MIAMI — Lisa Phillips didn’t get caught unprepared for the playoffs, unlike many Ravens fans.
When the Bel Air travel agent knew the Ravens were headed to the playoff to face the Miami Dolphins, she called her children from the stands of M&T Bank Stadium during the team’s game against the Jaguars and had them book the flight to south Florida.
“We are excited for this team and this city,” said Lisa Phillips, a season-ticket holder, who sits in section 117 along with her husband, Scott. “We’ve followed the Ravens all season and we weren’t going to miss the playoffs.”
The Phillipses were not alone. Hundreds of Ravens fans drove, flew or took a train to Miami for Sunday’s AFC wild Card game at Dolphin Stadium. Lisa Phillips wanted to share the experience with as many of those fans as possible, so she went on local radio shows and even placed a notice on Craigslist inviting fans to her tailgate in Lot 6 outside of Dolphin Stadium.
The result? Lisa and Scott opened her buffet of chicken wings, burgers, sausages and homemade cookies and an array of alcoholic beverages to about 50 Ravens fans.
Rob Blevins was among those who accepted the invitation, but at a much steeper price than Lisa and Scott, who each purchased round-trip tickets for $200 apiece. Blevins, however, paid $1,205 in airfare for he and his wife Melanie to attend the game and return to Charm City on Monday.
“I was online just watching the prices go up by the second,” Blevins said. “But I wasn’t going to let that stop me.”
Tom McCabe took a much different journey to Miami. The Dundalk resident drove 17 hours, beginning on New Year’s Day, with four friends to see the Ravens try to win their first playoff game since 2002.
“Everything is so bad right now that the Ravens gave us all the perfect distraction,” McCabe, 57, said. “It doesn’t matter where you live or what you do, we’re all Ravens fans. Most of us didn’t know each other before today and now we’ve made friends for life.”
Edgemere residents Bob Sauer Sr., 62, and his son, Bob Jr., 32, arrived with McCable with mixed emotions. Bob Sr. rooted for the Ravens, but his son loves the Dolphins –a result of watching the team as a child during the years Baltimore did not have a football team. Bob Sr.
“We make this drive every year the Dolphins play the Ravens in Miami,” said Bob Sauer Sr., wearing a jersey that has half Ravens and half Dolphins, said. “Getting to make this trip with my son for the playoffs the ride even more special.”
