Ravens Week 1 - Speechless

Cincinnati, OH ? Good thing I'm a blogger. Because without the written word, my 30 hours in Cincinnati would have been worthless. Maybe it was something in the sauce (more on that in a moment) but my mouth went mute on Monday night as the NFL season finally started for the defending AFC North Champs. It was a longer wait than most teams had to endure as nearly half the league had posted final scores by the time we landed in Northern Kentucky. Don't be confused, we still played the Bengals in the Buckeye State, but the airport is situated to the south of the Queen City, just over the Ohio River amongst the Bluegrass. Upon further review, we probably should have opted to take on the Wildcats in Lexington, but as ESPN's national audience witnessed, we maintained our course and continued on to Ohio. A little back-story, I was at happy hour Friday night in Canton and happened to meet a couple that was at least 50% Bengalese. Despite their affinity for the orange and black, I took their advice on where to eat in their hometown. For those new to the blog, my articles will typically be comprised of equal parts restaurant reviews, sportscaster sightings and even a little news about the game itself. Surprisingly, according to my new friends at the Pickled Parrot, Cincinnati is known for its ribs, or at least a rib restaurant, and its chili. I didn't think the RaveTV crew was up for a night out at the chili stand, so we headed to The Montgomery Inn on Sunday to see if they could compete with Kansas City (my personal favorite road-cuisine in '06). The verdict? Not so much. Although the potato-chip-and-bbq sauce appetizer was a nice way to start the meal, the sweet potato recommended by our cab driver left a little to be desired, like another 30 minutes in the oven. We ended the night watching the Sunday night game in Fountain Square. And that's not a bar or restaurant, Fountain Square is an open-air courtyard downtown that has two prominent features ? the Tyler Davidson Fountain and an enormous television mounted on the top of Macy's. Considering the bar and restaurant association of the Midwest apparently bans fun after 9 o'clock on Sundays, it was pretty much the only place to watch the game. Romo and the 'boys took care of business, leaving just a Monday night double dip to round out opening weekend. After digesting the ribs all day, and putting 6 hours on the books for Exit10, we boarded the busses and made our way to the stadium. While we prepared our cameras for the evening, Ravens President Dick Cass came by to wish us a good game. Knowing my connection to RaveTV (my wife is an Emmy Award winning editor and producer for the team ? nice plug, right?) Mr. Cass affectionately greeted us both as most of the organization has caught on to the fact that the couple in row 34 has become a permanent fixture on the flights around the league. The prep time also exposed me to a few new changes for the crew this year as we not only had some new equipment to learn, but I had some new wardrobe choices to show off. The easiest to spot were my new kicks - standard issue by the NFL - Reebok whites! They may not make a fashion statement on the street, or at least a positive one, but on the field they felt official. And in case the glare off my feet wasn't enough to signal me out as a team employee, all on-field staff are now required to wear a vest as well. Not quite the green and gold plaid vest Zach Morris and I rocked in '92, but a black vest with an NFL logo branded on the front and back to solidify my status and allow me to take the field. Our wired Raven for opening night was Bart Scott. Apparently Bart said his peace earlier in the week during a verbal battle with Cincinnati's Chad Johnson in the press because as game time neared, Scott's stance on the matter was simply, "Tonight's not about words." Bart, I couldn't agree more. To read more about why I stayed silent and my encounter with Emmitt Smith on the sidelines, visit www.coffeeonthe50.com.