It’s hard to argue that there has ever been a better time to be a sports fan from New England.
The Red Sox are World Champs, having successfully supplanted the dreaded Yankees as the beast of the East.
The Patriots are rolling toward an undefeated season, with a QB poised to take over a host of single-season records.
The Celtics have actually lived up to the hype, and are as good, if not better, than everyone expected them to be.
As fans from Maine to Connecticut bathe in an even-increasing glory, I can’t help but want to spit in their clam chowder. I’m from Baltimore. I love my hometown, I embrace its flaws and celebrate Charm City, even as outsiders claim the charm has all but rubbed off.
But I can’t help thinking that right now, there is no worse place to be a sports fan than Baltimore.
There is little as sacred to born and bred Baltimoreans than their beloved Orioles. A team with a rich history, a smattering of classy Hall of Famers, a stadium that could be the eighth wonder of the world—and of course, Boog’s BBQ.
Sadly, that’s about all the good you can say about the current team. Though Andy McPhail has sparked a little hope, the Orioles are rebuilding, and fans can dream for nothing more than finishing at or just over .500. How’s that for a low-level goal?
While Toronto, New York, and Boston continue to post winning seasons, the Orioles are shopping around the few players that actually mean something to this team. Though there is no love lost in the Miguel Tejada trade, he was supposed to end the losing ways, so losing him certainly hurts.
And O’s fans know that in order to accumulate any respectable young talent we must part with Erik Bedard and likely Brian Roberts, the two home grown stars of whom we are the proudest, save Mr. Markakis.
Despite 19 current and former O’s being named in the Mitchell Report—more than any other team—our players weren’t even so generous as to have their performances enhanced while on HGH.
With Peter Angelos likely to pass the franchise on to his sons, O’s fans continue to live in the past, watching the DVD of Cal Ripken’s record-breaking season until it breaks.
- B/R Ticket Guide
Even current Orioles trash Baltimore: Aubrey Huff referred to it as a horses*** town, and fan favorite Kevin "Mascot" Millar went north to bond with his former mates in Beantown as they won another ring.
Former Orioles, both new and old, from Curt Schilling to John Maine, succeed on other teams, leaving Camden Yards in clouds of dust created by Orioles fans running from "Yankee Stadium South."
Meanwhile we collect everyone else's trash—Benson, Wright, Payton, Zambrano—only to learn that the dump is in fact where such refuse belongs.
But hey, at least we have the Ravens. Or that’s what we said after Steve McNair led the team to 13-3 last season. Who could beat us in the AFC North, we reasoned?
The answer? Apparently everyone.
With one game left against a division rival, the Ravens are poised to go 0-6 against the Browns, Steelers, and Bengals. As the Ravens complete their transformation into a staggering disappointment, fans are still dealing with Super Bowl victories by the Colts and Steelers—the two teams Ravens fans hate the most. And now we can’t even rub our success in the faces of Browns fans, as they vie for a playoff spot with a former Raven at the helm.
Week after week, head coach Brian Billick informs us that Kyle Boller "gives us the best chance to win," but even when he did in Week 14, idiotic time-outs and defensive ineptitude ruined the best chance that any team had to upend the Pats.
Then, after getting demolished by the Colts, the team that walked out on our city and broke our hearts, we lose to the only team we are sure we can beat. The Dolphins celebrate their first win of the season as the Ravens' franchise-record eight consecutive losses leave them at the bottom of a division many predicted they could win.
All the while we’re looking to next year—until we realize that Billick will be back, and that Heisman winner Troy Smith, who has been surprisingly good in late, unwinnable games, is likely to be Boller’s backup yet again, thanks to the one year extension we gave him.
As we watch our beloved birds fly south, fans in Baltimore are left with no one else to root for, except in lacrosse. We have no NBA team, no NHL team and the closest top rated college program is in College Park, a full 40 minutes south of the jewel of the Chesapeake.
The Orioles, once the team that united the mid-Atlantic, now watch generations of fans who grew up in Memorial Stadium toss the orange and black for red, white and blue and a team with no history. These are the same fans that root for the Wizards, a team that also used to call Baltimore home.
Certainly there are other cities that have it rough right now, but idiot owners and failures such as the Colts, the Stallions, the Blast, and the Bandits have tainted our history, leaving us little faith that things will ever get better.
