What is really with the national angst about the Ravens/Baltimore? (long)

[bensmotorcyclehelmt]

No definately not Wilbon. If you saw us, you'd never confuse us.

Completely, utterly disagree but that's an argument for the Politics area of the boards.

PFT has always been a news AND rumor site. It says so right on its page and always has. If people get upset because they are doing as advertised, that's on the reader.

Same disagreement as before.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not upset by their content. I completely understand it and the motives behind it- it's entertaining and an easy/fun read!

But offering a website (or any news outlet) that offers BOTH news and rumors (but posts it all in the same place, in the same style format with ZERO differentiators) is troublesome, IMO because many people can't tell the two apart.

It's like those that "get their news" from The Daily Show. I love the Daily show too, but because I watch it, doesn't mean I'm abreast of the happenings around the world. There are tons of people that "get their NFL news" from PFT.

[Uli2001]

They don't hate Baltimore's teams, they hate Baltimore, period.

It's hard to know precisely why, but it's a fact. From the whole "detour" on I-95 wisecrack to inner-city crime (as if Phil., NY, Chi did not have it), and on to the "weird" characters from Baltimore in Edgar Allan Poe and John Waters stories. It's just in the national subconsciousness that Baltimore is the "other."

[HoustonRaven]

The "Baltimore is a detour on 95" saying is as old as I am.

So no, it's not "fact" they hate Baltimore.

[lobachevsky]

#1 Jealousy(smaller town "expansion" team that has so much going for it)
#2 Racism(team is viewed as "ghetto")
#3 Massive Steelers fanbase
#4 Team has made enemies with other large fanbases, including NYG from 2000, NE recently and Dallas when we buried Texas stadium, and Washington(although I think that went away when the Skins exorcised their demons by beating us this year, a lot of Skins fans want the Ravens to win now.)

IMO you're close on some of these, but no cigar.

Let's start with fan bases & ask the "anti-Kojak" question: Who hates us, baby? The list includes--

• Steelers fans (a large nationwide collection of bandwagoners & the Mullethead Diaspora) for obvious reasons (& we return the favor with gusto!)
  
• Browns fans (a smaller but still national contingent of refugees from the Mistake By The Lake) & the entire Cleveland metro area from birth, for even more obvious reasons
  
• Cowboys fans (half of Texa plus nationwide bandwagoners) because of the losses in 2008 and 2012 (the latter helping to bounce them from the postseason).
  
• The Indianapolis fanbase (PM and now AL bandwagoners plus an older stratum of pure Colts fans outside Maryland who, if they think at all about The Move, think Baltimore got what it deserved for being so mean to nice Mister [expletive deleted]) for ruining their storybook season & because they really don't like to be reminded that they accepted stolen goods--not so much the team as all its records & traditions--from that drunk sonofabitch whose name I shall not type. (There was a quick popquiz on I think NFLN website between video clips & question #4 was "First team with cheerleaders?" & the guy on camera shot back "Indianapolis Colts"--I jumped out of my chair & wanted to strangle the bastard even though I know he's just an actor reading the lines. FTR I would have accepted "Indianapolis Colts when they were in Baltimore"...)
  
• Redskins fans (some nationwide holdover from Joe Gibbs days plus professionals who've cycled thru DC) for the Ravens' consistent success just up the road while their owner, the Redskin Peanut, was a national joke, plus prior embarrassments on national TV (& probably for getting Wonderboy RG3 hurt even though it was mostly bad luck)
  
• Patriots fans (all of New England plus nationwide bandwagoners & knownothings who just think Tom Brady is sooooo cute plus all the obnoxious Sawx fanbase) for ruining their season, in particular the one-man Pats wrecking crew wearing #31--they are entitled, don't you know? Wasn't it Kraft's late wife who pushed Cundiff's kick wide from up in Heaven? (Memo to Pats fans: Next year if you want divine intervention, try convincing the owner to lay off the young stuff--& encouraging Welker to catch a couple more balls.)
  
• Broncos fans (most of the Mountain West plus nationwide PM-jocksniffers & -bandwagoners who transferred their allegiance from Indy) for ruining their season.
  
• Giants fans (NYC plus national bandwagoners) for SB 35 plus wrecking their season this year
• Plus fans of any other team that's given large contracts to former Ravens, mostly defenders, who didn't turn out to be much once removed from the influence of Ray Lewis

--Add the 49ers fans who think we have no right to stand between them & the Lombardi, & that is a shitload of NFL fans in every corner of the USA with reason to dislike the Ravens. And we haven't even gotten to Ray Lewis!

