Streeter: Ravens fandom means loyalty to the team — but it needs to go both ways

Meredith Davis is very clear: “I will forever be a Ravens fan, as long as I am in Baltimore.”

She gave these assurances Monday morning, just hours after the team’s disappointing loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. But fandom has admittedly not been a priority for her this season, and it honestly has very little to do with how they played.

“I hadn’t even been following them as much as I usually do,” said the Owings Mills resident, who readers might remember as the die-hard fan who committed to giving away some of her season tickets after coach John Harbaugh visited the Trump White House, an act Davis found disrespectful to not only his majority Black players but this majority Black city, a constant target of derision and insult for the president. She had considered selling the tickets completely, but stood down after a contact from the Ravens organization reached out to her.

But this disillusionment isn’t just over Harbaugh’s visit and the subsequent doubling-down on his decision. For her and others, there’s been a damper on the overall season. There’s the cloud of former kicker Justin Tucker, who was suspended for 10 weeks after being accused of sexual misconduct. It’s the warnings the NFL gave to the Ravens and other teams to avoid violating the league’s gambling policy. It’s the injuries and general sense of uneasiness.

“Something is not right,” Davis said. “I’m not going to say it’s them. But the whole season seems really strange to me.”

As much as she’s dedicated to the franchise, the Ravens have not been Davis’ priority. “I’ve been trying to survive,” said the founder of executive advisory company Davis Research Exchange, who is currently without full-time work.

“People are tired,” she said. “When the world’s imploding, who cares about a touchdown when the next day you might not have a job? Sports is leisure. It’s a necessity for a city because it brings a lot of money and adds revenue. But for us, it’s leisure.”

Davis gave away a set of tickets to be auctioned off by Baltimore’s Center for Infant & Child Loss, but she wound up selling others for a simple reason: “I needed to pay my bills and sustain.” And this is why she thinks the team needs to be loyal to the people who spend thousands each year on their seats.

Earlier this season, she wrote a letter to her contact in the organization — the same person who reached out to her when she wrote about her concerns about Harbaugh. She read me her message, in which she congratulated the Ravens on a winning streak and asked if, in light of the massive federal government job loss locally, the franchise might consider extending the March 1 deadline for financial commitment for the following season’s seat licenses. By that date, owners who are not on a monthly payment plan must pay at least 50% of the total fee for the season — which for Davis is about $5,000 for her two club-level seats. All money is due by May 15.

“I’ve heard nothing,” she said. “I reached out to ask if there were any concessions being made, but it’s business as usual. Thousands of people are out of a job, and they still want us to pay for these tickets. Some are able to do it, and some aren’t.”

Chad Steele, the Ravens’ senior vice president of communications, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Davis understands that this is business, and said she’ll try to hold onto her tickets because “they’re a good investment.” But in a city that prides itself on loyalty, “I’m disappointed,” she added. “Baltimore is not built like this. Baltimore has a rich history of supporting teams, and its sense of building community is unmatched. This is not the way.”

Because of the general state of the world, including the United States’ strike on Venezuela over the weekend, Davis said it’s harder and harder to be concerned day to day with a game, particularly when her team doesn’t seem to be considering its fans.

“How can anyone be excited to be celebratory in this environment? Even if we had won the game, we’re losing the war. Transparency is important and you can’t pretend that nothing is wrong,” she said. “This country’s Botox is failing, and the makeup is coming off. The ugliness is here and you can’t unsee it. I’m disillusioned.”

Davis admitted that she didn’t watch much of the game Sunday. “I was really sick to my stomach thinking about it. I just prayed it was gonna work itself out, and took myself to sleep.”

As unhappy as she is with the current state of the team, Davis swears that she’s always going to love the football team that represents Baltimore. “If the Ravens ever left and the Crows came, I would support the Crows. ... I am loyal to my city.”

But whoever the team is? They need to be loyal in return.