Covered head to toe in purple, 70,000-plus screaming Baltimore Ravens fans were hoping to provide a rude welcome for the visiting Indianapolis Colts on Saturday.
Gathering around barbecues and coolers hours before game time, the Ravens? faithful were ecstatic about their chance to dish out some payback to the franchise that left them alone in the cold on a snowy night in 1984. Fired up for their hometown team, the fans made the outside of M&T Bank Stadium just as hostile as the inside would be a few hours later.
“This is the Super Bowl of Baltimore,” declared Mike DeCarlo, 45, from Dundalk, in front of the Johnny Unitas statute. “This is payback. They did us injustice 23 years ago.”
But history gave Indianapolis the nod atthe AFC divisional playoff game. Despite the rabid crowd and thousands of waving towels, the Colts prevailed, 15-6. In a game marked by stout defense, sloppy offense, turnovers and missed opportunities, the choppy affair left Ravens fans in a stunned, angry daze as they left the stadium.
“Billick is terrible. He should be fired,” demanded Glen Burnie resident Jim Gillis, referring to Ravens head coach Brian Billick. “Our offense was the worst I?ve seen.”
After the game, some angry fans hurled insults at passing Colts? fans. Still, there were some smiles.
“I?m going to go back to the hotel and watch the other game,” smirked Brian Schott, 46, a Colts fan who flew in from Indianapolis. “Then I?m going to go out and try to find some other Colts? fans to meet up with.”
While for die-hard backers it might be too soon to put the season into perspective, others took the season in stride.
“If you would have told me in August that we would go 13-3 and had a week bye,” said Tim Hurley, 38, of Pikesville, “I would have been thrilled and taken it.”
