The famous Baltimore native
If Edgar Allen Poe was still celebrating birthdays, the dude would have a cake with a bunch of candles on Sunday at the same time a Baltimore institution named for one of his works will be playing in one of the most important games of the NFL season.
The Baltimore Ravens host the Buffalo Bills on Sunday at 6:30 p.m. Eastern in the AFC Divisional Round of the NFL Playoffs.
Poe’s birthday was January 19th, 1809, so this Sunday is the 216th anniversary of Poe’s birth. He was born in Boston before moving to Virginia as an infant. He was 20 when he moved to Baltimore, and most of his works were first published in the city. He died there in 1849 and his final resting place is there, as well.
When team founder Art Modell moved his Cleveland Browns franchise to Baltimore, he needed a team name. They looked to the history of the city for inspiration and “Ravens” won a fan vote with the obvious tie to Poe’s famous menacing poem The Raven.
In The Raven, the title character haunts a mourner into believing he will be lifted from his sadness nevermore. Despite knowing the inevitability of what the Raven will say, he continues to ask negatively leaning questions, leading to an inevitable outcome.
As Bills QB Josh Allen has said before when quoting Michael Scott from The Office: “I’m not superstitious, but I’m a little stitious.” Let’s hope it’s the Ravens who feel like wins will come nevermore.