Orioles Fans Gear Up For Friday's Playoff Game Against The Rangers
HARFORD COUNTY, Md. (WJZ)-- The Orioles play the Rangers on Friday night. One hundred and sixty-two games of the regular season are now complete, and a whole new season begins in the playoffs.
Monique Griego has more on the excitement over the O's first playoff berth in more than a decade.
Fans are trying to get their hands on anything orange and that's because they believe the O's have what it takes to go all the way.
"We're trying to buy a little decal for our grandson's car," Jackie Reed said.
At Poor Boys Sports in Harford County, the registers are working overtime and the phones are ringing off the hook with people calling in craving that orange and black as the Orioles gear up for the team's first playoff game in 15 years.
"Well, I look back to Oriole magic and I think it's going to happen again," Reed said.
A loss to the Tampa Bay Rays Wednesday night didn't come close to putting out the fire burning in Baltimore.
"We've come this far and I just know we're going to do it this year," Michelle Younger said.
"Very, very hopeful. It's been a great season. We've come a long way," said another Orioles fan.
And fans made it clear they are still focused on this season and think that this team could go all the way.
"They've demonstrated they've got some players, you've got a team," Dante Righini said. "You can build from here."
"Whatever they do next is just a bonus," Dan Grafton said. "Just bonus, cherry on the topping."
At the Inner Harbor, businesses are banking on the O's winning the Wild Card.
"It really makes a difference if you have a winning franchise," Tom Noonan of Visit Baltimore said.
Noonan said a successful playoff baseball team can only bring in more tourism.
"While those people are staying downtown, they're staying in hotel rooms, they're eating in the city. And they're more people in the downtown everyday," he said.
So the only problem a playoff run seems to be posing is finding ways to match purple, orange and black.
"We have Purple Friday when we wake up on Friday morning," Dawn Moskos, manager at Poor Boys Sports, said. "What do you wear? Do you wear the purple or the orange?"
Poor Boys Sports said some of its most popular items are those that support both teams, the Orioles and the Ravens.
