Why I Dislike The Ravens As A Redskins Fan (An Op-Ed Piece)

And I know for a fact most Skins fans jumped ship to the Nats. Ticket sales don't lie. I went to DC last year wearing my Orioles jersey I had more than a few people remark about how they USED to like the O's but that they were big supporters of the Nats now. I stuck out like sore thumb with my O's gear on. And they gave the SAME exact reasons you stated above: the Nats organization runs well, they draft good, etc. Peter Angelos is baseball's Dan Synder. Accept man, it's hypocrisy. Through and through.

Hypocrisy: a pretense of having a virtuous character, moral or religious beliefs or principles, etc., that one does not really possess. Address that- don't duck it with something weak like, "I don't know much about baseball, I just like the Orioles." Baseball season rolls around and most of your fellow fans will do the same exact thing they're railing against now. That makes them hypocrites and you know it.

Let me preface this by saying I am actually a Cowboys fan (yes i know you all hate me, I get it). I am fully aware there will be (if not already) many articles about Cowboy fans. When I was a kid,I met Roger Staubach and was instantly a Cowboys fan. I later moved to this area. Even as a little kid I was fully aware that you stay loyal to your team and you do not switch in the bad times. I remember some of the redskins good years and the stupid parades after winning the SuperBowl, I hated them. I would never switch. I can see not hating the other team and rooting for them from afar as long as it does not impact your primary team, but switching is not an option in my book. Now go ahead and commence with the Cowboy hatred, I mean it always comes back to that anyway.

No such thing as Bmore fans other then ladies n guys that dont know football. period.

This reminds me of how the DC local news adopts Virginia Tech sports teams. They are 2 hours away from DC in the mountains of Blacksburg. The football team has a little success and all of a sudden there is a fan base. Nobody in the DC area was talking about the Ravens in the Vinnie Testeverde and Tony Banks days. They were a bottom feeder. The Ravens did turn around their franchise at the same time the Redskins franchise was at its all time low. Reals Redskins fans stuck around, fake fans jumped ship. Now they worship the Ravens and there leader who cheated the game(nobody has come back from torn triceps in the same season) and cheated the law(double murder plea bargain). In my opinion, Baltimore can have these lame ass fans. Good riddance! HTTR!!! Always and forever!

People are fans of teams for whatever reasons led them to that team. Maybe it was their dad who cheered on a team, or a city they grew up in. Maybe it's just the hatred of the hometown fans who are mostly bandwagon fans in many cities. Baltimore had their football team ripped out from under them and although many youn fans did not know the colts, they knew the history of them. So when their opportunity came for their very own team, they took the opportunity to become fans of their new home team. It didn't matter if they cheered for the redskins or any other team, their new team had landed and that's who they chose. As for redskins fans who flip flop between the skins and ravens, well that should tell you a lot about redskins fans.

Could not have said it better my self. My feelings exactly.

Question for Ravens fans: who did you root for after the Colts left and before the Ravens came?

I agree man, It really irks me when I see people cheering hardcore for the Ravens, then turnaround and rave about how much they love the Redskins. For example, I was at Miller Ales watching the Skins playoff game against Seattle when I noticed this guy across me wearing a Redskins jersey and a huge ass Ravens hat!(RAvens played earlier that day). I mean are you serious! I was disgusted at the view and all I could do was smh. When the Ravens first came to Baltimore in 1996 I remember not caring at all, as if they weren't in my own state. I never even entertained the thought at embracing them as my team. A real fan has one team and one team only. I gave them as much respect as Carolina and Jacksonville, they were nothing but expansion teams to me. It wasn't until the Ravens started to beat The redskins in preseason and the regular season is when I started to hate them. The Ravens had a record of 7-2 against the Skins. Just making us look bad, and then all of a sudden I start to see the Ravens gear come about. All I could think about was wtf! Where are all these fans coming from. Baltimore is way up the beltway. Just in case you don't know about B-more people, they don't consider themselves from MD, as a matter fact they dislike DC. So everyone that supports their team is only stroking their ego even more. People in Baltimore don't have an ounce of respect for this area,but idiots over here support them while they laugh at you smh.So for all the wannabe football fans who are confused on how to support your hometeam, just remember your rooting for the Original Cleveland Browns.

I think most of the reason the Ravens are not like able is Ray Lewis.

Very similar to my thoughts. I actually found my Testaverde jersey at my parents house a few weeks ago. I didn't mind them, then this year happened. More trash talk, more Baltimore hating of DC fans. Talk of wasting draft picks and more off season fireworks for a failing racist franchise. I snapped, couldn't take it! That's when the hatred began, I treated them as Eagles fans slightly south. Found me using lines like call me when you get three or call 911 your MLB just killed someone. Now I have a whole year until a new champion is crowned to get the Hun out of my head. It's now been 25 yrs since the Redskins last Lombardi trophy and I get reminded of that constantly by trashy d-bags in purple camo! #HTTR

Grew up in Baltimore County as a Colts fan. Now hate the Colts.... So happy for the Ravens!

