Ravens Roost #41 - Local News Coverage

The day didn't end with a hard-to-swallow loss for the Baltimore Ravens for Gloria Dedrick.

After her team's defeat, it was time for the secretary of the Ravens' Roost No. 41 in York to pay up.

Leaving The Cove restaurant in Spring Garden Township, Dedrick headed home to put the icing on the cake.

Yellow icing.

That was the bet she made with her co-workers at Verizon in Hershey, where she is outnumbered 4-to-1 by Pittsburgh Steeler fans.

If the Ravens beat the Steelers, the icing would be purple. But if the Ravens lost, it be yellow -- honoring the Pittsburgh Steelers.

This time, this year, after the Steelers stunned the Ravens 27-10, the cake would be yellow.

"I'm a good sport. I'll hold my head high. I tell them, 'Here's your cake, enjoy it.' What more can I say?" Dedrick said.

Win or lose, Dedrick stands behind her team. She's not about to sell the season tickets she shares with her husband, Lenny.

"It's a part of us," she said.

Tough loss: Baltimore's run as returning Super Bowl champions was over. That was tough to swallow for several members of the Raven's Roost watching the game.

The Roost is like family, rooting for the Ravens who brought football back to Baltimore six years ago and a Super Bowl victory last year. The Ravens helped ease the bitter memories of how Baltimore's former team, the Colts, left loyal fans in the middle of the night to go to Indianapolis.

No loyal Ravens fans would turn on their team, said Roost President George Christas.

Still champions: "Hey. We're still the Super Bowl Champions until Feb. 3. I still love the team. I will always love them," Christas said.

Still, yesterday's game wasn't pretty. The Ravens were sloppy with penalties. The Steelers were pumped. The Ravens couldn't run, pass or score. The only thing the Ravens could do with any consistency was turn the ball over.

"They outplayed us. Our team didn't show up," Christas said.

Elvis dead: There was enough blame to go around, said Patty Phillips, of Shrewsbury, starting with quarterback Elvis Grbac, who threw four interceptions, and Coach Bill Billick, who kept him in the game.

"Elvis has been dead for 25 years. How do you expect him to play football? What's wrong with Billick?" Phillips asked.

The cheering in the Roost was as sparse as a Raven's first down.

Steve Fureman yelled as he held up his "Let's Get Crazy" sign twice in the second half. Yesterday, he got ready to put the sign he takes to all Baltimore home games away for another year.

"There's not a lot to cheer about," Fureman said.

Chip Gerhart of York described the day as somber. Sitting with his arms folded, his eyes downcast, Gerhart knew the season was over.

Gerhart's big moment came after the Ravens scored their only touchdown in the third quarter on Jermaine Lewis's 88-yard punt return. He pumped up the crowd, saying this was the break the team needed to turn things around.

But the comeback was short-lived.

Tough to watch: Tom Smith of New Freedom watched the screen and threw his arms in the air throughout the game. He didn't want to give up on his Ravens. But as time continued to run out, he acknowledged he had little choice.

A penalty killed one drive; then came a turnover; followed by a quarterback sack, a punt and a quick Steeler score.

Smith finally threw in the towel with 4:20 left in the game when Grbac found a receiver in the end zone, but the pass bounced off his fingertips and into the arms of a Steeler.

"That's game ... and this time I mean it," Smith said.

Smith stood in the aisle as fellow members of the Roost left The Cove. The team that never gives up was done. And the fans who stood by their team had nothing left.

Now, all that was left was looking to next season.

"Next year. There's is always next year," Smith said.

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