Purple Dame Spreads Ravens Fever

First you see the spiked purple hair bobbing up the steps to the bar at , then comes the rest of the package: A sparkling smile, gold-glittered eyes, ropes of purple necklaces and more purple in the camouflage pants. She shouts the greeting, "Caw-caw, let's go Ravens" getting an enthusiastic cheer right back from the lunchtime crowd at the bar.

Meet the Ravens "super fan" Cindy Pierce, aka "The Purple Dame," working toward a 16-hour day this Purple Friday as she moves from one event to the next to pump up the fans. Not only has Pierce gained notoriety locally as a leader of spreading the fever in the Ravens clan of thousands, she's also a member of the Ravens Nest #10 and also two other fan clubs, “Club Purple" and its sister VIP club the "Lavender Ladies."

Adding to her super fan resume, Pierce was the first female Ravens fan to be inducted into the pro football’s Ultimate Fan Association in 2009. Topping that will be Pierce's likeness to be cast in bronze as a "Pro Football Ultimate Fan" in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Ohio in October, again, the first female to receive that honor.

Pierce said she sees Nest #10 as "an extension of what the Ravens fans are really all about, part of a community of nests—some with 20 members, others up to 100," Pierce said. A shared sense and responsibility of promoting good sportsmanship, fellowship, fundraising for charities and helping out in the community, has formed a bond among the nests said Pierce, whose Lavender Ladies Club won $7,500 Friday in the Giant Food " competition in Elkridge. That money will be donated to a charity, said Pierce.

The 82 fans of Nest #10 meet on the third Wednesday of each month at Bill Batemans. They not only spread the love of the team but also are heavily into community service and donate regularly to charities like the Hospice of the Chesapeake, Special Olympics, Muscular Dystrophy, the SPCA of Anne Arundel County and the Walter Reid Chaplain's Fund. New members and visitors are welcome at their 7 p.m. meetings.

If you are one of the lucky going to the game on Sunday, be sure to look for Pierce. She'll be decked-out in her Ravens super fan fashions in Section 114 where she'll be keeping the crowd pumped as the Ravens pound the Texans.