Once a Raven, always a Raven

 QOTD: 

<Big Frog is watching preseason NFL on tv>

Big Frog: Hey, you didn't tell me Flacco's an Eagle!

me: Sorry, I told EKN (who live in Philly).  I should have told you.  Flacco's an Eagle!

<desperate squeaking from the next room>

me: Sorry, squiggs, not that kind of eagle!  Flacco's very friendly, really!

Sports superstitions

The Cow-lover and I were "watching" (We were on the phone. She had the game on mute, I had the computer providing online updates.) the O's in the ALCS for the first time since 1997. They were not doing well. But we realized that neither of us had really watched an entire game so far this season, so we switched tactics.

We turned off our feeds.

We focused on conversational catch-up.

And the O's started to come back. 

We occasionally peeked over at the scores, and every time we did, the O's were doing better.

So... we don't get to watch the game.  Because reasons. 



source: Pearls Before Swine, by Stephen Pastis, 1/2/2011

Go Bawlmer birds!

Baltimore Stallions (Coulda been the Hippos!)

I don't remember the Colts moving away in the dark of night on Mayflower moving vans.
(Why?  Well... I was four.)
But I know it happened.

Did it affect me?
Not so much at that point.

In fact, I wasn't really into football of any kind until I married Big Frog.
(And not just because one week after I was married, the Ravens became SuperBowl champions.)
(But it doesn't hurt.)

I do remember the excitement of football coming back to Baltimore.

But the Ravens (which are my boys!) weren't the first.
Before there were Ravens, there was the CFL (Canadian Football League) in Baltimore.

Interesting oral history of the Baltimore Stallions available at The Baltimore Sun: Baltimore's Forgotten Champions.

I remember the naming competition.  And I remember (of all things!) that if we had the Baltimore Hippos, we could "Hipp...O!" in the National Anthem, much like we do at Orioles games.
(There's no "O" in Ravens.  But that has never ever stopped a Baltimoron.)

Anyways, read the oral history.  You'll be glad you did.