Countdown to Face-Off

The teams are in town (they were practicing on the field this afternoon) the fans (kids with sticks; parents with shopping bags) are flooding the Inner Harbor, and the festivities began at 6:00 PM with a pep rally for all participants at the dockside amphitheater.

The Merry Marketeers were there, in the team "Here to Play"uniforms. Terry was juggling press calls while ministering to the NCAA coordinators for most of the day. Everyone seems pleased with how Baltimore is embracing the activities.

We’ve been blessed with great local coverage and glorious weather. Hopefully that will translate into another big weekend at the gates.

I worked the crowd for a while, asking where folks were from and how long they planned to stay. (Most frequent answers – Long Island and all weekend.) One common denominator? Overwhelmingly, fans were happy this event is back in Baltimore.

It’s going to be an exciting tournament, with lax activities stretching from Oriole Park to M&T Bank Stadium and around the perimeter. I watched more booths going up today. It’s hard not to think about all the people it employs to produce a festival like this, and operate all the concessions and attractions.

I'll be there bright and early tomorrow. But I'm almost willing to bet the tailgaters will get there first.  They always do.