Kenny Ohl didn't have much time to chat the morning after the Baltimore Ravens ousted the Houston Texans from the playoffs and earned a spot in Sunday's conference championship game against New England.
Ohl, a Lansdowne resident, needed to get new Ravens merchandise into his downtown Arbutus store, Ravin' Maniacs, to meet the demand, which has spiked with the team's success.
"They're a lot more fired up about the team now," Ohl said, noting that cold weather items such as hats and sweat shirts are among the most popular items for customers at the store on East Drive in downtown Arbutus.
By the end of the week, Ohl said he expects to have items like Ravens beer buckets to accompany the dresses, purses, T-shirts, sweat shirts, and other pieces of Ravens memorabilia for sale in his store, which opened May 15.
Some of the most popular items, Ohl noted, disparage the Ravens upcoming opponent.
Ohl nearly sold out of T-shirts with the phrase "Houston, you have a problem" last week.
"You got to keep up, game by game by game," Ohl said. "You got to make sure you order just enough so that you're not stuck with 50 of them."
Of course, those shirts won't be a hot item now that the Ravens and their fans have their sights set on next Sunday's foe, the New England Patriots.
Customers can expect to see items that poke fun at the Patriots, such as a T-shirt that has a cartoon image of a raven stepping on a patriot.
Arbutus resident Wayne Hartel said he goes into the shop nearly every day to see if they have something unique and bought an anti-Houston shirt last week.
Asked if he would buy some anti-Patriots gear, Hartel responded, "I haven't seen the new ones yet, but I'm sure I will."
A Ravens run to the Super Bowl, Ohl said, would likely keep fans buying merchandise through the off season and help his 8-month-old store recover from slow business during the lockout.
Ravens fans, Ohl added, can be fickle when it comes to showing their support for the team.
"Any time they lost, you couldn't pay anyone to walk through the door," said Ohl, who plans to keep the store open year round.
During the off season, Ohl said he may only have the store open four days a week. It's open seven days a week now.
The store closes an hour before the start of a Ravens starts because Ohl is a die hard fan and doesn't want to miss a single snap, he said.
But as much as Ohl would enjoy watching his beloved Ravens go to the Super Bowl, he's not looking too far ahead yet.
Ohl said he thinks that the Ravens will advance past the Patriots high-octane offense led by quarterback Tom Brad that put up 45 points against the Denver Broncos Saturday.
"When (linebacker) Terrell Suggs played against them, Suggs ate them up," Ohl said. "(The Patriots) defense is weak. We can score against their defense easily and (Brady's) not going to score nearly as many points on us.
"I think we have a real good chance of going to the Super Bowl," Ohl added.