Alumni Spotlight – John Cline ‘93

OK – think about. If you consider sports to be an important part of your life – particularly football – what could be better than getting paid to spend every day in a National Football League stadium, planning and participating in the most exciting Sundays in America, and owning a Super Bowl ring? Susquehannock’s own John Cline, Class of 1993, knows that answer. He lives that dream and says, “It really doesn’t get much better than that.”

At Susquehannock, John was an active and successful athlete. He earned three varsity letters as a Warrior quarterback and captained the football team’s first season in a realigned YAIAA Division II, ending it one game short of a championship, with an impressive 8-2 record. In recognition of his outstanding performance, he was named to the County All-Star team and was Division II Player of the Year. He played guard on the basketball team for two years, also lettering, and did the same on the baseball team as an outfielder.

Recalling his high school days, two faculty members stand out out in John’s memory. His English teacher, Joan Kling was very helpful in helping him work around his busy athletic schedule and its many conflicts. With her guidance and extra help – along with similar understanding from many other faculty members – John found himself well prepared for college. In fact, he was given credit for several college classes based on his high school preparation.

He also credits the extra help of Tony Sorice, his football coach, for the effort he made in helping John get into college at East Stroudsburg. “He is a great man on and off the field,” John says. “I owe him a lot.”

John played football at East Stroudsburg – also the ‘Warriors’ – in the competitive Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference. But after a year, found that the time demands of a seven-day-a-week year round practice and training regimen were interfering with his academics. His employment in the college print shop and at Camel Back Ski Resort also detracted him. So, he decided to give up football and concentrate on his studies – a major in physical education with a minor in sports management. The teaching degree was a fall-back, but his dream – one he’d had since high school – was to work for a professional team and make competitive sports a permanent part of his life.

His first step in attaining that dream was an internship in the summer of his senior year with the Maryland Stadium Authority, whose headquarters are at The Warehouse at Camden Yards. The Authority is the entity that owns venues for the Baltimore Orioles and the Ravens. His work there convinced him of his career choice, and his performance prompted the Ravens to offer him a job, upon his graduation in 1998.

John started out at the bottom of the Ravens’ organization as a facility assistant, supporting the director of facilities and guest services. His talents were soon re-directed to the grand opening of the new Ravens Stadium, and the events associated with the team’s move from a temporary home at Memorial Stadium. He recalls the grand opening and the exciting events associated with it, including organization of the famous “Super Flush”, where fans were recruited to flush all “sanitary devices” simultaneously as a test of the stadium’s plumbing system.

After only a few years on the job, John was promoted to Events and Guest Services Manager. In addition to planning for each home NFL game day, he has planned the NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Championship, Ravens Spring Football Festivals, International Soccer matches, Army Navy Games, Navy Notre Dame games, plus several rock and country music concerts.

His tenure with the Ravens had another profound effect on his life; it was in this employment that he met his wife, Dana. Although living in Lutherville with his family, that includes son Connor, John maintains contact with several high school friends on a regular basis: Laura, Tom, and Scott Tobias, Chris Childress, Holly Krebs, and Lisa Zimmerman to name a few.

John has accomplished much during his short career, but he loves what he does each day and plans to make a career in Baltimore, working his way through the organization as far as he can. Everyone who knows John is confident that he’ll go all the way to the top.

Thanks to John Cline, Class of 1993, for making us Warrior Proud.