"I got the word from my buddy over there," he said. "He's a huge Chiefs fan. So I thought he was just [messing] with me."
A short while later, Jordan had to deal with a much bigger problem when a roadside bomb exploded 6 feet from where he stood.
"We were doing dismounted patrols," he said matter-of-factly. "We got intel that said there was a bomb-maker. So we went to look for him."
The bomb blast sent shrapnel ripping everywhere like a swarm of angry bees. It shredded his right leg.
"I got a lot of muscle damage and nerve damage," Jordan said. "Eight surgeries. We'll see what happens from here."
Staff Sgt. William Campbell, 44, a liaison between the wounded soldiers and division headquarters, accompanied Norris, Wood and Jordan to the Castle on Wednesday.
A veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan with the 82nd Airborne and 10th Special Forces, Campbell recalled returning to Kirkuk one day after a long mission. He hadn't watched sports - or anything on TV - in more than a month.
"So we're watching golf," he recalled with a smile. "Golf! I don't know anything about golf. I never played golf. But I'm watching a guy missing a putt and I'm going 'Awww!' I was so into it. Anyway, we're watching golf with the volume turned down. And the sergeant major comes in and starts talking and we all put our fingers to our lips and go, 'Shhhh.'
"And he said, 'Why's the volume turned down?' And we said, 'It's in German.' He sat down and started watching it with us."
The stories kept coming.
When practice was over, Ravens coach John Harbaugh, one of five current and former NFL coaches who will travel this month to the Persian Gulf region to meet with service members, invited the vets onto the field to address the team. The Ravens greeted them with thunderous applause.
Norris was the first to speak.
"There was a time when I didn't know if I was going to be back home," he said, his voice thick with emotion. " ... and to be around you all now, it's truly a blessing."
After the three wounded soldiers and Campbell spoke, Harbaugh asked the vets to come up with a cheer to close out the practice.
For a moment, the veterans seemed stumped.
Finally, Norris came to the rescue.
"God Bless America!" he said.
And that's how practice ended, with the Ravens in a huddle, hands in the middle atop the wounded soldiers' hands and everyone shouting: "One, two, three ... God Bless America!"
It was a wonderful moment.
I wish you could have been there.
