Golden Rule

We talk to tackle Brandon Williams about his fandom philosophy.

Congratulations on the offseason contract! How were the fans during that process? I felt a lot of support. There were waves of direct messages saying we love you here. There were even fans that said, ‘I understand it’s a business decision. I’ll be a Brandon Williams fan either way.’ It was a great feeling to be wanted by the fans, even when I could have not been in Baltimore.

You went to a small college. Was there a big shock coming to a fan base like Baltimore? It was crazy. Missouri Southern is in a small town. There weren’t many people in the stands, though the ones you saw were diehard. But switching over into Baltimore with a big town with great sports was nuts. As soon as they announced me on draft day, I was getting flooded on social media with people saying, ‘You’re going to be awesome for the team, you’re going to do just what Goose [Tony Siragusa] did.’ And I hadn’t even started playing yet! The immediate love and family feeling the fans gave me was amazing.

To you, what makes Baltimore Ravens fans unique? There are rarely any fair-weather fans. No matter how we’re doing, they’re like, ‘We’ll get ’em next time.’ I never really hear any backlash or anything, it’s always love and praise. The biggest thing about Baltimore, they are a bunch of hard-working people and they just love a team that’s in the community and shows love to them.

Explain your love of dancing and how fans react to that. The dances just happen. Sometimes when I’m home offseason, I just sit around and I start thinking weird things like, ‘You know what would be fun? If I did the Carlton dance.’ Or it’s like the dog days of training camp, and [Terrell] Suggs throws on music and I tell myself I won’t dance and then I’m like, ‘What is my body doing?’ and I just can’t control it.

There’s one video I took—we lost the game and everyone was so down in the dumps. So I put Wham! on and I started running around with the coaches and players. Let’s have some fun, let’s get a little loose! So many people come up to me in the street and say that it made their day. Man, that’s awesome to change someone’s perspective, just me being me.

What have been some highlights with fans over the years? When we went down to the veterans hospital and met with the military families. They’re going through the worst thing, but these kids are so inspiring. There was a kid who couldn’t walk and he said he couldn’t wait to get out of there to start playing football again. It was amazing to see his will and his heart. And I’ve been involved at the Boys & Girls Club down in Westport. I remember when I was a kid, I went to a boys club. So many people come to the games, but a lot of kids don’t have the means. I want to reach people beyond the stands.

I also have to shout-out the women. A regular old sexist man would think that women don’t watch football. But it’s the opposite here, and it’s awesome to see how many women support the team—a lot of times even more than the men.

When you were growing up, who were you a fan of? Okay, so I have to say this was before 1996, and before the Ravens were around. Being a big kid growing up, I wanted to do what the skinnier kids were doing, which was running the ball and scoring touchdowns. And Jerome Bettis was the fat kid who could touch the ball. He was kind of showing the small guy that we can do this, too. I actually got to meet him and I don’t think I even said anything. I just mumbled something and I was geeking out. My wife got me a signed jersey from him and I bawled.

How do you try to repay the fans? I learned it all from Haloti Ngata. He taught me how to be with fans. I would just look at him, how he had a big smile on his face as much as the fans did. The biggest thing for me is I think about being a fan. How would I feel to see someone from my hometown team in Wegmans? I treat fans how I’d want to be treated.

london calling

At least one fan won’t have to go far when the Ravens travel to England.

There can’t possibly be a bigger British Ravens fan than Ben Mortimer. A framed photo of Joe Flacco hangs on the wall of his office in York (the one north of London, not north of Towson) along with a football autographed by Brian Billick. He has been to more than 100 Ravens games, and even though he lives 3,500 miles from Baltimore, he still makes it to M&T Bank Stadium at least once each season.

On September 24, he won’t have to fly to catch a game. When the Ravens take on the Jacksonville Jaguars at Wembley Stadium in London, Mortimer, pictured, on the right, will be there proudly wearing purple.

“It’s pretty much my first passion,” he says.

During the decade Mortimer lived in Fells Point, he became obsessed with the Ravens, despite having grown up in England. He bought season tickets (he still owns seats in Section 529) and went to just about every home game. When the team was on the road, he watched on the big screen at Max’s Taphouse. He moved back to England in 2011 and started MVP Travel, a company that sends Brits to the United States for NFL (and other professional sports) games.

“I think it’s leaving niche territory and entering the early stages of the mainstream,” he says of the NFL’s standing in the United Kingdom. Sky Sports, a satellite network, televises multiple games during the week.

Since 2007, the NFL has routinely staged regular-season games in London, and while many Brits are Patriots fans (“They have England in their name,” Mortimer explains), the Ravens have a solid following. The U.K. Ravens Facebook page, which he helps administer, has more than 1,600 likes.

Since Mortimer’s credentials are firmly established, he offers advice for Ravens fans traveling across the pond for the game. Ground zero for the NFL in London, he says, is The Hippodrome Casino in Leicester Square. The location dubs itself “the premier destination to watch the NFL at its finest,” and advertises “an authentic North American menu and fans in jerseys.” Home base for Ravens supporters this season will be The Admiralty in Trafalgar Square. With many games kicking off at 6 p.m. (1 p.m. here), a fitting meal would consist of traditional English pub fare like fish and chips, bangers and mash, and meat pies.

A more upscale meal can be enjoyed at Hawksmoor Seven Dials in Covent Garden. Mortimer calls the steakhouse’s meat and cocktails “fantastic.”

Among Mortimer’s other suggestions is pairing the trip with an English Premier League soccer—er, football—game and visiting the Tower of London. For one weekend in September, the tower’s resident ravens, whose presence is said to protect the British crown, will be the least important ones in town.

What have been some highlights with fans over the years? When we went down to the veterans hospital and met with the military families. They’re going through the worst thing, but these kids are so inspiring. There was a kid who couldn’t walk and he said he couldn’t wait to get out of there to start playing football again. It was amazing to see his will and his heart. And I’ve been involved at the Boys & Girls Club down in Westport. I remember when I was a kid, I went to a boys club. So many people come to the games, but a lot of kids don’t have the means. I want to reach people beyond the stands.

I also have to shout-out the women. A regular old sexist man would think that women don’t watch football. But it’s the opposite here, and it’s awesome to see how many women support the team—a lot of times even more than the men.

When you were growing up, who were you a fan of? Okay, so I have to say this was before 1996, and before the Ravens were around. Being a big kid growing up, I wanted to do what the skinnier kids were doing, which was running the ball and scoring touchdowns. And Jerome Bettis was the fat kid who could touch the ball. He was kind of showing the small guy that we can do this, too. I actually got to meet him and I don’t think I even said anything. I just mumbled something and I was geeking out. My wife got me a signed jersey from him and I bawled.

How do you try to repay the fans? I learned it all from Haloti Ngata. He taught me how to be with fans. I would just look at him, how he had a big smile on his face as much as the fans did. The biggest thing for me is I think about being a fan. How would I feel to see someone from my hometown team in Wegmans? I treat fans how I’d want to be treated.

roll out

Take a peek inside Ray Schissler’s tricked-out Ravens bus.