The Baltimore Ravens are pushing their own version of Taylor Swift — and it's so funny

The Ravens and Chiefs meet on Sunday, and their biggest fans will both likely be there.

Jan 27, 2024 - 00:30
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The Baltimore Ravens are pushing their own version of Taylor Swift — and it's so funny

Taylor Swift has taken over the NFL all season due to her relationship with Kansas City Chiefs star tight end Travis Kelce.

The pop superstar has been present in a number of games, including each of Chiefs' last two playoff wins. And she's expected to be in a suite again for Sunday's massive AFC Conference Championship match between the Chiefs and the Baltimore Ravens.

On the other side, the Ravens are pushing their own "celebrity" as their version of Taylor Swift — though he might be the polar opposite of Swift, which even he admits.

The Ravens have invited comedian Stavros Halkias to many of the team's recent games beginning during the team's massive Week 17 win over the Miami Dolphins. 

Stavros Halkias reacts as he attends an NFL football game between the Baltimore Ravens and the Miami Dolphins at M&T Bank Stadium on Dec. 31, 2023 in Baltimore.

Michael Owens/Getty Images

Halkias, known as "Stav" or "Stavvy," is no where near as famous as the popstar — Swift has 279 million Instagram followers, Halkias has a little less than 680,000 — though in the comedy scene, he's built enough of a name to warrant a Netflix special that was released in late 2023. 

And the Ravens have turned him into a cult figure for the franchise that the Baltimore Ravens' team website published a story on Tuesday, Jan. 23 called "They've Got Her, We've Got Stavvy." The story chronicled the rise of the Baltimore native whose secondary persona named "Ronnie" posts his reaction to every Ravens game.

The Ravens have also crossposted Halkias on their social media accounts, and the response from fans has been overwhelmingly positive with many of the comments showering Halkias.

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And the Ravens have turned him into a cult figure for the franchise that the Baltimore Ravens' team website published a story on Jan. 23 called "They've Got Her, We've Got Stavvy." The story chronicled the rise of the Baltimore native whose secondary persona named "Ronnie" posts his reaction to every Ravens game.

The Ravens have also crossposted Halkias on their social media accounts, and the response from fans has been overwhelmingly positive with many of the comments showering Halkias. 

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Halkias has embraced his role with the franchise and even hopped on "The Dan Le Batard Show" on Wednesday, Jan. 24 to explain the phenomenon.

"I'm barely a celebrity, but I think Baltimore connects to that," Halkias said. "If there fan is an international popstar billionaire, I think Baltimore would like to be represented by a fat, balding man who is barely a celebrity."

He also made a hilarious pitch to Americans for why they should be rooting for him and the Ravens over Swift, Kelce, and the Chiefs.

View the original article to see embedded media.

"Everyone in America should be rooting for the Ravens," Halkias joked. "If you don't like capitalism, if you don't like America's imperialist policies — There's nothing more All-American than a country popstar and a white boy from Ohio that wanted to be Black his whole life forming a union and becoming a superstar couple that gets to be at a Super Bowl. There's nothing more All-American than that. And if you don't like the way this country's going right now, you should be rooting for Baltimore to score a symbolic victory as a forgotten inner city that industry abandoned."

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