We still get ‘Unitas’ tattoos, waiting for a QB to renew our hope in the position. We still wear #8 jerseys, because we have yet to be convinced that anyone will ever care about our town and our team the way Ripken did. We wear throwback Bullets jerseys, because hey—at least no one can make fun of you for liking a team that no longer exists.
We channel surf, watching one disappointing season melt into another, and the only salvation we have is that there's one more new season of "The Wire."
comments (33) write a comment »
write a new comment
11 months ago
As a life long Browns fan I must say I hate the Ravens. I have no sympathy for them and I would love to see them lose for the next fifty years. That being said, the Raven problems lie with the head coach. Billick has to go. He is not the offensive genious that everyone dubbed him years ago. The ravens and their complaining about the refs, blowing kisses at the opposing defense, and not going for it against the Dolphins are a joke this year. Its time for a change and Billick's head is on the chopping block. They have too much defensive talent to be wasted on him and that garbage of a quarterbacking unit. All that being said, you have to believe that the Ravens will be back to contend for the AFC North in the next couple years, so i dont want ot hear the complaints. Try having a joke of a football team for 8 years and then talk to me. Other than that, good article. : ) By the way, The Wire is the best show on tv and I highly reccomend watching it!
11 months ago
I would never deny you the right to complain about the last 8 years of the Browns disappointing in Cleveland, but with their success, the Indians' and the Cavs', you can hardly argue that currently you're in worse shape than Baltimore...
11 months ago
Whoa....hold up. In case you missed it the Blast have won the MISL championship 3 of the last 5 years. Who wouldn't be jealous of that.
11 months ago
I'd love to feel sorry for you, Sarah but I can't.
The thrashing your Ravens gave my Giants in SB 35 is still fresh in my mind.
Plus -you guys just unloaded Tejada on Houston
Wht were they thinking?
11 months ago
Great article Sarah. It's always good to hear the sports suffering of a city so well articulated.
11 months ago
The Blast aren't a failure. hell they won 3 championships in four years. They had a bad season last year but one year doesn't make a failure .The Blast are probably the best run team in the MISL or at least a close 2nd.
11 months ago
Okay long times Browns fan- get over it. You have a team, your Cleveland Browns. You have their colors, their name, and most importantly their history. It wasn't the Baltimore Browns that won Super Bowl XXXV, it was an entirely new team, the Ravens. Cleveland made their own bed. You built a stadium for the Indians, an arena for the Cavaliers, and finally the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and then that great mayor Michael White, told Art Model that they couldn't help him out. He was stuck in that stadium that eventually was pushed into the lake. Jim Brown isn't listed in the Hall of Fame as a Baltimore Brown. The same can't be said for Johnny Unitas. So let it go finally, and be happy that your Cleveland Browns are going to the playoffs with Baltimore's ex-quarterback and running back, and you have a competant General Manager thanks to the Baltimore Ravens. Waste all of that hate and energy on the fact that you never get any of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame concerts.
11 months ago
This one goes to "anonymous" who laughably thinks he has clue one as to what went down in Cleveland before Art moved the franchise. I guess I can't blame the guy, I mean, he's been spoon-fed the tired refrain from Modell for 12 years now that he had no choice, the city abandoned him, blah, blah, blah... If, however, Mr. Anonymous had bothered to check his facts, he'd learn that Modell WAS offered a stadium, one he would share with the Indians as the sin tax initiative would not generate the resources necessary to build 3 venues (one each for the Cavs, Indians, and Browns). Modell was stuck because Modell didn't want to share space with the Indians, and he was losing money hand over fist... enter the "good" people of Crackmore, who gladly swept in with their team baiting and bags full of money to save Modell from ruin. It is noteworthy that Modell found a way to lose money with the Browns, something few if any other businessmen could accomplish given that he was selling out the stadium regularly. As for forgetting and forgiving... shove it! I hope for nothing but death and disease to the scumbags who support the Ravens, especially when they of all people should know what it is like to lose a team.
11 months ago
So I wrote a really long comment and then my computer acted up.... but real quick.. who doesn't remember the days of Cal Ripken, Mike Mussina and Rafael Palmero.. just to name a few.
Anyone from Baltimore has heard the rumor that Cal Ripken has repeatedly tried to buy the Orioles and Angelos won't let him. To that I say, Peter Angelos I hope you're reading this and if you cared about the O's and not your wallet then you should just give the O's to Cal.