But let's go there. Many non-fans & one-day-a-year-fans (the equivalent of folks who show up at church on Christmas & maybe Easter) know #52 as the face of the Ravens: a vaguely great player (they couldn't tell you why) who was accused of murder & went to jail. The finer points of the situation & case are lost on them. Immediately that makes the team "ghetto" & "full of thugs"--& of course they play dirty, look at that howwid howwid meanie Pollard... Then add in all those who find Ray's continual invocation of God at best unseemly...

Now move on to Baltimore itself. What does the average non-Baltimorean know about the city?

• Somewhere vaguely between DC and NYC, though many maps omit it while showing smaller cities (in past visits to Europe more locals recognized Annapolis than Baltimore)
• "The Star-Spangled Banner", which everyone outside of Maryland derides because they don't understand it & can't sing it anyway
• Gritty crime shows (Homicide, The Wire) that portray the city in the worst possible light
• The Baltimore Orioles, who haven't been good in years (till this year) but rose up in 2011 to screw over the Sawx (another reason for that fan base to loathe us--team mostly brought it on itself but try telling that herd of arseholes)
• Steamed crabs (a positive thing)
• Michael Phelps (a mostly positive thing)
• Johns Hopkins (maybe--most of 'em don't know it's here & all of 'em leave off the first S)

So we have a very sizeable chunk of NFL fans nationwide with reasons to dislike the Ravens, with very few fans with reasons to like them (IMHO them as do make up in quality what they lack in numbers, but YMMV), and a very substantial chunk of USAns in general (not to mention furriners*) with reasons to dislike the city of Baltimore & very few with reasons to like it.

Now add in the sloth & cowardice of "journalists" working for a national media that has long since sold its soul to Mammon--always reaching for the story that writes itself, the easy take that confirms the prejudices of your audience & will therefore get the sales/views that justify that salary--

& the only question is, Why would anyone expect things to be any other way?

(FTR I've lived all but 1 year of my life within a half-hour's drive of the city & IMHO it's the most underrated big city on the Least Coast re livability. Not sure I want it discovered, except for my friends, a few at a time...)

Oh, and BTW, if the Ravens ever decide to devise a coat of arms for the team, I've got just the Latin motto for it: Oderint dum metuant.

[bensmotorcyclehelmt]

I think you can add the Oakland fan base to hating us too. They had a pretty good team in 2000, until Goose landed on Gannon. He had a few choice words to say about that iovcer the years too.

And given the knock-down, drag-out games we've played with them, we certainly haven't endeared ourselves to the Titans fan base either.

[Bigfish]

IMO you're close on some of these, but no cigar.............

Oh, and BTW, if the Ravens ever decide to devise a coat of arms for the team, I've got just the Latin motto for it: Oderint dum metuant.

Great read. You should never be surprised or outraged by what you expect.

[alienrace]

I think right now New England, Pittsburgh and Denver fans probably hate us the most.

NY has always had a strong dislike, mostly because we kicked their asses in most important games.

The New England hatred of us has taken on a sick kind of level though(see Katy Moody and others). Honestly that is one disturbed asshole fanbase.

[lovefootball]

I'm enjoying all of the things that has happened so far. Nothing upsets me because I have worked hard all my life and nothing came easy or was given to me. Kinda like the Ravens, they have achieved more this year by being tough and resilient. Hope their season ends with a trophy and the media sulking away,trying to explain how they were wrong. Media looking like asses is truly made my season. GO RAVENS!

[Johnnyboy8152]

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/story/2...for-super-trip

Even the positive article by Pete Prisco about the Ravens young players takes two shots at Ray Lewis.

Prisco has always been negative about Ray. In week 1 Ray had 14 tackles, 1 sack, 1 FF and Prisco quickly tweeted how they were all "10 yards down field".

The truth is 8 of the tackles were within 3 yards of the line of scrimmage but it was something convenient for him to say knowing that the vast majority if people would never actually look it up.

[lobachevsky]

I think you can add the Oakland fan base to hating us too. They had a pretty good team in 2000, until Goose landed on Gannon. He had a few choice words to say about that iovcer the years too.

And given the knock-down, drag-out games we've played with them, we certainly haven't endeared ourselves to the Titans fan base either.

Points well taken, consider them added. Fans of the Thumbtacks-En-Fuego are likely particularly put out because after having lost the Big One by one freakin' yard to the Lambs the year before, the Ravens had the audacity to literally rip their return trip right out of their arms.

