The Gavin Show

Punxsutawney Phil says we’ll have six more weeks of winter. I guess it’s a good thing I don’t get my weather reports from rodents.

The Super Bowl was last night. I, along with most everyone else I know in Baltimore, would have loved to see the Steelers fall to the Cardinals. After all, the Steelers beat the Ravens in the AFC Championship. For a few moments in the fourth quarter, it even seemed like the Cards would pull off a miracle win. But, in the end, the Steelers hoisted up the Super Bowl trophy for the sixth time.

Whatever. I turned off the TV before I could see that part.

So now my attention is directed straight at Orioles baseball. This is an annual tradition for me. I wake up Monday after the Super Bowl, realize it’s still cold outside, and start daydreaming about longer, warmer days filled with baseball games. I usually end up going to the Orioles’ website and figure out a few milestones for myself, a few lights at the end of a dark, wintry tunnel. Here’s what I’m looking forward to:

• 12 days until pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training (there’s a live countdown clock on the Orioles’ website)
• 23 days until the first preseason game
• 63 days until opening day

I’ve got my opening day tickets and a package of six Sunday home games, so I’m all set to be in Oriole Park at Camden Yards for at least seven games this season. All I need to do now is huddle in the dark and cold until things warm up and baseball season starts.

For me, that’s in 12 days.

This has been a great weekend for football. First the Ravens beat the Titans, and this morning I saw the documentary Harvard Beats Yale 29-29 at The Charles Theatre. It was part of Cinema Sundays at the Charles, which I think might have become my new favorite Sunday tradition. I just heard about the film series from an email the theater sent last week, even though their website has a list of films shown on Cinema Sundays dating back to 1995.

Every Sunday, the box office opens at 9:45 am, and the $15 cost of admission includes bagels, coffee, an introduction to the film, then a Q&A session and discussion afterward. Here’s a description from the Cinema Sundays website:

In Harvard Beats Yale 29-29, [director Kevin] Rafferty takes us into the world of America’s Ivy League universities via a 1968 football match that had a highly unexpected outcome. He interviews players on both sides, who – in addition to talking about the game – summon the socio-political milieu of the time, recollecting their thoughts on issues like Vietnam, birth control and student insurrection. These testimonies interweave with remarkable footage of the game, an erstwhile style of college play that possessed a grace lacking in today’s professional football.

Milton Kent, host of Sports At Large on WYPR, led the discussion about the movie, college football, the way sports have evolved since 1968, the shameful state of the Bowl Championship Series selection process, and of course the Ravens win over the Titans last night. It was great to hear reactions and recollections from people who were in the stadium during the Harvard/Yale game 40 years ago. It’s true that college football isn’t as important to this area of the country than it is elsewhere (especially the south), so it was neat to hear some perspectives on it I really hadn’t considered.

The conversation turned to the question of why people like sports in the first place, and it made me think about last night’s Ravens game. No matter what background, economic status, ethnicity, political affiliation, or any other differences, they can all be set aside to share in watching their team play. In the video I took, every single Ravens fan in that room shared in the celebration.

It was lots of fun and a spectacular way to spend a Sunday morning. I’m looking forward to this week’s announcement about next Sunday’s movie.

Last night I watched my Baltimore Ravens beat the Tennessee Titans at DuClaw down in Fells Point. The place was electric, and I took some video from the bar. As I write this, I’m getting ready to watch the San Diego Chargers take on the Pittsburgh Steelers. The winner of that game takes on the Ravens next week. You can feel the excitement here in the city, and you can definitely see it in this video.

Download the video here.