I don't often get emails from the Baltimore Ravens, and certainly not in this quiet time of year, with free agency in a lull and everyone poring over mock drafts. So this one was a surprise. It said the team wanted the UK Ravens to be first to know they had been granted international marketing rights in the UK.
My immediate reaction was excitement. Anything that builds the connection between the Ravens and the UK is great for fans on this side of the pond. That was followed by curiosity. What does this mean?
Shortly afterwards, the team published the press release, and our WhatsApp Groups went into meltdown. What meant the most was that the Ravens' press release specifically said the "strong support system" from the UK Ravens was one reason why they applied for UK marketing rights. That was a recognition of the time, energy and passion so many people have poured into this community over the years.
To understand why this meant so much, you should know a bit about how we got here. The UK Ravens were founded in 2003 by a small group of British fans who wanted to travel to the US regularly to watch the team. It grew from a tight-knit group to thousands of fans on social media – talking big games, the Draft, and hating the Steelers.
My wife's family lives in Maryland, and I've been a Ravens fan since my first game back in 2000. You might remember that team. As a lover of defensive football, I left the stadium with my eyes on stalks. I'd followed the team ever since but didn't get involved with the UK Ravens until 2017, just before the team first played in London. And, if you remember that game, you'll know why that's all I'll be saying about it.
In 2019, we held our first official watch party, in London. Follow-ups paused during the pandemic but have grown tremendously since. Last season alone, we had 18 watch parties in 10 cities across the UK and Ireland.
The time difference can be tricky. A 1 p.m. kick-off is 6 p.m. here, which is fine. But a 4 p.m. game starts at 9 p.m. – trickier if you have work in the morning. And if you think you get to bed late after a prime-time game, well they finish at about 4:30 a.m. here. And yes, a lot of us stay up to watch.
We estimate a couple of thousand people are now involved at some level, and we still meet fans who don't know about us yet. There's plenty of room to grow.
We make regular trips to Baltimore for games – at least one per season. In fact, the UK Ravens trip to the 2023 Divisional Playoff game against the Texans was one of my favourite fan experiences and I didn't even go. I spent the weekend looking after our X (formerly Twitter) account, sharing photos sent by our travellers and posting highlights like their appearance on WBAL-TV.
The sheer volume of replies from Ravens fans in and around Baltimore was amazing. We had constant messages asking where the group would be so people could meet them for a drink or just say hi. This group of Brits travelled thousands of miles to see the team they love and were welcomed like family. You could feel the mutual respect and enthusiasm, the sense that we're all part of something bigger.
I'd experienced Baltimore hospitality just a couple of weeks before that Texans game. We were visiting the in-laws for Christmas, so I went to the Dolphins game on New Year's Eve. As I settled into my seat, the couple next to me said hi and, on learning that I was over from the UK, asked: "Do you know Ben from the UK Ravens?"
It's something of a cliché here that Americans think we all know each other. But actually, I do know Ben Mortimer. Like me, he's one of the hosts of the UK Ravens podcast, and he's one of the original UK Ravens. This couple had known Ben when he lived in Baltimore and recently saw him when the Ravens played the Titans in London.
We reminisced a bit about the London weekend. Seeing the Ravens win in London was fun, but the weekend around it was incredible. The UK Ravens organized three events: a 20th birthday party on Saturday, a tailgate party on Sunday before the game, and a postgame party afterwards. In total, we sold 1,000 tickets across the three.
The Saturday night party at Belushi's in London Bridge was unforgettable. The Ravens turned up with the official team bus, the Baltimore Ravens Marching Band, the Ravens Cheerleaders, and Poe. They transformed it into a full-scale celebration. The venue's staff told us they'd hosted NFL fan groups before but never seen anything like this.
The marketing rights announcement felt like an extension of this family relationship, not the beginning of it. The Ravens tell me they are still in the early stages of planning activities, but any ideas for forging a deeper connection with fans and attracting more to the Flock are on the table. The NFL's Global Markets Program allows teams to build their brand and engage fans in specific international territories, through events, marketing, content, and more.
The opening tagline of our podcast always has the host saying, "I'm joined by some friends I met on the Internet." It's true, we wouldn't have met otherwise. Sport brings us together. If a couple from Maryland can ask about a podcast host from Yorkshire, and a bunch of Brits can get a marching band welcome in London, it's clear: Ravens Flock isn't just a slogan. It's a global family.
