I love football and the Baltimore Ravens, and now I love them more ("School set for greener pastures,"
June 4).
Congratulations and thanks to the Baltimore Ravens, to team president Dick Cass, owner Steve Biscotti, Chris McAlister and the Chris McAlister Foundation, the All Community Team Foundation and the NFL Youth Football Fund for their combined efforts to create a first-class football field at Mergenthaler Vocational-Technical High School.
By making this commitment to the youths of Baltimore, they have shown that they believe in our city, our schools and our young people.
I am also thrilled that Mergenthaler was chosen for this honor. As a retired teacher at that school, I know how hard our coaches have worked over the years to have an outstanding sports program in spite of a shortage of good fields, equipment and financial resources.
This is a great contribution to these coaches and to their players, who represent the school so well both on and off the field.
Too often, newspapers are full of the names of juveniles who have committed horrific crimes against society. Too often, this is all people know about the city's youths.
And too often, the "good guys"
who go to school, play sports, hold down jobs, participate in school activities and help their families and communities are overlooked and never given credit for their accomplishments.
So, here's to the "good guys"
who will play football, learn good sportsmanship, develop discipline and emerge victorious no matter what the score in this new stadium.
I hope this will be their field of dreams.
