Excitement is building in Baltimore where the Ravens host the Kansas City Chiefs this Sunday in the AFC championship game. It’s been half a century since the city hosted an AFC title game.
SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
It has been more than 50 years since an NFL conference championship was held in Baltimore. This Sunday, that will change as the Baltimore Ravens host the Kansas City Chiefs. Scott Maucione of member station WYPR reports on the buzz rippling across the city as it prepares to host the AFC Conference Championship.
UNIDENTIFIED PEOPLE: Let’s go Ravens.
SCOTT MAUCIONE, BYLINE: At the Ravens training facility, the Marching Ravens Band is practicing for the last time before they’ll perform in their biggest home game since the Baltimore Colts beat the Oakland Raiders for the AFC Championship in January 1971.
JOHN ZIEMANN: So I’m the only one that’s still active in professional football that was at that game.
MAUCIONE: John Ziemann’s the Marching Ravens Band president and has been with the band since 1962. He says the Ravens hosting this year’s championship is an important milestone for the area.
ZIEMANN: It does something great for the state, and it does something great for the city, the fans. It’s something that brings everybody together. No matter who you are, you’re rooting for your Baltimore Ravens.
DETROW: The Ravens won it all in 2013, but never hosted the AFC Championship Game during that run. Band director Dan Fake says band members will be forming imagery that celebrates Baltimore as they perform in Sunday’s pregame show.
DAN FAKE: We got the logo. We’ve got the Super Bowl trophy in there. We’ve got our B logo that fans can resonate with. We’re trying to make those connections to the team, to the brand and just say, this is Baltimore football.
MAUCIONE: It’s not just the band that’s hyped, though. Baltimore’s Enoch Pratt Library downtown is lit with Ravens-colored purple lights. Meghan McCorkell’s the library’s…
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