Baltimore Orioles: Adam Jones’ Purple Tailgate

Baltimore Orioles’ center fielder Adam Jones will be hosting his second annual Purple Tailgate this morning in advance of the Ravens taking on the Tennessee Titans this afternoon at M & T Bank Stadium. You can visit his website, http://www.simplyaj10.com, for the low-down on the day’s festivities. You do have to pay to get into the event (General Admission is $50), but all proceeds go to benefit the Boys and Girls Club of Metropolitan Baltimore.

Having said that, one of Jones’ passions outside of baseball is food. I can guarantee that all fans attending the event will be well fed! This is just another example of Baltimore’s sports teams working together in the community. I’ll give Jones a lot of credit in the sense that he knew that when he became the face of the Orioles more would be expected from him – on and off the field.

The Ravens obviously are huge in Baltimore, just as of course are the Orioles. Adam Jones had previously been a lifelong Indianapolis

Courtesy of Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Colts fan, which obviously came with it’s own set of challenges in terms of playing in Baltimore. However as time has passed Jones has wholeheartedly embraced the Ravens, and thus has further etched his way in the hearts and minds of local fans. If my memory serves me, a few years ago he also appeared at a preseason scrimmage at M & T Bank Stadium where he ran a few routes and caught a few Joe Flacco passes.

An event as such only serves to bring the two franchises, the fans, and a great Baltimore athlete closer together. Certainly this is a baseball site, in the spirit of the day your humble correspondent is going to show he has a nose for football as well. Going into a bye week, this is a must-win game for the Ravens. Tennessee comes into the game with one win, and after losing consecutive division games the Ravens could ill-afford to drop this game at home going into their bye.

So how does that happen? Well they’d need to get away from the mindset that I probably laid out above, for starters. You can’t take an opponent lightly; so as Jones himself would say, they need to #stayhungry! But I’ll say this much; I saw the Titans take on the Washington Redskins a few weeks ago down in Landover, MD. Their secondary appeared to be ripe for the pickings. So if the Ravens can establish the run and own the line of scrimmage, that opens the passing lanes up.

So yes folks, you’re reading about today’s NFL game here on Birds Watcher – I’m a man of many talents, you might say! But the real spirit of the day is one of community, as Adam Jones brings Baltimore’s two great franchises together for a great cause. So if you attend today’s tailgate, come hungry and stay hungry! Oh one more thing – I predict a Ravens’ victory, in a game that’ll include a deep touchdown from Flacco to Steve Smith. Not the gutsiest of predictions, I know, but you heard it here first.