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Long time coming After 23 years, postseason football is back in Baltimore
BALTIMORE (AP) -- Feelings of guilt and indifference have been replaced by pride, excitement and anticipation. Four years after Art Modell moved his franchise from Cleveland, the transition is complete: Baltimore is once again a football town. The Ravens (12-4) host the Denver Broncos (11-5) on Sunday in the first NFL playoff game in Baltimore since 1977, when the Colts lost to Ken Stabler and the Oakland Raiders in the second overtime. "This is a great time for this city, for this franchise, for this football team," Ravens quarterback Trent Dilfer said. "The expectations are high, and they should be." After the Colts left for Indianapolis in 1984, Baltimore was without a team until Modell came to town in February 1996. The relocation of the Browns conjured mixed feelings within Baltimoreans, many of whom were embarrassed to have secured a franchise in much the same fashion that Indianapolis took away the Colts. The Ravens went 4-12 that first season and had trouble selling out old Memorial Stadium, in part because baseball's Orioles still were the No. 1 team in town. "They didn't jump on the Ravens," Modell recalled this week. "We had to reintroduce pro football here. It was almost like an expansion team." Things changed dramatically after head coach Brian Billick replaced Ted Marchibroda after the 1998 season and led Baltimore to an 8-8 finish, its first non-losing record since the move. Now, as they stand poised for a run at the Super Bowl, the Ravens have captivated the city. The top three rated shows in Baltimore last week were the Ravens-Jets game (with a whopping 48 share); the Ravens-Jets postgame show (43 share); and West Wing (29 share). Not too long ago, the talk around town in late December was about the Orioles' offseason trades and the approach of spring training. Not anymore, especially since the Orioles are coming off their third consecutive losing season. "I can tell the fans are excited about this game," said Ravens punt returner Jermaine Lewis, who was drafted by the Ravens before their inaugural season. "I'm on the street and people are saying, 'You going to win this week?' It never was really like that before this week. Once you start winning, you start drawing attention." Lewis, who grew up in Maryland, was a 3-year-old when the Colts lost 37-31 to the Raiders on Dec. 24, 1977. Ravens season ticket holder Mark Loraditch, then 7, remembers the day vividly. "My father and brother had tickets, but they wouldn't take me. It wasn't on TV because it wasn't sold out," he recalled. "So I listened to it on radio." Twenty-three years later, Loraditch finally gets a second chance to see Baltimore in an NFL playoff game. He will be sitting in section 542 of PSINet Stadium on Sunday, next to his brother. "It's going to be insane, I hope. Baltimore was without football for 13 years, so it's going to be electric," Loraditch said. "With the Orioles playing as badly as they have, we haven't had anything to cheer about. "This is becoming a football town. If they win this game, Baltimore is back on the football map. But if they lose, Monday's going to be real tough." Then again, it's better to have played and lost than to have never have played at all. "I'm very proud of what we've done here," Modell said. "I find the reception in Baltimore to be absolutely overwhelming, and they deserve it. They waited a long time for a football team, then it took us some time to put this thing together. But now we're starting to make some music." Many local stores have put signs in the windows, wishing the Ravens luck against the potentially dangerous Broncos, who eliminated Modell's Browns from the playoffs in 1986, '87 and '89. But these are the Ravens, and because John Elway no longer plays for Denver, there's cause for optimism. This is Modell's 40th year as an NFL owner, and although the Browns won the NFL championship in 1964, he has never been to the Super Bowl. "How far we go remains to be seen," he said, "but this just might be the best team I've ever had."
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