Purple fever hit the State House Friday. Delegates wore Ravens jerseys, purple ties, blouses and dresses, and for those who forgot to wear their home team colors, one senator handed out Ravens logo napkins that were being turned into pocket handkerchiefs.
Del. Maggie McIntosh, chairman of the House Environmental Matters, was the first to enter the House chamber with a Ravens jersey, one bearing number 58 of former Ravens linebacker Peter Boulware. City Dels. Brian McHale, Curt Anderson and Anne Marie Doory also wore Ravens jerseys, and Anne Arundel County Del. Mary Ann Love had one with the number of her district ? 32.
Speaker Michael Busch briefly sported a white Ravens cap and brought out a football. Busch played football at Temple University and coached the sport at St. Mary?s High School.
In the Senate, President Pro Tem Nathaniel McFadden, D-Baltimore City, said he forgot to wear purple, but he put one of the Ravens napkins in his breast pocket. With Senate President Thomas Mike Miller away, McFadden was in his first appearance as presiding office, the first African-American to hold the post.
“Let me commend all my colleagues for wearing their Ravens purple,” McFadden said.
Sen. Katherine Klausmeier was chagrined she?d forgotten to put on the purple pantsuit she wore the last time the Ravens made the playoffs. “I?m disappointed in myself,” she said, so she found some purple Mardi Gras beads to put on.
“The only thing purple I had was a bruise,” joked Sen. Norman Stone, of Dundalk.
Sen. Bobby Zirkin, of Pikesville, was passing out the napkins with the Ravens logo and is one of the most ardent of the Ravens fanatics. A season ticket holder, he?s gone to 14 Ravens games this year, including all the away games except for New Orleans and Tampa, Fla. He?s says he?s got flights booked for San Diego and the Miami Super Bowl.
Montgomery County Sen. Jamie Raskin, a Redskins fan, was wearing one of Zirkin?s “handkerchiefs.” “I?m ready to bet on a winning team. ? Baltimore and Washington have grown a lot closer,” Raskin said.
