Baltimore Pride!

Photo Courtesy of my brother-in-law Mark Lasswell

Today, those of us who have spent any time living in Baltimore are proud. Our team, the Ravens, are Super Bowl Champs! Coach John Harbaugh seemed to sum up both the Ravens and the city of Baltimore with his quote last night, "It's never pretty. It's never perfect. But it is us."

Baltimoreans (residents of Baltimore) deserve this day because Baltimore is not an easy place to live.  The picture above kind of sums up Baltimore. The city is famous for slogans meant to increase civic pride and "Baltimore, The Greatest City in America"may be the most implausible.  That slogan, though, was a lot better than a previous city slogan which was "Baltimore, The City That Reads" which became "Baltimore, The City That Breeds"to local comedians and graffiti artists who liked to change the final word. Another slogan was "Believe" and that was turned into "Behave." No one really knew what we were supposed to believe anyway. Baltimoreans have always had a good sense of humor, though.

But Baltimore is a city where many people have realized their American dream!

Baltimore was my primary residence from 1975 until 1985, and that was a special time to live in the city because the mayor, William Donald Schaefer, was one of the most influential and effective mayors I have ever known. If Baltimore ever had a chance to be one of America's greatest cities, it was when Mayor Willie Don ran city hall. When he died last year, I wrote the following post The Greatest Mayor I Ever Knew. The combination of his attention to detail (he would drive around the city looking for potholes to fill) and his vision for the future (he tried many innovative programs to regain areas of the city that had deteriorated), I found to be unique. Baltimore has never had a mayor like him since

In August of 1975, my family moved from Portland, Oregon -- which had been acclaimed by one major magazine America's most live-able city -- to Baltimore. It was a tough adjustment. Although we lived -- and my parents continue to live -- in a nice part of Baltimore right near Johns Hopkins University's Homewood Campus, it was a much more urban experience than we were used to. The house I lived in and my parents continue to live in has been broken into several times despite a variety of security systems. The Baltimore Sun keeps an interactive map of all the murders every year in Baltimore and of concern to my brother, sister and I is how close some of them come to the blocks my parents reside and walk on.
Baltimore Homicides - baltimoresun.com

However, there are lots of great things about Baltimore -- top of the list are Baltimoreans and close behind them are the Orioles and now the Super Bowl Champion Ravens. I would add Crabs after that but that's kind of a Maryland thing and Baltimore is just part of the diversity that is Maryland.

Once you've lived there, the city of Baltimore never leaves you. Whether we call it Bawlmer, Charm City, or America's Greatest City, you embrace its grittiness and today take pride that a team from the city could be called Super Bowl Champs. That is truly an American dream realized.