There were hardly any idle hands in a local bar as the Baltimore Ravens beat the Houston Texans 34-10 in their playoff game at M&T Bank Stadium on Saturday, sealing their spot in the AFC championship.

Those who dodged the less-than-30-degree temperature and settled in Luckieโ€™s Tavern, a bar tucked away in Power Plant Live!, clapped as their team advanced to a level unseen since the 2012 season.

Greeted by a DJ spinning the sounds of Drake, Chris Brown and DMX, fans shared how the Ravens are finally flexing their full potential. Several are especially impressed with quarterback Lamar Jackson and his performance throughout the entire season.

โ€œFinally, the curse is broken,โ€ said James Young IV, a lifelong Ravens fan from West Baltimore.

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Ravens fans cheer the team's fourth touchdown during Saturday's 34-10 win over the Houston Texans. (Joe Giordano/for the Baltimore Banner)

Young spent most of the night dancing in front of the large projection screen showing the game and celebrating even more each time the Ravens scored a touchdown. Not only did Luckieโ€™s Tavern have a special game day menu featuring a โ€œMother Tucker Hurricane,โ€ wings and nachos, but it promised to give every customer a free shot each time the Ravens scored a touchdown.

For Young, the second half specifically showed what the Ravens are capable of. He said theyโ€™ve always had grit and the week off before Saturdayโ€™s game was a good time for them to get back into rhythm. Going forward, Young said, he wants the Ravens to remember that โ€œitโ€™s not a fantasy or a fairy taleโ€ and they need to keep playing like a win is at stake.

Young and others opted against going to the home game at M&T Bank Stadium because of prices and the cold. But that wasnโ€™t the sentiment all around. Areas such as Federal Hill were a sea of purple before the game started, with lines wrapped around blocks of certain bars.

Saturdayโ€™s win means a group of Johns Hopkins University graduate students studying public health can continue their tradition of watching the games together. Erin Broas, Iyabo Awogboro, Lexi Lightner and Diya Jhuti started getting into the Ravens in November and are looking forward to the rest of their season.

Iyaeo Awogboro, Diya Jhuti, Lexi Lightner and Erin Broas have made it a tradition to watch Ravens games together and are looking forward to the rest of their season after Saturday's win.
Iyabo Awogboro, Diya Jhuti, Lexi Lightner and Erin Broas have made it a tradition to watch Ravens games together. (Jasmine Vaughn-Hall)

By halftime, the Ravens and Texans were tied 10-10, but they were still hopeful theyโ€™d pull through. In fact, it was โ€œcomplete and utter confidence,โ€ Awogboro said, with no credit given to the liquid courage from the four free shots the bar ultimately had to give away to visitors. Big fans of Jackson and wide receiver Zay Flowers, the groupโ€™s used the Ravens games to bond as transplants from New Jersey, Washington and Canada.

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Nick Papale, a Ravens fan since he โ€œcame out of the womb,โ€ thinks Jackson is going to deliver on his promise of giving Baltimore a Super Bowl win. For him, โ€œitโ€™s been too damn long,โ€ since the Ravens made it to an AFC championship. Papale was nervous the whole first half of the game. Steven Simsโ€™ 67-yard punt return touchdown for the Texans was no help.

A friend in his group, Sal Cuffari, was also a little skeptical because the Ravens tend to โ€œplay down to the levelโ€ of their opponents at their own expense, he said. Nonetheless, the Ravens were aggressive and didnโ€™t let the pressure get to them, Papale said.

โ€œI think a lot of people doubted us and we rose above that easily,โ€ he added.

Papaleโ€™s other buddy, Michael Gentry, couldnโ€™t think of a better season to move to Baltimore and watch the games as a local. Though he moved from North Carolina for a job, something tells him it was also to become a diehard Ravens fan. He said Jackson was passing well in Saturdayโ€™s game and heโ€™s digging the quarterbackโ€™s confidence on the field.

Several Ravens fans lingered in the bar after the win and partook in karaoke filled with a bit more cheer than when they first strolled in.

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Awogboro didnโ€™t need a karaoke mic to leave the Ravens with a few parting words: โ€œYou worked for this. You earned this, and we got complete confidence in you.โ€

Ravens fans cheer during Saturday's game at M&T Bank Stadium. (Ulysses Muรฑoz/The Baltimore Banner)