Journal HokieSeas's Journal: A day trip to Baltimore.... 3
WARNING.....THIS ENDED UP BEING LONGER THAN I EXPECTED.
Being Raider fans, every year when the NFL schedule comes out, my parents and I check on it to see if the Raiders are coming out east, and then if our local travel agency is making any trips to the games. Under this arrangement we have been to the following locations for games:
- Veterans Stadium - Philadelphia - The Raiders lost, and I personally think they stopped too short when they tore down Veterans Stadium. Did you see how much of Philadelphia they left standing? The fans were just horrid. I saw people buying full beers in plastic cups from vendors and hurling them at opposing fans.
- RFK Stadium - Washington - The Raiders won, and this was the last year that the Redskins played in RFK. Good fans in DC then, and same to report from when my parents went to see the Raiders and Redskins play at FedEx field last year. That game I signed up to go to, but ended up home after an impromptu Virginia Tech football weekend with friends at my house developed.
- Ravens Stadium - Baltimore (or whatever they call it) - Raiders lost both times we went to the games, this time and the last time they played a few years ago.
Which brings me to yesterday. We decided to go to the game I think before the preseason started. It's our team, they don't come out here often, so we were going to see them. After last monday's egg roll against San Diego, I wasn't really looking forward to it. I was right. The bright side though, is our defense does look pretty good. But, you cannot ask a defense to defend 30 yards the entire game, which was basically what occurred with offense ineptitude. When our defense was not backed up to the endzone, they could bend a bit and force a punt. Then near the end of the game, they just got tired. They were on the field too long, and had hardly any time to recover when they finally did get off the field. Brooks left the game with an injury after fumbling two snaps from center. Andrew Walter came in, and he definitely looked better I think. But with a Ravens defense like they seem to have right now, hard place to throw the kid into, but you have to learn somehow. What is also concerning there were at least three more fumbled snaps from center once Walter got in there, and one of them I am pretty I saw as Walter pulling out from center early because of the defense showing blitz.
Which brings me to the upright outstanding examples of Baltimore citizens we had the pleasure to sit in front of for the game. All in the 20 to 25 range I believe, probably college students. At least two were pretty hung over from the night before I gathered from their conversations, and one was drinking pretty constantly. I was amused by the fact that this group of guys were loud rowdy, and attempted to be "in our face" since we were opposing fans, until two girls showed up to sit with them, and they became "somewhat respectable". Except for the drunk one. We think he passed out for the 2nd and 3rd quarters, but then woke up and continued being loud and obnoxious.
Now...I understand the right to cheer for your team. I have no problem with yelling at heckling me. Hell, I subscribe to the belief you can basically say anything you want to me when I come into your stadium as long as you do not touch me. I have no problem with that. But, is it so hard to ask for it to be an intelligent insult? Well...I am not sure if this group together could of come up with something intelligent. Would you like me to share? Ok.
- It began basically as soon as we found out seats, they showed up, saw our Raider stuff and started yelling "Brady Quinn! Brady Quinn! Brady Quinn!" at us. Uhm, dude, like WTF? Is that the best you can come up with? Which at that point I turned around and said to them, hey, Brady Quinn sucks, Notre Dame sucks. And they were like... "uhm, Brady Quinn?" I apparently confused them. And yes, that pretty much was the best they came up with all afternoon.
- Also as these guys were coming to their seats they were trying to make fun of the Raiders "Black Hole" and were calling themselves the "Purple Hole". Well, maybe things are different in Baltimore, but I always thought that was another term for a bruised asshole, so I do not think I want to know what they were doing the night before.
- Everytime the PA announcer said "There was a flag on the play" the drunk one responded with "Yeah, there are 11 fags on the play, and they're called the Raiders". Except, imagine him trying to say all this at once, while mostly drunk and hung over. Yeah, he was kind of tailing off at the end of the sentence.
- They also were joking about my dad's 1976 Super Bowl champions shirt that he was wearing. "1976? Man you guys have been waiting a long time..hahahah." Uhm, how about 1976, 1980, and 1983? Do you still feel really good about your one?
- I think what confused them the most through out the game was just about everytime they yelled "The Raiders suck!" we (myself and the Raider fans in front of us) would agree with them. Hey, I am not going to live in a fantasy world. We do suck. Apparently its not as fun to yell insults at someone when the agree with you.
So, when we decided to walk back to the bus after another failed Raider drive with a few minutes left in the game, we filed out of our seats, I turned around and congratulated them on a good game and shook their hands. By their confused looks, its apparently not right for opposing fans to do this either, but they shook my hand and one actually stammered out a "maybe you can do something with your draft picks" as we were walking down the stairs.
Until next time, enjoy a few pictures.
ugh (Score:2)
in that time i have had the honor of NEVER seeing a ravens game. yeah, i only lived 12 minutes from the stadium, yeah i've been given dozens of opportunities to see a game, but each time my typical response to a "wanna see a ravens game?" was "are you fucking crazy?" (well maybe not quite that harsh, but the message was there).
no, baltimore is a terrible football town.
sorry you had to put up with that.
h
my question (Score:1)
my comment- I like the blue seats.
Re: (Score:1)