Courtesy of Cheryl Nichols/ District Sports Page

The 2012 Baltimore Orioles have surprised everyone this season, even die-hard fans like myself.

They are proving people wrong left and right with their comebacks and extra-inning wins almost every week.

Orioles Manager Buck Showalter is bringing the Orioles Magic back to Baltimore by ending the team’s 14-year losing streak.

The Birds haven’t had a winning season since 1997, which is also the last time Baltimore was in the playoffs.

Being a fan since the day I was born, I am overly excited about the Orioles this season.

It makes me proud to say I am a Baltimore Orioles fan and I am sure I am not the only one who feels that way.

Fans have gone 14 years without a winning season, and this year marks the 29th since the Orioles won their last World Series title in 1983.

I know that many young fans are waiting for a season they can actually remember, like the old Oriole teams their fathers would tell them stories about.

This season hasn’t been an easy one for the Orioles.

Even though they lost right field Gold Glove winner Nick Markakis for a majority of the year and didn’t have All-Star second basemen Brian Roberts for the season, the Orioles still managed to create a winning team.

Baltimore’s starting rotation changed constantly and different players were sent down to the minors and back up to the majors almost every week, but the Orioles stayed focus and became a huge threat in the tough American League East.

After the All-Star break, the O’s were 10 games back behind the New York Yankees. Some might have predicted the Yankees clinching the East already, but that didn’t stop the Birds from taking one game at a time and coming back to tie the Yankees.

Normally, during this time of the year, O’s fans are just waiting for the season to be over and done with so they can move on to next year or get ready for football season.

This year is the total opposite.

Fans are wearing orange and black and supporting the Birds every day.

It looks like the Ravens need to move over for awhile.

The Orioles have kept fans at the edge of their seats throughout the whole season.

With 15 straight extra inning wins in a row, and then winning most of their games by two runs or less, the O’s have made it an interesting season.

With the playoffs in sight, and even the division title in their sights, the Orioles are continuing to do what they do best: win.

Camden Yards is now a sea of orange and black during every home game.

No matter how the season turns out, the Orioles have made a statement: they are a completely new team and are going to be at the bottom of the American League East no more.

Orioles Magic is back in Baltimore, and this time it is here to stay.