A former Junior Oriole, Baltimore City Council President Bernard C. "Jack" Young's mom stopped letting him watch the team as a youngster in East Baltimore. The reason? Young would get so nervous he'd bite his nails. And not just a little bit. Watching Orioles' games, a 9-year-old Young bit his nails so much his fingers became infected -- and he needed a doctor to drain them.

"They had to put a tube in there because I was biting my nails," Young said.

Soon enough, Young's fingers were healed and he was allowed to return to the games.

"I've always been a diehard Orioles fan," Young says, recalling the glory days when Brooks Robinson and Paul Blair were stars. For years, though, Young said he had a hard time getting friends to go to games with him: "They'd say, 'No man. I'm not going. I don't want to see them losers.' Now, everybody wants to go."

Young says he plans to grow a goatee to support the birds during their playoff run.

"Last year, I predicted they would be in the playoffs and look where they are," he said. "I think I'm a guru."