ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. - The Baltimore Ravens honored local service members, veterans and their families Monday night during the team's annual Military Appreciation Night, which coincided with its open training camp at M&T Bank Stadium. Of the 28,000 fans who took advantage of the chance to watch their favorite NFL team in action for free, nearly 3,500 troops and their families received reserved end zone seating, special edition t-shirts, and an extended autograph signing session with players and coaches after the game.
For more than two hours, the team's offensive and defensive squads battled each other as coaches evaluated them through various scenarios.
Highlights of the night included wild applause for a stunning reception by wide receiver Torrey Smith who made a dramatic, one-handed catch, hauling in a pass from behind his head, and a welcoming roar for former Raven Ray Lewis who put in a surprise appearance.
Ravens Head Coach John Harbaugh helped launch Military Appreciation Night, which has become a Ravens tradition, in 2008. Harbaugh is well known for his support of the military through his morale-lifting travels overseas to cheer troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Harbaugh downplays his role in bringing Military Appreciation Night to M&T Bank Stadium, preferring instead to credit Ravens organizers.
"Mainly it's the people in the Ravens organization that put the whole thing together," he said. "I just come out here to hang out with great people. To see the faces of the kids whose parents have been overseas and sacrificed so much, that just makes it a special night, a family night. That's the beauty of the sport."
From the military standpoint, it's much different, he added.
"What the military does, that's life and death, that's important," he said. "And what we do is important in the sense that maybe moms and dads can bond with their kids over something like this. Maybe it's something they'll remember for the rest of their lives.
"That's what it's all about."
The post-practice fireworks were cancelled due to high winds, but service members expressed no disappointment.
Kelvin Chandler, a military retiree and recruiter for the Freestate ChalleNGe Academy, attended the event with his grandson in tow. The Ravens fan enjoyed the special seating just a few yards from the players on the field, and said he was grateful to share the special night with his grandson.
"It's great that [the Ravens] show appreciation for those who served and those who continue to serve and their families," he said. "We appreciate them."
"We had a great time," added Army Reservist Sgt. Timothy Kirkendall of the 352nd Military Police Company out of Rockville, Maryland as he watched rookie tackle Brett Van Sloten out of the University of Iowa sign a football for his 9-year-old son Matt.
"I'm already a Ravens fan," he said, "and I brought him because I wanted him to experience their appreciation of the military. This was awesome."
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