Sunday, June 12, 2005

Improving the Aerial Game

What else is a football fan to do with Google Maps besides look at satellite images of NFL stadiums? So, on this incredibly steamy June day, I'll provide a reminder of cooler Autumn days to come by starting a four-post series, in which I'll provide links to the Google Maps image of each venue wherein our Heroes of the Gridiron do battle on those glorious fall afternoons (and occasional Monday evenings). I'll group them by division, in order of last year's final division standings.

AFC EAST

Gilette Stadium (New England Stupid Patriots)
Giants Stadium (New York Jets)
Ralph Wilson Stadium (Buffalo Bills)
Dolphins Stadium (Miami Dolphins)

NFC EAST

Lincoln Financial Field (Philadelphia Eagles)
Giants Stadium (New York Giants)
Texas Stadium (Dallas Cowboys)
FedEx Field (Washington Redskins)


In the case of Gilette Stadium and Lincoln Financial Field, both of those stadiums were under construction when the images were taken, so you can see the new fields as construction sites with the old venues just slightly to the north and west of the new ones. Philadelphia's old Veterans Stadium is done up for baseball season, with the diamond clearly visible, while the StuPats' old stadium (I can't remember what that field was called -- Foxboro Stadium? -- looks like it's clearly either just beginning demolition or on the cusp of the wrecking ball.

Also, in the Texas Stadium photo, note the eight-lane freeway to the west of the stadium and the near complete lack of traffic in the northbound lanes. I wonder what was going on that day?

Giants Stadium looks like the field is just beginning to be re-sod or replaced.

Dolphins Stadium looks really neat from space, I think.

And, of course, there's "the Ralph", known as Rich Stadium when Jim Kelly, for whom the street just west of the stadium is now named, set up camp under center for the Bills and steered them to the Super Bowl four years in a row. Now it'll be J.P. Losman's home. (Incidentally, above are links to the three stadiums to be called "Home" by Drew Bledsoe.)

Next week we'll look at the stadiums of the AFC and NFC North divisions.

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