Tailgating

Unless he's pulling our legs, Patrick Gesselman of Conowingo deserves credit for candor, frugality and clear writing. He's an admitted tailgater, and he says he does it to save money. After last week's column on tailgating, Gesselman, 28, was the only reader to come forward with an explanation of why one would want to follow another vehicle closely at a high rate of speed. His logic and economic calculations may be questionable, and he clearly undervalues his own neck, but at least he's given the practice some thought.

Blustery weather held down the number of spectators for the Easter running of the Marlborough Hunt Races, but for die-hard fans, nothing could stand in the way of their annual opportunity to show off hats and tailgating skills.

CLEVELAND -- Believe me, it's not easy being a sports fan when you're from Cleveland and living in Baltimore. Albert Belle? Can deal with him, sort of. I root for the O's. But Art Modell? Can't deal with him at all. Couldn't possibly root for the Ravens. Ever.So I arrived here last Wednesday to get my football fix in Cleveland, my boyhood home, a place splashed with orange and brown and foamy beer, where people are preparing for the biggest party in a long, long time.The Cleveland Browns, thank the Lord, are back.

For thousands of football fans, Ravens games will be more than just three or four hours of fun. If the preseason was any indication, home games will be an excuse for an all-day party.As soon as the parking lots opened five hours before kickoff, cars, minivans, pickup trucks and sports utility vehicles began pulling in."We're here for the big party," said Stuart Posner, 35, who relaxed in the sun with his wife, Eileen, and grilled hamburgers and hot dogs. "The scene here is a lot of fun. We'll be here every game."

When the Ravens' downtown stadium opens, there will be more traditional, pre-game tailgating than ever, but part of it will come with a twist: instead of fans having to haul their grills and hamburgers to one of the lots, the Ravens will bring tailgating to them.All of the 5,000 parking spaces controlled by the Ravens and the Maryland Stadium Authority will be tailgating-accessible and will be open four hours before game time.Those spaces include not only those lots between Oriole Park and the new stadium, but also adjacent lots off Russell Street and I-395.

The Ravens will make the 1997 season their last in Memorial Stadium before they move to their new stadium at Camden Yards next season. And very few changes will be made to the stadium in its final year of service.Facilities manager for the Ravens, Chuck Cusick, said that most improvements were made prior to the Ravens' inaugural season last year. And from the time the Ravens face the New York Giants here in their preseason opener tomorrow until the end of the season, authorities will simply maintain the facility.

Scott Walters, his older brother Mike and nine friends parked their van in a designated spot right off 33rd Street in the old Eastern High School parking lot across from Memorial Stadium. They took out beer and a grill and began tailgating for the Ravens' preseason opener against the New York Giants yesterday.Their purple van, affectionately nicknamed "The RaVans," carries each of their first names, the Ravens' team symbol and phrases such as "Ravens Lunatics." Last year, such a conspicuous tailgating sign was absent.

In a response to the demands of their fans, the Ravens will allow tailgating at home games this season in designated parking areas near Eastern High School.More than 900 stall parking places will be made available to Ravens season-ticket holders. The parking places, costing $20 per game and sold on a season basis, will be offered first-come, first-served.Tailgating had been banned by city ordinance, but by reaching a compromise with Baltimore City officials, the Maryland Stadium Authority and Memorial Stadium neighborhood residents, the Ravens created an arrangement that will allow fans to bring their charcoal grills and refreshments up to four hours before each game.

A motorist who found himself facing a gun when he confronted a tailgating driver on Baltimore-Annapolis Boulevard used pepper spray on the man and ran back to his car, county police reported.Christopher D. Morrow, 20, of Pasadena told police he was westbound on Route 100 near Catherine Avenue shortly after 7 p.m. Tuesday when a green Chevrolet Cavalier entered the highway and its driver began tailgating him.Morrow drove to Baltimore-Annapolis Boulevard, stopped at Furnace Branch Road and got out of his car, police said.

He came, he saw, he squawked.Hamid Qayyum celebrated Baltimore's return to the NFL yesterday from the back of a pickup truck, with his body covered in black makeup and feathers extending down both arms for makeshift wings. Among the accessories were black shorts, sandals and sunglasses, which went nicely with the word "Go" painted in white letters on his chest.The Ravens were making their preseason debut, and Qayyum, 27, of Baltimore had dressed for the occasion.Most of his friends, Loyola College graduates like himself, took a more subtle approach to offering support for the Ravens, removing their shirts and painting a single letter on their chests that spelled out the team's name when they stood together.

