Sibling rivalry comes center stage in Baltimore for Thursday Night Football as Jared and Derek Pearman go head-to-head.
Now you might be scratching your head trying to figure out which position they play on the Cincinnati Bengals and Baltimore Ravens, but you won’t find them on the sideline or playing in the game.
They are the 12th man for their respective teams.
“Jared is the black sheep of the family,” said Derek Pearman.
The twin brothers from Baltimore got into NFL when they were in middle school. Derek originally chose the Seattle Seahawks as his team, but would later follow the Baltimore Ravens. Jared was a Bengals fan from day one.
“I'm actually the only one that's been loyal to the team that I started out rooting for,” Jared said.
Jared says he’s not shy when it comes to wearing his Bengals orange and stripes. He proudly sits in his office in his Ja’Marr Chase jersey.
“I've got all over my cubicle, you know, Bengals gear, I dress my kids up. I have two small kids I have a 1-year-old and a 4-year-old and at different points I've had them dressed up in Bengals gear to watch games and route for the better team obviously,” he said.
The two try to attend every game when the Bengals come to Baltimore to go head-to-head against the Ravens. It’s an environment Derek says he enjoys.
“Just kind of laugh, especially just hearing some of the trash talk. And knowing how mad it is getting him under his collar. It's pretty fun,” Derek said.
In the middle of a sea of purple it's easy to spot the orange of Jared's jersey.
"People are asking me. You know, 'how far did you have to drive to come in here?' You know, 'how was the commute', all that? And then when I tell them that I'm actually from Baltimore, I get the funny looks, or you know, I get cursed out or trash talked in some fashion. You know, so I'm used to it," he said.
While both claim their team will come out in Thursday night’s game, Jared says he’s looking forward to radio silence from Ravens fans.
“I've got about 15 to 20 people, you know, texting me and calling me to talk trash because I live in Ravens country,” he said. “So, I'm looking forward to a lot of disappointment from those people and radio silence on my phone.”
