to get any autographs but I didn't care , my day was already made. ( plus Dave had just given me the flacco autographed jersey) just when I think things can't get any better- Dave pulls me off to the side and pulls something out of his pocket. Its the 2012 Superbowl ring! Not only did he let me see it- he let's me try it on. That thing must have weighed 3 pounds lol. I took a picture with the ring and then headed off the feild. Instead of Dave taking us out the normal exit- he walks us through the tunnel where the ravens run out. After that it was pretty much time for the game to start. We thanked him and then made our way up to the club level seats. We had some of the best seats in the house, after the national anthem  when the jets flew over the stadium it was hard not to get a little chill being 9/11 and all. Opening day was underway - and the only thing that could've made this day better was a ravens win. Ofcourse we got the W which was the perfect ending to a perfect day. Im probably gonna get the flacco jersey framed along with the tickets. Ive also got a rackload of sweet puctures and then memories that will last a lifetime. I feel so blessed to have been a part of all this and I had the time of my life. I just want to thank Dave Lang again for everything and the whole Ravens organization for an amazing and surreal experience. Don't mean to rub it in to anybody I just wanted to let y'all know how awesome this franchise is ( as if y'all didn't already know) and to share some of the inside details. Wish I could have brought every single member of the board with me, we're all part of ravens nation and I think were in store for great season. On to Cleveland baby.

Very cool.  Congrats on winning the roster contest.

[ravensdfan]

Congratulations on the win!

Thanks for sharing this with us. Am happy you had such an amazing experience to remember forever.

[allblackraven]

7 minutes ago, ravensdfan said:

Congratulations on the win!

Thanks for sharing this with us. Am happy you had such an amazing experience to remember forever.

You're lying! You're just jealous you didn't get to shake hands with Dean Pees.

[allblackraven]

On 13/09/2016 at 11:06 AM, January J said:

As some of you may know I was the winner of the you pick the 53 contest. I really didn't expect to win and the whole thing was absolutely surreal. I just ted to let y'all know how awesome this franchise is ( as if y'all didn't already know) and to share some of the inside details. Wish I could have brought every single member of the board with me, we're all part of ravens nation and I think were in store for great season. On to Cleveland baby.

Cool stuff man. Congrats.

[balfan23]

@January J That was a fantastic write up of your experience. Congratulations and I'm really glad that the organization did you right. 

I assumed that most of these contests were won with 100% correct and it was just a matter of being the earliest to submit the picks. But this year ... wow. I can't imagine you got 100% of the picks correct, did you? When did you submit? 

[arnie_uk]

Could you post the roster you picked? Or did you get it 100 percent correct?

 

Also, obviously tickets are free, curious do you make it to the ground at your own expense? Wondering for next year, expensive flight from the UK and all haha

[berad]

That's great, congratulations again!

Mink and Garrett said on their podcast - The Lounge (check it out, it's pretty good) - that you got 50/53 correct and submitted it the day after the first preseason game.

[BOLDnPurPnBlacK]

Yea I heard Mink and Garrett talking about the winner on one of the recent podcasts -- had no idea it was you! Awesome job man and congrats!! 

Nailing 50 of the 53 is impressive... especially considering i think they said you submitted yours early-to-mid August. Before preseason was even over..

And awesome story, thanks for sharing. We see how giving the organization is with their time and how accommodating they are to fans at practice sessions and games sometimes. But getting a first hand account is even better. Glad to hear you guys had such a great time and few unforgettable experiences. I have to imagine there's only a pretty select group of people in this world that have ever had the chance to wear a Super Bowl Ring (players, coaches, owners and FO members of winning teams, their families/friends, and collectors.... and now you!). 

Very cool you got to chat with Harbs a bit. Even better you got to see Step 1 on the road to redemption...

Go Ravens! Classiest organization in the NFL. 

[BOLDnPurPnBlacK]

5 hours ago, arnie_uk said:

Could you post the roster you picked? Or did you get it 100 percent correct?

 

Also, obviously tickets are free, curious do you make it to the ground at your own expense? Wondering for next year, expensive flight from the UK and all haha

He got 50/53! And submitted his like right after the first preseason game.

Very impressive. 

[FerrariFan87]

So cool, and very happy for you!!

[January J]

11 hours ago, balfan23 said:

@January J That was a fantastic write up of your experience. Congratulations and I'm really glad that the organization did you right. 

I assumed that most of these contests were won with 100% correct and it was just a matter of being the earliest to submit the picks. But this year ... wow. I can't imagine you got 100% of the picks correct, did you? When did you submit? 

Yeah man I got 50 out of 53. Obviously I missed forsett..and I think the others were Price and  canady. Ofcourse I had Watson and then campanaro on there in their spots. I submitted immediately after the first preseason game. I figured that would be a good time to submit. Not too early- not too late. Still didn't think I'd actually win. When I got that phone call that said "this is Dave from the Baltimore Ravens" I was driving down the road and actually almost had to pull over I was in such shock lol. Soon as I hung up I just started screaming at the top of my lungs like heck yes!!! Lol

8 hours ago, arnie_uk said:

Could you post the roster you picked? Or did you get it 100 percent correct?

