Plenty of Ravens fans think of their team as representing not just Baltimore but the state of Maryland, and for good reason. The state may also host the Washington Commanders who play in Landover, but, well, Washington is in the name.

But it bears remembering that much of Maryland is Commanders country, not just Prince George’s County where they play but Montgomery County and other parts of the state that fall more under the sphere of influence of Washington, D.C., than Baltimore.

We make note of that to stress that all Marylanders should take interest in an effort underway that could see the Commanders return to D.C. at the site of the old RFK Stadium, where they played for more than 35 years before moving to Landover in 1996. D.C. and its Mayor Muriel Bowser badly want the Commanders back, but they need the approval of the U.S. Congress to make it happen. They got one step closer to winning that approval on Tuesday when a Senate committee advanced a bill to give D.C. control over the stadium site. The bill still needs to pass in the full Senate, which isn’t a guarantee with time running out on this congressional session. But if it happens, it could mean in a few years Maryland will have just one NFL team.

That should concern Marylanders regardless of which team they pull for. Gov Wes Moore is fighting hard to keep the team, citing its economic importance to the region and state, and has entertained using public funds for a new stadium to entice the Commanders’ ownership to stay in Prince George’s County.

With worsening budget woes, Maryland can ill afford to get into a bidding war with D.C. or Virginia — also looking to get the team. But we should prepare to open our pockets if we don’t want to take a hit to our prestige and lose a $6.3 billion franchise that attracts thousands every year to our state. Short of that, Maryland’s senators, and Senator-elect Angela Alsobrooks of Prince George’s County, can try their best to put a wrench in the works of this legislation and save their state from having to shell out.