As far as the Ravens, the game of football in the NFL has changed a lot. Every broadcaster talks about the Colts and the Patriots and how they are raising the standards of what it takes to be a part of pro football and the Ravens need to take this off season to re-evaluate their team and find something that works for them to help improve next season (which lets face it.. they have nowhere to go but up!)
But in all honesty, I'm not that concerned about the Ravens...
Hail to the Redskins...
P.s. I really don't need the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to have good concerts.. Between Bmore and D.C. being only an hour away we can manage on our own but thanks for your concern.
Love,
Crackmore
11 months ago
So I wrote a really long comment and then my computer acted up.... but real quick.. who doesn't remember the days of Cal Ripken, Mike Mussina and Rafael Palmero.. just to name a few.
Anyone from Baltimore has heard the rumor that Cal Ripken has repeatedly tried to buy the Orioles and Angelos won't let him. To that I say, Peter Angelos I hope you're reading this and if you cared about the O's and not your wallet then you should just give the O's to Cal.
As far as the Ravens, the game of football in the NFL has changed a lot. Every broadcaster talks about the Colts and the Patriots and how they are raising the standards of what it takes to be a part of pro football and the Ravens need to take this off season to re-evaluate their team and find something that works for them to help improve next season (which lets face it.. they have nowhere to go but up!)
But in all honesty, I'm not that concerned about the Ravens...
Hail to the Redskins...
P.s. I really don't need the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to have good concerts.. Between Bmore and D.C. being only an hour away we can manage on our own but thanks for your concern.
Love,
Crackmore
11 months ago
Crackmore, pretty original, but pretty lame like the enitre midwest. And you might realize even with the Rock and Roll hall of fame, Cleveland never gets the concerts. Sort of like the championships in sports. Doesn't Ohio have the highest rate of incest in the world? Your just wasting all of that energy, go snuggle with your sister its Christmas.
11 months ago
Cleveland isn't so bad, but the rest of Ohio is pretty lame. They are the reason we are stuck with Bush. We see how thats worked out for everyone. Metropolis of the Western Reserve or ghetto by the lake. However you want it Cleveland as long as your brother is giving it to you.
11 months ago
My bad, I didn't realize that Modell could of had a new stadium. One that he would have shared with a baseball team. That is such a popular idea. I mean all of these new stadiums that are being built are such a waste on one sport. Leave it to the guy from Ohio to suggest sharing, sort of like he's been doing with his sister.
11 months ago
As you Baltimore fans fail to realize the point, you lost their team due to LACK of FAN Support. Cleveland lost their team due to the greed of one man, who single handedly destroyed the Browns. History may have been different, had he not fired Paul Brown and drove Jim Brown out. Not to mention moved the entire team. You could have kept the Colts, had you attended any games. Say what you want about the Browns, but the fans are hardcore. Win lose or draw fans were in the stadiums, cant say the same about Baltimore. You made your bed, now lay in it.
11 months ago
Here's a few open questions to any and all Baltimorons that would like to answer...
1. Do you hate the Indianapolis Colts?
2. If Yes, why? If no, why did I see so many anti-Colt signs professing hatred for that team when the Rats and Colts played?
3. You love Art Modell, we get it, do you also love the late Robert Irsay?
4. If not, why not?
Please answer honestly (look at me, making that request to a bunch of Rat fans... who am I kidding?).
11 months ago
I will write slowly for those of you from the midwest.
1. Yes, we hate the Indianapolis Colts.
2. The colts name was chosen by a fan poll in the Baltimore Sun. The name is a reflection of Maryland's history of horse racing. Unlike the Browns, the name, colors, and tradition moved with the team to Indianapolis. Hence, Johnny Unitas being in the Pro Football Hall of Fame as an Indianapolis Colt. How much would it piss you off if Otto Graham was listed as a Baltimore Brown?
3. Yes we have affection for Art Modell. I understand Cleveland's hurt, but at some point get over it. Twenty five years from now, those three meaningless years without a team won't be a blip on the next generation's radar. But you will still be enjoying that nice stadium Modell had built for you after he left. Not to mention the millions of dollars that was given back to the Cleveland community through various charities over thirty plus years. My grandkids will still be watching the Indianapolis Colts, unless Jim Irsay gets hooked on oxycottin again. Yes we do hate Robert Irsay.
