Westminster Mayor Kevin Utz, 54, recalls that when he was a young boy living on Bond Street, he and his brother would ride their bikes several blocks to the Baltimore Colts' training camp at then-Western Maryland College to watch their favorite players up close.
The Colts' camp, held in Westminster from 1953 to 1971, "wasn't as plush" as the camps the Baltimore Ravens have held at the school, now McDaniel College, over the past 15 years, he said.
But those summer days tied Westminster, and all of Carroll County, to Baltimore's football team.
Perhaps that's what hurts so much about the Ravens' decision that they won't be back to McDaniel College in 2012, he said.
"It's almost a 50-year tradition that's being broken," said Utz. "That's the sad part about it."
On Friday, Dec. 2, the Ravens announced the team would hold its 2012 camp at its Owings Mills headquarters, severing a tie with Westminster that's been in place since the team arrived in Baltimore in 1996.
Utz actually shares a boyhood memory with Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti, who said in the team's announcement that he, too, recalled fond days visiting the Colts in Westminster.
"Some of my best memories as a kid are my family's visits to the Colts' training camp in Westminster," said Bisciotti, who suggested that such memories made for a "difficult" decision to move the Ravens' camp.
Buzz around town
Utz said he learned of the team's decision Friday from a reporter, then began receiving calls in waves from Westminster city offices as people called about the news.
"It's most disappointing for us in the city," said Utz. "A lot of fans came into our town and enjoyed us being the host city. I know a lot of restaurants and vendors benefited from it.
"I don't know that anybody's ever been able to quantify (the economic impact)," he said.
But he was certain Main Street businesses, hotels and other outlets saw an uptick during the summer weeks when the Ravens were in town.
But profit was not the sole benefit, he said.
"It's almost more of a blow to the community," he said. "There's a notoriety — when sportscasters are all mentioning Westminster as the place where the Ravens are training. Not being mentioned... will certainly have an impact on our city.
"We're not going to be negative about it," he said, "but it is devastating."
Dr. Ethan Seidel, vice president of administration and finance at McDaniel College who was involved in the negotiations with the Ravens, said the two sides spoke as recently as last week.
"It must have been a tough decision for them, because I know the fan base is very important to them, but they see their first obligation as being successful as a team," he said.
Seidel, who said in October that the two sides were trying to hammer out a long-term deal, knew the team had been considering moving camp to its headquarters in Owings Mills since the Ravens completed their Baltimore County training facility in 2004.
In announcing the decision, the Ravens said the team had outgrown the Westminster college and its nearby accommodations, and that the Owings Mills site allowed more flexibility in bad weather.
Seidel noted that the most recent contract between the two sides was a seven-year pact that expired after the 2010 season, so the lockout-shortened 2011 camp was the teams' first opportunity to leave.
Now that they've taken that opportunity, Seidel understands the reasoning that went into the decision.
"You have to put it into context in the NFL," Seidel said. "That's been the trend. I think you're down to a fourth of the teams having summer camp off site.
"That's for a lot of good reasons, from their perspective."
'Disconnect with fans'
Like Utz, Seidel anticipates not only an economic blow, but also one to "community pride."
Nowhere is that felt harder than at Harry's Main Street Grille, which owner Harry Sirinakis called "the hub" for all things Ravens when the team was in town for training camp.
"It's a sad day for Westminster, and a sad day for the fans," Sirinakis said. "This is where they came where the fans could reach out to the players, not just look at them on TV.
"They could shake their hands, get autographs, and really see them."
But despite the team's rebuff of Westminster, the restaurant owner does not anticipate much will change between the fans and the Ravens.
"It doesn't break our spirits," Sirinakis said. "There's no reason for us not to continue to celebrate preseason and the beginning of football season."
Mike McMullin, president of the Carroll County Chamber of Commerce, said no firm number exists for the economic impact that the Ravens' camp brought annually to the county, though rough estimates that he has heard over the years have placed it around $2 million, he said.
The bigger loss, McMullin said, might be the fans' more intimate connection with the team.
"It's sad," said McMullin. "Football and sports in general have become such huge business that the disconnect with fans gets more and more evident.
"Yes, it helped us out in Westminster and in Carroll County, but it's a cultural thing, too. It's sad for the kids who came out to see their favorite players up close.
"And I think the players liked being here," he said. "If it were up to the players, I think they would prefer to be here."
In announcing of the change, the Ravens said they expected that three practices would be held at sites other than Owings Mills — with M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore to host at least one.
Utz didn't say he wanted the others in Westminster, but he hoped the Ravens would find some way to remain connected with fans here.
He said the hurt from the Ravens' departure will last, but he doesn't believe the community will diminish its support for the team.
He's a longtime member of Ravens Roost 115, a club that meets at Rafael's restaurant on Main Street — and will remain one.
"We will overcome," he said. "And we'll still be fans of the Ravens."