Local sports fans can trade in their beer and baseball caps for champagne and fedoras Sunday as St. John's College plays host to the U.S. Naval Academy in their 27th annual croquet match. In a display of sophisticated spectatorship - think The Great Gatsby meets tailgating - a crowd of 1,500 is expected to gather on St. John's campus to watch the college's croquet team play the Midshipmen from the 28th company. The winning team is awarded the Annapolis Cup. Jo Ann Mattson, director of alumni relations at St. John's, said audience members come to socialize and show off extravagant gowns and suits as much as for the game itself.

Local sports fans can trade in their beer and baseball caps for champagne and fedoras Sunday as St. John's College plays host to the U.S. Naval Academy in their 27th annual croquet match. In a display of sophisticated spectatorship - think The Great Gatsby meets tailgating - a crowd of 1,500 is expected to gather on the St. John's campus to watch the college's croquet team play the Midshipmen from the 28th company. The winning team is awarded the coveted Annapolis Cup. Jo Ann Mattson, director of alumni relations at St. John's, said audience members come to socialize and show off extravagant gowns and suits as much as for the game itself.

Unless he's pulling our legs, Patrick Gesselman of Conowingo deserves credit for candor, frugality and clear writing. He's an admitted tailgater, and he says he does it to save money. After last week's column on tailgating, Gesselman, 28, was the only reader to come forward with an explanation of why one would want to follow another vehicle closely at a high rate of speed. His logic and economic calculations may be questionable, and he clearly undervalues his own neck, but at least he's given the practice some thought.

Cincinnati -- Not even a heated division rivalry could deter Jerry Marcus Jr. from a good tailgate in Cincinnati. Marcus and five other Ravens fans traveled from Baltimore to catch the Ravens season opener against the Cincinnati Bengals last night at Paul Brown Stadium. They ate a "Who Dey?" meatball, drank a few beverages and traded lighthearted barbs with members of the Roach 2 crew, a group of Bengals fans in Lot E on Mehring Way. "I feel as comfortable here as I would at home," said Marcus, who made the trip with friends Todd Degreenia, Sean Francis, Sam Guarenia, Al Huber and Ron Stevers.

Blustery weather held down the number of spectators for the Easter running of the Marlborough Hunt Races, but for die-hard fans, nothing could stand in the way of their annual opportunity to show off hats and tailgating skills.

NEW ORLEANS -- The shrimp po'boys sizzled, the drinks flowed and the laughs reverberated throughout the block of Poydras Street where Jeff Ballero and about 40 of his friends were tailgating before yesterday's game between the Ravens and the hometown Saints. In that sense, Ballero seemed like any other fan of an NFL team on any other Sunday in any other city. Except that Ballero's house was one mile from where floodwaters caused by Hurricane Katrina 14 months ago busted open the levee along the 17th Street canal.

As more than 100 thoroughbreds and their jockeys competed in the Marlborough Hunt Races in southern Anne Arundel County yesterday, David Kolb and his friends savored a 100-pound, slow-roasted pig on the sidelines. At the steeplechase races in Davidsonville, the group has carved out a niche for itself, with a whole tailgating section - "Loedown Lane" -named in its honor. "Sixteen years ago, everyone else had their silver candelabra and their Mercedes here," he said. "All we had was a ham and our pickup trucks.

Good morning --Ravens fans -- With a schedule full of 1 p.m. games, make sure to start your tailgating early this season.

BUSINESS DOW -- UP +45.94 10,686.04 NASDAQ -- UP +5.79 2,202.47 S&P -- UP +3.76 1,234.72 SUN INDEX -- UP +0.04 321.99 NATIONAL Bush fights back President Bush, working to recover from low approval ratings and stung by Democratic accusations that he used faulty intelligence to put the nation in war, used a Veterans Day speech at an Army facility in Pennsylvania to hit back. pg 1a WORLD American troops killed in Iraq Five American troops were killed in Iraq, including one along the Syrian border, during a major push to take control of the frontier from insurgents, the U.S. military said yesterday.

RALPH PRATT has come under fire in this column the past several weeks for his strategy of dealing with tailgaters. (He taps his brakes, and if that doesn't work, he'll slow down significantly, until they stop tailgating or pass him.) He has finally responded to these criticisms. "I did come up with my own rule regarding tailgating. And it works," he insisted. "Most people who see me flash my brake lights give me room. Few people will forget tailgating me." But then he also said, "I don't consider my driving aggressive.