Seen the Ravens logos stenciled on sidewalks around the county? That's the work of a dozen very loyal fans who painted the town purple and black Tuesday night.
Harford's famous Bus Boys and other hard core members of Ravens Nest 1 met up at their usual watering hole and go-to place to watch away games — Main Street Tower in Bel Air — for the game plan from the Ravens marketing team on how to spread their Purple Pride throughout the county.
An annual tradition for the Baltimore Ravens during the playoff games, the marketing team works together with the fans to mark public sidewalks and sites with the team's logo above the world "relentless" in purple and black spray-chalk.
In past years, these stencils could only be found in Baltimore City, County and Howard County. Recognizing the loyal fan base in Harford, the team decided to expand and show the love around Bel Air, as well as Aberdeen and Havre de Grace.
People came prepared — Ravens shirts, coats, gloves and, most importantly, their game faces.
The Bus Boys, also known as Matt "Fan Man" Andrews, Dale "Maniac" Davis, John Dongarra, aka "Camo Man," and "Raven Rick" Dixon, were parked outside of Main Street Tower, bus still running with flashing lights inside and the smoke machine blowing.
Passersby would peer in, gazing at the hundreds of photos the boys had taken on their many journeys to home games, away games and their trip to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.
They greeted people as they arrived for the big event, including Ravens marketing coordinator Matt Little and Tower manager Kevin Jasper.
Jasper, who occasionally tailgates with the Bus Boys, said he is "completely excited" for Sunday's playoff game against the Houston Texans. Not just because his favorite team is playing, but it also marks the return of his brother, a Marine, who spent the last eight years in Japan.
Naturally, Jasper believes the Ravens will win this game, and hopes they'll play against the Denver Broncos next week.
"As long as the Ravens go to the Super Bowl and Peyton Manning [Indianapolis Colts quarterback] doesn't," Jasper said he would be happy.
Upstairs in the Tower, the 12 fans gathered, passing out purple T-shirts. Little explained how to use the stencil and spray-chalk, while Davis split up everyone in teams and told them which areas in Bel Air, Aberdeen and Havre de Grace to cover.
Andrews piped up, telling everyone they couldn't come back until their spray cans were empty. One woman added that the Nest would be buying drinks for everyone once they returned.
Outside the Tower, the fans crowded around Little as he demonstrated how to paint the sidewalk.
A couple swishes of black on the logo, a few more sprays of purple on "relentless" and voila! The pride began to spread. "Fan Man" shouted, "Touchdown Ravens!" and everyone cheered.
"Maniac" pointed out how the Tower had been "so supportive of us [the Ravens Nest]." He explained that Jasper and the crew re-did the back of the restaurant to accommodate the fans, adding more room and more TVs to watch the game.
As the teams split up, the Busy Boys stuck together, along with Andrews' daughter, Tressa Andrews, and hit up various spots down Main Street and beyond, including in front of Buontempo Bros., M&T Bank and the Harford County Sheriff's Office — with permission, of course.
As each new purple and black piece of art emerged, Andrews exclaimed another "touchdown!"
Although it was cold and their hands were covered in paint, the Bus Boys never lost their sense of humor, joking the entire time and reminiscing about their trips in the Fan Bus. Really, they probably would have been willing to paint the whole state purple for their dear Ravens if someone asked them to. That is, as long as they never missed a game.