The Ravens might not be able to celebrate their Super Bowl title with the new-traditional Thursday home opener, because of baseball and religious holidays.
And in the process, the Ravens’ own official Twitter account is citing “league sources” to break the news.
In a pair of messages the team sent out comes word that the Thursday night opener is in jeopardy, and that having them begin the season on the road is a possibility, though the “least desirable” outcome.
The Ravens are in conflict with their MLB neighbors the Orioles, who are supposed to host the White Sox on Sept. 5 at 7:05 p.m. Given the proximity of the Ravens’ and Orioles’ buildings, they can’t play both at the same time.
Jeff Zrebeic of the Baltimore Sun reports that Commissioners Roger Goodell and Bud Selig have discussed the topic, but haven’t come to a resolution yet, and that playing the game on Wednesday, Sept. 4 was declined because of Rosh Hashanah.
Given that the baseball schedule is already set, Selig has the opportunity to exert some leverage here. The easy fix is for the Orioles to play an afternoon game, but there’s no reason for them to volunteer to make less money at the gate unless there’s something in it for them.
So until someone comes up with a way to make up the difference in gates between a night game and a day game for the Orioles, the NFL is kind of stuck.