I too once tried to be a fan of the ravens, as I am always a fan of the hometown teams. I wanted them to beat the giants back in their first Super Bowl, it just seems somewhere along the lines the ravens fans continually hated on and talked shit about the redskins. I just got sick and tired of hearing it especially from people that were once skins fans or a fan of another team for that matter. Now I will admit I am a big time hater of the ravens I just can't find it in me at all to hope for their success and it did not used to be that way for me. I would never abandon my team no matter how long they were bad to route for another team and most fans of the ravens over 17 years old did just that after the ravens won their first Super Bowl.

Do you think these people would be Ravens fans if the Ravens were most a below 500 team? I think not

I agree in principle. You shouldn't just leave your team because they are having down years. That is the worst thing you can do as a fan. However, I'm not sure I agree that you can't have a favorite team, say a 'primary team' and then cheer for a team in a different division when they are not playing your primary team. I love blue, but I also can like green or red right? As long as you are loyal to your primary team, I don't see anything wrong. Example: I love the Orioles, always have. I have all of Cal Ripken's baseball cards, signed balls, etc. Growing up, the O's were the only team in town. If the Nationals had been around, I might have loved them instead, but they weren't. So my primary team is the Orioles even though they sucked from 1996 until this year. That is an awfully long time to wait. However, i've still listened to hundreds of games on the radio, been to several a year, watched countless games on TV, etc. Still my primary team. However, I do support the Nationals as my national league team. They are the 'local' team and I know they would have been my primary team had they been here growing up (also, my wife's whole family are obnoxious philies (and even worse EAGLES) fans, so cheer for the Nats pisses them off). If i have to pick, i'd NEVER EVER cheer for the Nationals over the Orioles. I haven't abandoned the O's, just decided to broaden my horizons. With that said, I bleed Burgundy and Gold and never have or will cheer for the Ravens. Ray Lewis killed some people and I find many of their fans annoying for some of the reasons you listed above. Thats my take.

In complete agreement with everything written. There's only room in my world for one team and to see others just hop aboard the more successful bandwagon is sad.

GAYVENS!

I totally agree! I have grown up a skins fan and was born and raised in Silver Spring MD. However, I now live and work in Baltimore and have been for the last 6 years. Never have I once thought about becoming a Ravens fan or even cheering for them, sure I think it's good for the city of Baltimore and the state of Maryland but that's as far as it goes!

People switch teams to fully represent the region they live in. Like it or not, you're in a predicament. Most of your fellow Redskins fans are now Nats fans, having "switched" from the Orioles. Likewise, most of your fellow O's fans "switched" from the Skins (or Steelers or Colts) to the Ravens. You're in a league of a very few. It's commendable but in my opinion, it doesn't make you any less a "real fan". I think most people make a conscience decision to rep their area. To me, it doesn't make sense rooting for another media market. I live in Baltimore, I work in Baltimore, I read the Baltimore Sun, I watch Ravens football. If I became a Steelers, Yankees, or Duke fan out of the blue, but lived here with no ties to those areas, that would be fake. As a Ravens fan I have heard the same insults and felt the same scorn from the friends I grew up with. Reading this article and seeing the words 'disgusted' and the comparison to adultery is pretty insulting. This is being a fan of a team. And your fanbase is guilty of the same exact thing: the Nationals switchover. By your standards most of your fanbase are just as 'adulterous' as Ravens fans are. Really, we should quit harping on each other and try to co-exist as two fan bases, two media markets in the state of Maryland and accept that there's going to be switching and hopping back and forth throughout the futures of both of our franchises. I'm smart enough to see that RG3 has a couple of Superbowl's in his future. Baltimore's boat will get lighter when that happens.

Totally agree!! No way someone can call themselves a "true fan" when they bail out and change teams because the other team is winning. i always wanna know who Ravens fans cheered for back in '95? I always laugh when you hear "oh, i didnt watch football back then" lol.

This is as spot on as it gets. I wouldnt hate the ravens if it wasnt for their fake fans.Its one thing if u are from bmore but if u are from dc or moco or pg than u are just a d rider

I do gotta say that's a good article. The way i see it ravens and skins need to be like the 49ers and the raiders are they hate each other its a true sport rivalry

Every year players leave and new ones come on board and on occasionally owners change. The team you know and love this year is NOT the team you will know and love next year. Some people follow players; some follow coaches; some follow the team name. There is no right or wrong on the definition of a fan. It is what type of fan you are. The Skins have gone through a period of some pretty bad prima donas who sucked the financial investment of the team and made the team weaker. They got our hopes up and then let US down. The coaches were mediocre. The team left us. Now they seem to be back and I am encouraged that I will once again begin to care what the players names are and if they are worth spending the money on to support. The Ravens were never on my radar, but this year they have earned my respect. I own a Redskin shirt not a Ravens one yet. If it were a Ravens/Redskin superbowl, I would be rooting for the Redskins.

I am a loyal Redskins fan. This was an interesting read. I like your perspective. Having been born a Redskins fan I agree, the "newness" of the Ravens being born in Maryland was difficult at the time. I live in MD, so in the Super Bowl I kept my East Coast loyalty and rooted for the Ravens. I think I'll always look better in burgundy & gold. Forever!

I have been a fan since I could recognize the team logo. Congrats to the ravens, for winning the superbowl. I am not a fan, nor will I ever be. I actually watched the game with a ravens cheerleader, I congradulated her on the win, but never once reuted for them. I reuted for a good game.