4. Since I stated that we hate Robert Irsay, I guess I don't have to answer number 4. I just wish I could find the video of Irsay in January of 1984, all drunk getting off of a plane at BWI airport, reitterating he wasn't "moving his goddamn team." Somebody please post that on YouTube for all of our slow countrymen from the midwest. I think Baltimoreans would get over it if the Colts had changed their name and left the colors and tradition where it belongs, in Baltimore.
11 months ago
Another culprit for the Browns being in Baltimore is Taglibue. Back during expansion, Baltimore had the best proposal and were bypassed for Carolina and Jacksonville. Worst of all, Jacksonville was chosen despite the fact that their proposal was incomplete;they didn't even have finanacing in place.
Again, I understand the Browns contempt for Baltimore,but you still have your history, dry up
11 months ago
Let’s get the history straight on the Browns and Fart Morehell
Fart put the team in debt with his brilliant personnel moves.
Fart didn't just want a new stadium, he was looking to buy land cheap and resell it to the city/county at a premium price for a new stadium. This was his plan for the taxpayers to bail him out.
Fart never publicly stated that he would need to move the team if we didn't bail him out.
David "Nose Candy" Morehell publicly stated that they would never move the team and that Cleveland was their home.
Fart at one point told us he didn't want a new stadium he just wanted to renovate the old one.
Fart declared a moratorium on stadium talks prior to the season.
Fart snuck to BallingWhore to do the secret tarmac deal in mid season (talk about quitting on a season).
Fart was on the committee that denied you an expansion team (he voted against you)
Cleveland Browns fans supported our team year in and year out (even when David was doing coke off the toilets while working as a towel boy in the Catskills because he got tossed out of all the private schools in NE Ohio)
Cleveland Browns fans fought the NFL and Fart for our name history and colors, these were not a gift from Fart. We saw the video news reports of the BallingWhore fans buying up Browns jerseys when the move was announced.
Now if you live in Cleveland and your mayor and football owner get in a pissing contest Football wins every day.
At the end of the day Fart is no better than Irsay and for you to say differently is disingenuous.
We don't argue your hatred for Irsay; don’t argue our hatred for Fart.
Fart Morehell for Hall of Shame!
11 months ago
The shame of it all ends in Super Bowl 35, when the Ravens whipped the Giants. Modell finally got his championship, but at the expense of whatever dignity he had left. Not only did he screw the people of Cleveland, he assisted Ray Lewis is avoiding any punishment in a murder case. He lied in both instances. How do I know? Because the man never the told the truth a day in his life. His lies were so natural, the truth would have seemed to be a lie....
Lewis, another Miami Hurricane that couldn't avoid off-field troubles, won the MVP in that game.
As a Giants fan and a frequent traveler to Cleveland in the 1990's, I detest Art Modell...he is in hell, I'm sure.
11 months ago
As for the Blast, I think if I ever saw someone in Baltimore wearing a Blast jersey I would faint. Being good in an unimportant league, creating no meaningful headlines in a Baltimore sports section and inspiring no passion among Baltimore area sports lovers counts as a failure to me.
As to the obvious issues in hating Irsay and the Colts and loving the Ravens, I'll just have to argue that it's how the game goes. If sports fans were logical people, we would hold sings that say "give the Ravens a year to rebuild, keep trying guys!" But we're not, and we don't. I'll always hate Irsay and the Colts, not just for what they did, but how they did it. And even if Clevelanders feel there is hypocrisy in loving the Ravens, since they were moved as well, I'll still love them. I just think it's part of the passion. For me, with sports, old wounds don't heal slowly, they don't heal at all.
Just ask anyone from Baltimore how they feel about Jeffrey Maier a decade later...
11 months ago
No one in Cleveland expects you not to love your RatBirds, but is very hypocritical and insulting to demonize Irsay and glorify Morehell. Don't do the crime if you can't do the time.
Fart Morehell in the Hall of Shame!
11 months ago
Wow, Fart Morehell? You sure showed him, huh?
11 months ago
You'll never convince me that moving a team out in the open, albeit again the wishes of the fans, is the same as sneaking a team out in moving vans, with no warning, in the middle of the night. All owners are out there for the money, some are just bigger snakes and Irsay led the pack.
11 months ago
Wow, I'm sure it sucks REAL bad to be a Baltimore fan right now...
