When James Ogden found out he would announce the Ravens' first international draft pick, he immediately had some worries.
While he was concerned about the pronunciation of the prospect's name, he had more worry about whether he would like the pick. As an NFL Draft affectianado, Ogden spent countless hours watching film.
But, sitting outside a pub in London called "The Raven," Ogden read the draft card and was relieved.
Baltimore wasselecting Cal linebacker Teddye Buchanan in the fourth round, someone Ogden had watched days earlier and thought would make a perfect Raven. Ninety seconds after he got the draft card, Ogden was live on national television making Ravens history.
After being granted marketing rights in the United Kingdom, the Ravens were able to make their first draft selection internationally, and Ogden was chosen from a group of people with the UK Ravens fan group to do the honors.
"You can't really call it a dream come true because you watch the draft, and it never even crossed my mind that I would be able to announce a draft pick," said Ogden, who was brought to tears when he saw a video of his two-year-old daughter reacting to the pick. "So it wasn't even a dream because it was kind of like, that's never going to happen."
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."
