Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and members of the Baltimore Ravens organization gathered this morning in front of City Hall as they launched an effort to build team spirit one purple stencil at a time.
Days away from a playoff match against the Kansas City Chiefs, the "paint the town purple" campaign will result in a slew of stenciled images placed in the city, and throughout Baltimore and Howard counties.
Tuesday morning, the Ravens' grounds crew painted the grounds in front of City Hall and Federal Hill with the same Ravens logo seen on the field at M&T Bank Stadium. The tradition started in 2005, and has been continued the past three years that the team has qualified for the NFL playoffs.
"This year, to show our pride, we are going to fire up the purple lights and paint the town purple," said Rawlings-Blake in a prepared statement. "No team in the NFL will have as much hometown support as our Ravens."
Late Tuesday night into Wednesday morning, the organization's front office staff will continue the stenciling efforts as they paint the Ravens' logo and the mantra "W.I.N." (What's Important Now) at 250 locations. The employees will use a washable black and purple spray chalk and a smaller stencil. The effort will expand to additional locations if the Ravens advance further in the playoffs.
"It's been a huge success," said Heather Blocher, spokeswoman for the Ravens. "The players feed off of the energy that the fans give them."
Fans will also be able to purchase their own stencils with the "Go Ravens" logo for $10 through the Ravens Store at the Sports Legends Museum or at http://www.baltimoreravensstore.com.
john-john.williams@baltsun.com
