Game 12 of 122

Game 12 of 122

Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium (vs New Orleans Saints):

The weekend before Christmas, the family traveled to Maryland to visit Deb’s sister’s family and her parents.  In four days, we managed to pack in a lot of activities, including a Baltimore Raven’s game, trip to Colonial Williamsburg to visit Deb’s 97 year-old grandmother, visit to the Smithsonian’s Air & Space museum with Deb’s parents and nieces, and a Washington Capitals game (click for more on that game) with Deb’s cousin and husband.

We were lucky enough to be able to watch the Raven’s game from a private suite, compliments of my brother-in-law, Jeremy.  I attended the game with Deb, her sister Karen, Jeremy and about 20 others in the suite.  I also attended the Baltimore Orioles game with Jeremy back in May to kick off my sports tour.  This was not my first Raven’s game, but the first time it counts toward my goal and the seats were much nicer than the last time I was there.

Inside the suite.

Jeremy and Karen

This game provided me the opportunity to watch my 2^nd favorite NFL team (next to the Steelers of course) – anyone playing the Baltimore Ravens.  Their opponent for this game was the New Orleans Saints – current Super Bowl champs – and many people think this matchup was a preview of this year’s Super Bowl….let’s hope not. 

I had mentioned in a previous blog how easy it is to start cheering for the home team; but, there is no part of me that will ever cheer for the Ravens.  However, surrounded by Ravens’ fans, I only quietly cheered for the Saints.  I thought it might be a little disrespectful to cheer against the favorite team of the folks that provided us with such great seats, plus I preferred not to get in a fight.

Ray Lewis pregame dance - ridiculous!

For the Ravens (and the Steelers), this was a very import game and one that could end up determining the AFC North Champion.  Unfortunately for Steelers fans, the Ravens won a great game (and the Steelers lost later that day).  It was a well played game that came down to the last few minutes, but I left disappointed with the Raven’s 30-24 victory.

View from seats - purple everywhere!

The ballpark has way too much purple for me, but is a very good venue for watching a game.  The weather was warm enough that we sat outside the suite the entire game and enjoyed the action from our seats, which offered great views of the field (we didn’t even need to watch the three TVs provided).  As for the food, no trip to Maryland is complete without eating some crab cakes, which were delicious in the suite.

Thanks Jeremy for the opportunity to attend the game, but I still hate the Ravens.

Record:  7-5, but this is one game I would have preferred the home team lost.

Official Box Score of the Game

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