 

Also, obviously tickets are free, curious do you make it to the ground at your own expense? Wondering for next year, expensive flight from the UK and all haha

Yeah had to make it on my own expense..which wasn't a problem since I'm only about 3 hours away in Richmond Va. Only thing that was a pain was parking. Had to pay $50 and it was about 2 miles from the stadium. Also was blocked in for about 45 minutes until the lot cleared out. They just jam as many cars in one lot as they can and make bank. I didnt care in the least bc i had just had the time of my life and we had won. Was fun watching all the bills fans filing out in disgust.

You also have to be careful BC there's a lot of ppl out there that aren't actually legit (crackheads) and they have signs saying $20 parking but they really don't even own the lot and you will not only pay them but have to pay a towing company as well once your car gets towed. Then most of the time your out of town so you will also have to pay a taxi or uber to even get to your vehicle wherever it got towed. Not something you want to experience lol. They're pretty easy to spot but its quite a hussle and some of them are pretty creative  wearing vests and what not to look legit.

3 hours ago, berad said:

That's great, congratulations again!

Mink and Garrett said on their podcast - The Lounge (check it out, it's pretty good) - that you got 50/53 correct and submitted it the day after the first preseason game.

Yeah I heard man- I showed all my family and friends the podcast and they got a kick out of it. Surprisingly Ryan and Garret didnt even butcher my last name which most people do. 

 

They told me I actually tied with like 5 other people but I had submitted first.

[AsianRice]

Thanks for sharing the your fabulous experience and congratz for the win of the jackpot.  I meant you earned it cuz I can't get 50% right...lol

 

It's crazy that you got 50/53 right as mentioned..

 

PS: which 3 players did you miss? Forsett?

[AsianRice]

6 minutes ago, January J said:

Yeah man I got 50 out of 53. Obviously I missed forsett..and I think the others were Price and  canady. Ofcourse I had Watson and then campanaro on there in their spots. I submitted immediately after the first preseason game. I figured that would be a good time to submit. Not too early- not too late. Still didn't think I'd actually win. When I got that phone call that said "this is Dave from the Baltimore Ravens" I was driving down the road and actually almost had to pull over I was in such shock lol. Soon as I hung up I just started screaming at the top of my lungs like heck yes!!! Lol

Yeah had to make it on my own expense..which wasn't a problem since I'm only about 3 hours away in Richmond Va. Only thing that was a pain was parking. Had to pay $50 and it was about 2 miles from the stadium. Also was blocked in for about 45 minutes until the lot cleared out. They just jam as many cars in one lot as they can and make bank. I didnt care in the least bc i had just had the time of my life and we had won. Was fun watching all the bills fans filing out in disgust.

You also have to be careful BC there's a lot of ppl out there that aren't actually legit (crackheads) and they have signs saying $20 parking but they really don't even own the lot and you will not only pay them but have to pay a towing company as well once your car gets towed. Then most of the time your out of town so you will also have to pay a taxi or uber to even get to your vehicle wherever it got towed. Not something you want to experience lol. They're pretty easy to spot but its quite a hussle and some of them are pretty creative  wearing vests and what not to look legit.

Yeah I heard man- I showed all my family and friends the podcast and they got a kick out of it. Surprisingly Ryan and Garret didnt even butcher my last name which most people do. 

 

They told me I actually tied with like 5 other people but I had submitted first.

If they mentioned other 5 people names, they would be super pissed! lol it is once of the lifetime experience for sure as a Ravens fan...

[ravensdfan]

21 hours ago, allblackraven said:

You're lying! You're just jealous you didn't get to shake hands with Dean Pees.

LMBO!

Yes I am very disappointed to have missed that opportunity.

 

[Sunday QB]

Thanks for sharing

[ellicottraven]

Great January J! You're blessed because I was too lazy to submit my best guess. 

[Purple Nurple]

Right on. Thanks for sharing

[757RavensFan]

@January J

First, congrats on the win!!  BTW, do you mind sharing the roster that you submitted for the contest. 

Secondly, Thanks for the sharing your cool experience.  Sounds like a great time was had.  

[January J]

7 hours ago, 757RavensFan said:

@January J

First, congrats on the win!!  BTW, do you mind sharing the roster that you submitted for the contest. 

Secondly, Thanks for the sharing your cool experience.  Sounds like a great time was had.  

If i recall correctly I had everybody correct other than hurst , price and canady. Had forsett, watson and campanaro in their spots.

[The Mom Gene]

January.  Dave is Awesome!  I thank you soooooo much for sharing your experience.  Congratulations again.

[January J]

I'd love to show y'all some of the pictures but I know they don't allow it on the board. I posted some of them on my Facebook so if anybody's interested in seeing them you can pm me. Its nothin special though and nothing you can't already see on the ravens website and what not.

Thank y'all so much for the love and support. 

Edited September 16, 2016 by January J

[K-Dog]

If it is football related you are allowed. 

 

I am pretty sure. 

[berad]

1 hour ago, January J said:

I'd love to show y'all some of the pictures but I know they don't allow it on the board. I posted some of them on my Facebook so if anybody's interested in seeing them you can pm me. Its nothin special though and nothing you can't already see on the ravens website and what not.

Thank y'all so much for the love and support. 

 

34 minutes ago, K-Dog said:

If it is football related you are allowed. 

 

I am pretty sure. 

Go ahead and post them, you're okay. We'll only take down some pictures if it gets way off track, that's something we are trying to relax

[Wildabeast88]

Congrats On the win and the experience sounded amazing. Keep that crown down here in the RVA area.