Growing up in New Jersey, I never knew what it was like to “have a team.” Unfortunately, my state is more widely known for its tanned people who lounge on the beach all day than for its athletic achievements.
So when it comes to football, many Jersey residents support teams that are geographically closest. Most people support the Jets, Giants, maybe the team of the city their mom grew up in or whichever team has the cutest quarterback. There is no uniformity in whom people cheer for, making it a bit difficult to find team spirit amongst those around you.
When I found out I would be going to Hopkins, the second question my brother Tejas asked me was, “So you’re a Ravens fan now?” (the first question was, “Why haven’t you seen The Wire yet?”). It was an interesting question, since it made me realize I would be living in a city with an actual football team. I would finally have someone to rally behind for the sole reason that the team is representing the city in which I’ll spend the next four years. Sports are an important unifying force for cities and I was very excited to finally be a part of that.
After the Ravens’ amazing run, I started growing some more Baltimore pride. Maybe there was something more to this city than soft-shell crabs and Michael Phelps. It seemed like this was home to a really great football team. I don’t remember ever being more eager to watch football games than when the Ravens were playing, and I learned that that transcended the feeling of simply wanting your favorite team to win. I felt like Baltimore was my home, and I wanted to see the players representing my city to succeed.
Fast forward to February 3rd, and the entire city is covered in purple. I had never seen anything like it. From construction workers on campus to pet dogs, everyone was wearing a Ravens jersey. I knew I could never experience anything like this back in Jersey, this kind of pride and support for a team. I felt like I was part of something that could potentially be the greatest thing to happen to Baltimore in a long time. Watching the game was way too stressful for me because I’d never wanted a team to win so badly. Sports were rarely able to excite me much, but that night my heart was about to jump out of my chest.
The first half of the game was a blast. When the Ravens had a comfortable lead against the 49ers, I started getting ahead of myself, thinking about how Baltimore would go absolutely crazy if the Ravens won. I pictured the streets flooded with screaming, chanting, ecstatic and probably drunk people. “How cool would it be to be part of something like that?” I thought to myself. Coming together with the entire city to celebrate this victory seemed so within reach. Unfortunately, the lights went out in the stadium and in my hopeful thoughts.
As the 49ers started to gain momentum, I thought about what would happen if the Ravens lost. Baltimore would be in mourning and everyone would be in an awful mood for a while. Luckily, as we all know, we did not have to deal with that. The way the city erupted with joy when the Ravens won is something I will never forget, and being outside of Barnes and Noble chanting “Let’s go Ravens” with my fellow classmates was actually much more electrifying than it sounds.
It doesn’t look like New Jersey will be producing any Super Bowl worthy teams anytime soon, but celebrating this year’s victory with my new hometown gave me more pride than I’d ever thought possible.
Aishwarya Raje is a freshman Economics major from Princeton, N.J. She is a staff writer for The News-Letter.
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