The UK Ravens are a group of avid fans that have been around for more than 20 years. Ogden has been a big part of the community over the last seven years, and he has felt the connection with the Ravens organization get even tighter in recent seasons.
Now, that partnership is taking it to another level, and Ogden helped kick off the new era of Ravens fandom in the United Kingdom.
“The announcing of the draft pick is like a signal, I think, of the Ravens’ intentions for the next few years,” Ogden said. “It’s a thing where we felt like the Ravens have been much more connected to us over the last five years anyway, like this isn’t the very start of the relationship with the UK fan base for the Ravens.”
When the Ravens were granted the marketing rights in the UK, they were quick to opt into announcing an international draft pick. As Senior Director of Fan Development & Activation Kim Ferguson put it, “let’s announce that we’re here and our presence in the UK in the first way possible.”
The Ravens’ partnership in the United Kingdom is a big steppingstone towards building Baltimore’s international fanbase. It started in 2017 when the Ravens traveled to London to play the Jaguars, but the love from the fanbase was fully felt in the 2023 game against the Titans.
From there, it rolled over into draft weekend when James made Ravens history.
“We’re just excited about this opportunity, and there’s a lot that I think we can all accomplish together,” Ferguson said. “I would say that this experience, seeing the fans, taking Poe around in the city streets and seeing the reaction people had over there, seeing the faces of James and all of our fans, that we could actually be with them where they live, it’s something I know I’ll never forget.”