And in the process of derailing the Rayduhs' quest for the Lombardi in 2000-01 the Ravens also managed to take from them something they cherished that no one else particularly wanted--the reputation as the bad boys of the league. Nowadays when you ask fans under the age of 50 for a 1-word description of the silver&black you are much less likely to get "bad-ass" or equivalent than "joke" or equivalent. Like I said, not a particularly desirable distinction, but when you're a gritty hardscrabble poor relation of the glittering tourist trap right on the other side of the Bay, you take whatever niche you can find & learn to like it, I spoze. Not that Baltimoreans would know anything about that... (Then again, I wonder how many real hardcore Raiders fans are secretly hoping the Ravens kick the living crap out of their crosswater rivals.)

[Paintballguy]

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/story/2...for-super-trip

Even the positive article by Pete Prisco about the Ravens young players takes two shots at Ray Lewis.

Prisco has always been negative about Ray. In week 1 Ray had 14 tackles, 1 sack, 1 FF and Prisco quickly tweeted how they were all "10 yards down field".

The truth is 8 of the tackles were within 3 yards of the line of scrimmage but it was something convenient for him to say knowing that the vast majority if people would never actually look it up.

Prisco has a personal vendetta against ray.


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[Johnnyboy8152]

Any idea why?

It seems like everyone (Tim Ryan, Prisco, Toomer, Florio, etc) are getting their shots in. As if they bottled them up for 12 years.

Will Smith (Saints DE) was being interviewed by Tim Ryan on NFL Radio about his thoughts in the SB matchup. Ryan's question pertaining to Ray went something like this:

Ryan: "How do you feel about how exploited Lewis is going be on Sunday? I've watched him and he is a total liability out there and doesn't help in any facet of the game."

Smith was taken aback when answering and defended Ray saying he has been fine and that Ryan was going overboard.

[Paintballguy]

Any idea why?

It seems like everyone (Tim Ryan, Prisco, Toomer, Florio, etc) are getting their shots in. As if they bottled them up for 12 years.

Will Smith (Saints DE) was being interviewed by Tim Ryan on NFL Radio about his thoughts in the SB matchup. Ryan's question pertaining to Ray went something like this:

Ryan: "How do you feel about how exploited Lewis is going be on Sunday? I've watched him and he is a total liability out there and doesn't help in any facet of the game."

Smith was taken aback when answering and defended Ray saying he has been fine and that Ryan was going overboard.

I don't really know. Yeah ray isn't the same but he's playing at a high level for being 37 and injured.


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[Raven Werewolf]

Appreciate the comments folks. Busy day so I'm just now getting back on and haven't had a chance to read all of them. I realize that this was more of a vent or rant than anything so apologies for coming off too strong maybe. But bottom line, I'm proud as hell to be a Baltimorean and a Raven fan --and if uninformed/ignorant people want to downtalk my city or my team I won't exactly take it with a smile on my face.

[PatsFan in MD]

When friends find out I now live in MD, they automatically think of The Wire. Sadly people who have never visited this state thinks that Baltimore is a good representation of MD and that The Wire is a good representation of Baltimore. No one would want to root for a city as corrupt as the city of Baltimore is presented on that show.

On top of that, you guys have Ray, who is seen as a huge hypocrite to 99% of the population outside of MD.

That's probably why you guys are getting sh!tted on by the national media.

[AirFlacco]

They've hated us since the Browns moved here.

Then there was the Ray thing and that made it even worse. they've always hated us since we blasted our way back
in the NFL but always works for us and will again on Sunday.

[wickedsolo]

When friends find out I now live in MD, they automatically think of The Wire. Sadly people who have never visited this state thinks that Baltimore is a good representation of MD and that The Wire is a good representation of Baltimore. No one would want to root for a city as corrupt as the city of Baltimore is presented on that show.

On top of that, you guys have Ray, who is seen as a huge hypocrite to 99% of the population outside of MD.

That's probably why you guys are getting sh!tted on by the national media.

New Jersey is the same way. Everyone thinks that the state is one giant Newark and Camden overrun with gang bangers and Sopranos.

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[lobachevsky]

New Jersey is the same way. Everyone thinks that the state is one giant Newark and Camden overrun with gang bangers and Sopranos.

It isn't???!?!???!?

I mean, just judging by my relatives in Bergen County & my friends who used to live in Jersey City...

[bacchys]

New Jersey is the same way. Everyone thinks that the state is one giant Newark and Camden overrun with gang bangers and Sopranos.

Well, yeah, but that's the truth, ain't it?

Q: Why does California have so many lawyers and New Jersey has so much pollution?

A: New Jersey picked first.

[iggyman555]

New Jersey is the same way. Everyone thinks that the state is one giant Newark and Camden overrun with gang bangers and Sopranos.

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