When a Ravens fan identifying by JanuaryJoe5 on Reddit called the Ravens ticket office asking for a stub from a random Ravens game in 1998, he didn't have high expectations.
The fan was born on Nov. 1, 1998. The doctor who delivered him was at the Ravens vs. Jaguars game that day. It was a rather unspectacular performance as Baltimore lost, 45-19.
Still, the game and day obviously have some special importance.
"I scoured eBay but I couldn't find anything I was sure was legitimate," JanuaryJoe5 wrote. "So I went straight to the Ravens, not expecting a reply. Forty-five minutes later this guy emails me back and tells me not to buy anything from eBay, he'll send me a ticket for free."
He didn't only get the Jaguars ticket he was looking for.
In the same letter, the Ravens sent him a ticket stub from the franchise's first game at what is now called M&T Bank Stadium on Sept. 6, 1998 against the Pittsburgh Steelers. On the ticket, the stadium was called "New Football Stadium at Camden Yards."
"The Ravens are the best," he wrote.
I tracked down the ticket office customer service pro, Ticket Sales & Hospitality Coordinator Eric Hubbs. He was pretty pumped that the fan was so happy with the letter.
"It was really kind of an obscure inquiry," Hubbs said. "People don't really call us and ask for old tickets very often, and he had a completely legitimate reason being born on the day of the Jags game that year. So I could tell it had some sentimental value to him."
Hubbs wasn't sure if the Ravens would have the old tickets, but sure enough he found some.
"There was a box sitting up on a shelf, brushed it off, coughed on the dust because I don't think it had been touched for 10 years," he said. "[The Steelers ticket] was just the cherry on top. I saw it sitting there and was like, 'He'll probably appreciate it more than the shelf will back here.'"
