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FanSided 250: Why Baltimore Ravens fans are underrated

By Chris Schisler

LOS ANGELES, CA - NOVEMBER 25: Baltimore Ravens fans hold a sign for Lamar Jackson #8 of the Baltimore Ravens during the game against the Los Angeles Rams at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on November 25, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - NOVEMBER 25: Baltimore Ravens fans hold a sign for Lamar Jackson #8 of the Baltimore Ravens during the game against the Los Angeles Rams at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on November 25, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images) /
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The Baltimore Ravens rank as the 133 hottest fandom on FanSided 250. It’s good to be ranked and even better to be ranked ahead of the Pittsburgh Steelers! Baltimore is still underrated:

The Baltimore Ravens fandom is underrated on FanSided 250, which is an awesome ranking of the fans of various categories across sports and entertainment. The Ravens fanbase ranks 13th on the list among NFL teams. Baltimore is having an incredible season and there is a level of excitement that has been missing in recent years. The Baltimore area is buzzing and purple can be seen everywhere (not just on Purple Fridays).

The Baltimore fanbase started out starved for football. The Baltimore Colts left in 1984 and the Charm City was without NFL football until the Ravens came into being in 1996. The Ravens won a Super Bowl in the 2000 season and the passion in the fanbase elevated to a frenzy. When the Ravens won Super Bowl XLVII in the 2012 season the parade was an absolute spectacle. The Ravens fandom loves football and they demand a winner.

From 2013-2017 the Ravens made the playoffs just once. There was a lot of disappointment with this team. Picking right in the middle of the NFL Draft was starting to become a yearly thing. The Ravens weren’t bad enough to get a top five pick and they weren’t good enough to fight for a championship.

The buzz from two Super Bowls in a short franchise history had faded. Things just weren’t the same at M&T Bank Stadium.

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Then something awesome happened. The Ravens drafted Lamar Jackson with the 32nd overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. Jackson came in for an injured Joe Flacco and the Ravens have gone 17-3 since. The Ravens are currently riding a nine game winning streak and have an 11-2 record. With Jackson, the Ravens found the most exciting football in the NFL. It woke up a sleeping giant of a football team and it got the fanbase revved back up.

The Ravens faithful are not fair weather fans. They were there the whole time. They were there when the Bengals spoiled their playoff plans in 2017. They were there in 2015 where they lost an unthinkable amount of starters to the injured reserve.

True Ravens fans, never went away. They remember the glory of the first Super Bowl run and the misery of the Elvis Grbac experiment. They remember the frustration of Kyle Boller and Troy Smith wasting an awesome defense in 2007, giving Cam Cameron’s Miami Dolphins their only win. They were there when Joe Flacco lifted the Ravens past the Steelers and they were there when he didn’t.

The Ravens fandom is great because it demands a winner. They are a reflection of the Ravens organization. They are smart, passionate and on top of things. They are highly invested fans that have expectations that are hard to deliver on. No fanbase drives their team to be a winner more than that of the Ravens. When the Ravens put forth their best effort, no stadium gets louder than M&T Bank Stadium. When they see their favorite players “Play like a Raven” they appreciate them more than words can quantify.

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The Ravens are Super Bowl contenders and they have Super Bowl caliber fans. There are 12 teams with a fandom ahead of the Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens are a smaller market team. They’re never going to have the number of fans that the Dallas Cowboys do. I get that. That being said, there are Ravens fans all over the world and they all cheer like a Raven.

If you go to a game at M&T Bank Stadium, you’ll see what I mean. The Ravens are shown a lot of respect in FanSided 250, but they are underrated. The Ravens are a top five fandom in the NFL because they are passionate and they set the expectations for the organization.

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