Tens of thousands of Ravens fans gathered outside of City Hall to welcome the Super Bowl Champion Ravens back to Baltimore this morning. Many, like Marchelle Wilson of Glen Burnie, said they had been waiting since 5 a.m. "I just want to see Ray," she told us. In the surrounding buildings, tons of people pressed their faces against windows and hung out on parking garage balconies just to get a glimspe.
They all got their chance at 11:45 a.m. when players appeared on the front steps of City Hall, including wide receiver Anquan Boldin, linebacker Terrell Suugs, linebacker Ray Lewis, running back Ray Rice, quarterback Joe Flacco, and safety Ed Reed with his son on his shoulders. Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake got the crowd riled up by starting a "Seven Nation Army" chant before introducing Coach John Harbaugh. "How bout them Ravens?" he shouted to raucous applause. He also broke into a call-and-response-chant of "What's our name?" "Ravens!" three times before giving the floor to Reed.
The Ravens' Super Bowl celebration peaks today with a parade that kicks off Tuesday morning at 10:45 a.m. at City Hall, hosted by Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake. The parade will procede south on Commerce Street, continue to Pratt and Howard Streets, culminating at M&T Bank Stadium.
More info from the Mayor's office, including a route map:
"Beginning at approximately at 12:30 p.m., fans are encouraged to attend a celebration featuring the team and live entertainment at M&T Bank Stadium. The event will be held rain or shine and is free for all fans. Concessions, merchandise and restrooms will be available at the stadium.
Parking for the stadium celebration is free in lots F, G, H & J and will open at 9:00 a.m. No tailgating will be permitted in these lots. Fans may enter M&T Bank Stadium through gates A, B, C & D beginning at 10:00 a.m....
The social media news site BuzzFeed has compiled what has to be the happiest group of photos Baltimore has seen in a long time. Number 14 is pretty special. Which is your favorite?
Joe Flacco had a really, really good day yesterday. His team won the Super Bowl. He was named MVP. He announced to his friends and family that his wife, Dana, is expecting their second child. And oh yeah, there's this.
Baltimore erupted Sunday night after Ray Lewis' last goal line stand finally nailed down a wild Super Bowl win for the Ravens as fans took to the streets — as much in relief perhaps as celebration — to whoop, sing, dance and shout for joy.
Fireworks exploded over many of Baltimore's neighborhoods, including Canton in the above video, after the Ravens' anxious and unpredictable 34-31 victory over San Francisco in Super Bowl XLVII.
Unflabbable Joe Flacco was named the Super Bowl MVP, throwing for three TD's and no interceptions for the third straight playoff game. But after jumping out to a 28-6 lead, following a 108-yard kickoff return by Jacoby Jones to open the second-half, the game took a sudden turn for the worse after a strange power outage that lasted more than 30 minutes and seemed to rob the Ravens of their mojo.
However, as they have all through their remarkable playoff run — underdogs in Denver, New England and New Orleans against the San Francisco — the Ravens proved resilient, rallying the troops to hold off a surging 49er offense.
Maybe this is a good sign for today’s Super Bowl: The first-ever player drafted by the Baltimore Ravens was named Saturday to the Professional Football Hall of Fame.
Jonathan Ogden, who grew up in Washington, D.C. and played college ball at U.C.L.A, was one of seven named to Canton’s Hall of Fame Class of 2013.
The giant, 6-foot-9, 345-pound offensive tackle, whose younger brother Marques played briefly for the Ravens as well, was named to the Pro Bowl 11 times and helped lead the Ravens to their first Super Bowl victory.
Ogden, in New Orleans for Baltimore’s return to the Super Bowl, told reporters he roamed Bourbon Street people-watching Friday night and passed the anxious time Saturday — before the...
Super Bowl forecasting is inherently an inexact science — which is why we like football — the outcome's determined on the gridiron by incalcuable permutations of bounces, blunders and big plays that ultimately spark one team to victory. That said, who doesn't want to know which team Madden '13 simulations predict will win, for example. Or, which team that famous prognosticating camel in New Jersey says will take home the Lombardi Trophy.
Okay, so I swear that I came up with this Ravens-themed playlist (for my boot camp tonight) before I saw that Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake had created one, too. But the two are eerily similar.
Of course, Poe famously died (allegedly) drunk and (definitely) penniless in Baltimore four years later. He wasn't much for happy endings, but here's hoping the Ravens get one this Sunday.