By John Hack
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writer
Hundreds of fans and spectators braved cool Spring temperatures last Sunday to watch as NBC filmed an episode of its hits show “American Ninja Warrior” in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor.
The lines stretched from the ramp entrance to Rash Field in Harborside Park as fans hoped to get a glimpse of contestants in the event, which ran from 8 p.m. to the early morning hours of Tuesday.
Most of the spectators who were unable to get a ticket inside the event still stood for hours outside and waited to watch contestants fight their way across a plethora of unconventional, yet rigorous challenges.
“I love it,” said Ramaan Burton of Baltimore. “It’s definitely a good thing. It brings attraction to the city.”
Burton says he has watched the show over the years since it first came out, despite that he hasn’t been able to watch every episode since its inception in 2009 on the now-inoperative ‘G4’ channel.
We actually watch it all the time, so it’s great to see it live,” added Brenda Burton, a Baltimore resident who had wrapped herself in a blanket from face to toe on an unseasonably windy and chilly evening.
American Ninja Warrior, now on its 11th season, switched over from G4 to NBC, officially, after its 5th season in 2013.
Some of the fans who were quick enough to purchase tickets online or family members of contestants were lucky enough be admitted inside of the event to either compete or watch.
However, the majority of onlookers standing outside weren’t easily deterred by obstructed views presented by equipment trucks, billboards, fences or poles.
“It was a little late in the game to get tickets. When I found out about it everything was already waitlisted,” said Sarah Bromberek, a Baltimore City resident who was sitting next to her friend, Chase Kinney, from Ohio, as the two absorbed the surrounding on top of Federal Hill Park.
“We’re both new to Baltimore”, said Kinney, who arrived to the area from Indiana.“Last summer, [the show] was in Indianapolis, so my family went to that one,” said Bromberek, a native of the Indiana city.
“I’m still a big fan, but I feel like she’s more of a fan,” Kinney said. “She would watch it more regularly than I would. I actually went to a little Ninja Warrior gym this past summer. It was fun. It was harder than I thought it was going to be. But it was really cool.”
Some travelers weren’t just cheering as spectators. Rich Horner, who was standing just outside the perimeter of the gates near the front of the challenge, watched as early contestants struggled to balance, climb and hang around long enough to get to the next phase of the course.
His son Andrew was preparing to compete later on in the evening. The Horners traveled from their hometown of Kennebunk, Maine, to get here.
“He knew somebody that did it and suggested that he start working on it and trying it because they thought he’d like it,” Horner said. “He’s gone to gyms and trained and he’s done some NNL (National Ninja League) competitions and done pretty well.”