Maybe if Billick would grow a brain and a pair of nuts that are actually bigger than two tic-tacs, he would just give the ball to Troy Smith and actually have a qb who can throw the ball hard and accurate, instead of slow, shitty, and terrible like Boller and McOlddroopyballs
Now, as for the Orioles, maybe they should stop signing guys whose numbers were OBVIOUSLY inflated by steroid use, and go for some good pitchers... oh wait, theyre trying to trade their best pitcher Erik Bedard... nice idea, Angelos, you old crank towel
Yeah your teams suck all kinds of grandpa nuts right now, but you won a Super Bowl a few years ago and AFC Central division title LAST YEAR, the Terps won a title a few yrs ago, and the Orioles won lots of world series in the 60s and 70s
Boo hoo - go sit on a bike with no seat and get shit on by 89 birds
11 months ago
Atlanta can match you just about step for step.
11 months ago
Clint: The Ravens won the Super Bowl 7 years ago. The Ravens are in the AFC NORTH. After spending 4 years in College Park, I am fairly certain that it's not in Baltimore, a point I clearly make above. The Orioles won the World Series in 1966, 1970 and 1983. You'll notice that I say 'right now' it's a bad time to be from Baltimore ( as opposed to the last 30 year) but use the history to make a case as to why I should not get my hopes up. None of your misinformation seems to contradict that.
Ben: I could not agree with you more, though the Hawks are at .500 with a 2 game winning streak. It's something, right?
11 months ago
Yeah, but when that something is all we got, it's not good. I mean, aren't we still behind the Wizards? Don't they count as Baltimore's NBA team, lol?
11 months ago
Out in the open, are you kidding me? Fart Morehell did a secret deal on the airport tarmac. There was no discussion, we had no idea what was going on. There is no difference between Fart and Irsay.
By the way karma is showing him with his diseased liver and torn scrotum.
11 months ago
If there is no difference between them, then it seems I should be allowed to hate Irsay, just as you still hate Modell. Glad we agree!
11 months ago
Of course you can hate Irsay. Put them both in the hall of shame! Welcome back to reality.
11 months ago
The main difference as I said above, while sneaky about it, Irsay did it because the Colts lacked fan support in Baltimore, so it goes back to the fans fault for not showing up to the games. As for what Model did, the fan support was there day in and day out, win lose or draw. It was all about greed. The reason Cleveland was able to keep the colors and history was because of the fans in Cleveland were flooding the NFL with letters and phone calls. The fan support was there in Cleveland, not in Baltimore. Nuff said there.
11 months ago
Nuff said. You are a stupid son of a bitch. Shut up an go take your ghetto ass city and jump in that shithole of a lake you live on. You didn't watch and alcohlolic ruin a team over a twelve year period. Before his first move, trading Johnny Unitas to San Diego, until his last move, trading John Elway, when Elway had no leverage, Bob Irsay ruined a good thing and after twelve years of slowly killing a franchise what was the city left to do. I mean we could of made him a multimillionaire many times over and built him a new stadium and watched Irsay's drunk ass play us for the fool for another fifteen years until he died and his son took over and got lucky to have Peyton Manning fall in his lap. Hate Model all you want. I empathize. But don't even compare the two situations. If you built a new stadium for Modell he never would have left. You built a baseball stadium, an arena, and a museum. He almost always provided the city of Cleveland with a competitve product, and always gave back to the city in the form of charity. Irsay did none of that. For the record the Browns still play in Cleveland, right dumb ass. You don't think the city of Baltimore didn't flood the NFL with letters and lawsuits. I wish you had kept Butch Davis for twelve years. You think the stadium would still be selling out with all of the disastrous moves he made, if he had the chance to make them for a decade? Those three years will quickly be forgotten, especially if you win a Super Bowl here in the next few years. Which again will be because a former Baltimore Raven rebuilt your franchise from the ground up. You are welcome. I will still have to watch the Indianapolis Colts, you know the team with Raymond Berry in the Hall of Fame, despite the fact he never played in Indianapolis.
10 months ago
The arguement that no city has suffered like Baltimore is a joke. Yes every team we have right now(Cleveland) is leaps and bounds better then yours but in my 27 years of life and rooting for Cleveland sports teams I havent gotten 1 championship. I challenge anyone that has 3 major sports teams in baseball,basketball and football to name me one city that has gone as long as Cleveland without any championships. You cant because there isnt.. All of our teams are on the way up and we will get there soon but right now we are starving!! O, and Baltimore pukes, you will be starving for quite some time. Ur teams r terrible.. See you at the bottom for yrs to come.. GO BROWNS!!!!
write a new comment