Ravens at City Hall

Last week, a raucous crowd jammed the Inner Harbor to send Baltimore's Ravens off to the Super Bowl. Yesterday, an even bigger, even louder crowd took over City Hall Plaza and lined downtown streets to welcome home the champions. WYPR's Joel McCord was among them... and brings us this report.

Joel McCord: The crowd began gathering more than two hours before the parade was supposed to start. It filled City Hall Plaza and stretched all the way to the steps of the War Memorial hundreds of yards away. People packed the stairs of a nearby parking garage and leaned through the openings on each parking deck to get a better view, or they hung out office windows. They climbed light poles and on to flower boxes; anything to get higher. Lisa Thornton was squeezed against the crowd control barriers by the masses behind her. It didn’t seem to matter.

Lisa Thornton: This is so exciting. I’m so glad to be here. I think the Ravens are doing Baltimore a great deal. Victory is ours.

McCord: Patrice Shaw of Cupcake Dreams saw a business opportunity in the huge crowd.

Patrice Shaw: Ravens cupcakes: chocolate cupcakes with purple buttercream with a Ravens symbols helmet on top….Everybody kept bumping into you, knocking ‘em around so I had to decide to bring ‘em to my car wait til after the rally to sell them.

McCord: The Ravens marching band formed up in the middle of Fayette Street, entertaining the crowd. John Ziemann, the band president, has been around since the championship days of the Baltimore Colts.

John Ziemann: You never get used to it because you love it; and the younger generation enjoying professional football in this city. And more to come.

McCord: Finally, more than an hour after the parade was supposed to start, the team emerged from the great wooden doors on the porch of city hall, headed for trucks and vans that would carry them past the adoring crowds on Pratt Street and to M&T Bank Stadium. Mayor Stephanie Rawlings Blake could barely be heard above the din.

Baltimore City Mayor Stephanie Rawlings Blake: I want to thank all of you for your spirit. They under estimated us and what happened? We were victorious.

McCord: Head Coach John Harbaugh recalled his speech the day of the send-off last week, when he told the fans they would be in New Orleans even if they didn’t make the trip because they would be in the team’s heart.

Ravens Head Coach John Harbaugh: And you were there you were there. We felt you. And, oh, yeah, all the fans in the stands. We heard you. You were fantastic. Thank you for your support. You are truly champions.

McCord: Retiring all-pro linebacker Ray Lewis continued his love affair with the city.

Ray Lewis: The city of Baltimore, I love you forever and ever and ever and ever and ever. We gonna count down this parade and we’re gonna say thank you to every person that’s out there. Because there ain’t no Ravens without you guys.

McCord: Quarterback Joe Flacco surveyed the crowd as he scrambled into a military vehicle for the ride to the stadium.

Joe Flacco: Yeah, it’s pretty special. I mean we’re just here today to say thank you for all they’ve done for us all year. They stood by us all along and it’s awesome to see them out here to support us today.

McCord: As the pulled away the game’s most valuable player was greeted with chants of MVP. After the parade passed by, Curran Brooks, of Lutherville, headed back to his car with his children, Connor, Ellen and Caroline. He had let them skip school for this.

Curran Brooks: Believe it or not, they’re great kids and they’re very good in school and I just thought I don’t get to spend as much time as I nearly do with them and it’s great.

McCord: Caroline was convinced she had made a connection with number 81.

Caroline Brooks: We believe that Anquan looked right at us. So, but we were—it was really cool. It was really cool.

McCord: The team would get another rousing reception at jam packed M&T Bank Stadium, where some couldn’t even get in. I’m Joel McCord, reporting at City Hall for 88.1, WYPR.