Bel Air family finds joy in Ravens success in wake of father's death
BEL AIR – When she's not in the stadium for Ravens games, Terri Swartz watches in her home's "Fan Cave" with her brother Rick.
"It's just really fun and it's something to look forward to every week," Swartz said. "(The Ravens) really just embrace you and make you feel like you're family."
Swartz says the Ravens' playoff success brings her joy in a time her family is still grieving. Her husband Wally died in 2019. Her mom died in 2022.
"When (Wally) was sick, he didn't want that to stop. It gave us something—almost like a distraction," Swartz said. "It's nice to have something to spark that joy again."
Swartz decorates the outside of her house with Ravens messages and purple lights every postseason.
"I've got my purple string lights. As much purple I could possibly come up with," she said. "My neighbor across the street, he yells over, 'Turn that purple glow off!' Kidding, of course."
Swartz's brother Rick Holder—"Uncle Rick," to Terri and Wally's two daughters—sees his usually reserved sister transform when it comes to the Ravens.
"When it comes to the Ravens game, I just back away and let her go, because I don't know that person," Holder said. "She's a different person and it's just so much fun to see."
Terri's daughters shared a video of her at Saturday's divisional playoff game against Houston, showing their mother jumping and screaming.
"When it comes to the Ravens, it's just like 'Let's go!'" Swartz said. "That's not my personality, but for some reason the Ravens bring that out of me."
Terri seems to have picked up some of Wally's Ravens fan superstitions, like leaving the "Fan Cave" during a bad stretch on the field.
"I can feel myself getting so nervous, Then, I'm like, 'You know what? I'm going to walk upstairs and take a little break now,'" she joked.
Swartz says she suspects others grieving a loved one are also finding joy in the Ravens' playoff success.
"There's a lot of people who have grief to deal with and lose loved ones. You can still see the joy in things. It doesn't have to be all doom and gloom. You can find joy, even in the sadness and the loss," Swartz said. "There's so much negative stuff going on in the world and people are on opposite sides and all that, it's one common thing everyone just rallies around."
As for a prediction for Sunday's AFC Championship game, Swartz is confident in the outcome.
"Oh, we're gonna win," she said, smiling. "No doubt about it."
