OWINGS MILLS, Md. — It's hard to go anywhere in Baltimore right now without seeing purple. And if business at Baltimore Sports & Novelty is any indication, that's going to be even more true in the coming days.
“It was completely nutty yesterday, and completely nutty this morning, and right now it's still nutty. And it will continue to be nutty,” said owner Jeffrey Katzen.
Katzen has owned the shop in Owings Mills for 22 years. He says this season has already been one for the books.
“We saw it when they won the Super Bowl, the day after. But this year it's been a little bit different. It's been a little more special and exciting. Everyone's amped up and ready to rock and roll and beat the Chiefs on Sunday.”
“We better win, we gotta win. It's been a long time. I was pregnant with my daughter when we went to the Super Bowl the last time,” said Endoli Boykin from Pikesville. Her daughter is now 10-years-old, so, yes, it's safe to say people are ready for the Ravens to bring home a trophy once again.
Gerard Williams was born and raised in Baltimore, but now lives in Houston. Saturday’s game, he felt like he couldn’t lose. Now, he's stocking up on gear to bring back.
“There's actually a Ravens contingency in Houston. We're gonna get together, and we're gonna take our shirts and we going out there and rub it in their face," Williams said.
Team pride translates into big business for bars and restaurants. Jimmy's Famous Seafood is capitalizing on the excitement.
“When the Ravens do well, we do well. It really helps support the local economy. It keeps morale boosted high; the staff loves it,"said events manager Mike Cornblatt.
“So this week we have Kyle Van Noy here, he's a two-time Super Bowl champion. He's gonna be here Tuesday night at Jimmy's. And then Sunday we're gonna have the biggest pregame tailgate party in the United States. We have Shaquille O'Neal headlining and DJ-ing at our event. We're used to doing big events for the Ravens, but I don't think anything is gonna be bigger than this one,” Cornblatt said.
Tickets from the official Ravens website go on sale tomorrow at 10 a.m. Resale sites are already selling them; the cheapest tickets we found were $420, without fees.
