NFL stadium quirks

Citizen
Posts: 421
Joined: Sat Oct 11, 2014 9:44 am

NFL stadium quirks

Post by Citizen »

Since they all look about the same now, why not take a moment to recall:

• The berms leading up to the stands at Municipal Stadium
• The cigarette smoke haze prevalent in the early days of the Silverdome
• The cut-off back corner of Wrigley Field’s east end zone
• The dust swirls at Shea Stadium
• The field-level scoreboard at Tiger Stadium
• The fog at Memorial Stadium
• The grandstand at RFK Stadium that would move up and down when the fans jumped in unison
• The lonely little grandstand far past the east end zone of the Los Angeles Coliseum (and the track circling the field)
• The neighborhoods visible behind Franklin Field
• The Patriots logo behind the end zone at Foxboro Stadium
• The seagulls flying past press-box cameras at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum
• The shared sidelines at Tiger Stadium, Metropolitan Stadium, and County Stadium
• The shrubs beyond the Tulane Stadium end zones
• The snow fences in War Memorial Stadium
• The sunken benches (and the weird Parthenon thing) at Soldier Field
• The sunlight aberrations caused by the hole in the roof of Texas Stadium
• The turf seams, visible even on TV, at Veterans Stadium
JohnTurney
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Joined: Fri Oct 31, 2014 1:28 pm

Re: NFL stadium quirks

Post by JohnTurney »

Citizen wrote:Since they all look about the same now, why not take a moment to recall:

• The berms leading up to the stands at Municipal Stadium
• The cigarette smoke haze prevalent in the early days of the Silverdome
• The cut-off back corner of Wrigley Field’s east end zone
• The dust swirls at Shea Stadium
• The field-level scoreboard at Tiger Stadium
• The fog at Memorial Stadium
• The grandstand at RFK Stadium that would move up and down when the fans jumped in unison
• The lonely little grandstand far past the east end zone of the Los Angeles Coliseum (and the track circling the field)
• The neighborhoods visible behind Franklin Field
• The Patriots logo behind the end zone at Foxboro Stadium
• The seagulls flying past press-box cameras at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum
• The shared sidelines at Tiger Stadium, Metropolitan Stadium, and County Stadium
• The shrubs beyond the Tulane Stadium end zones
• The snow fences in War Memorial Stadium
• The sunken benches (and the weird Parthenon thing) at Soldier Field
• The sunlight aberrations caused by the hole in the roof of Texas Stadium
• The turf seams, visible even on TV, at Veterans Stadium
Though newer, the "wind tunnel" at the Meadowlands. It didn't have the character of the ones you mentioned but them opening
and closing the door to get an advantage was an oddball thing.

The Big A in Anaheim was more quirky in shape than most baseball stadiums fitted for football.

The earthworms that would come up on really wet days a Kezar.

The high and low tides affecting the turf at Oakland-Alameda--Madden would check the charts to
know if the field was going to be wetter or drier.

Palm trees in the end zone of the Orange Bowl
ChrisBabcock
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Joined: Sat Oct 11, 2014 3:36 pm
Location: Tonawanda, NY

Re: NFL stadium quirks

Post by ChrisBabcock »

I always thought that the unused set of seats to the left of one of the endzones at Candlestick looked really bizarre.

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JuggernautJ
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Location: NinerLand, Ca.

Re: NFL stadium quirks

Post by JuggernautJ »

ChrisBabcock wrote:I always thought that the unused set of seats to the left of one of the endzones at Candlestick looked really bizarre.
Nowadays those seats would be sold as "partially obstructed view"... for $250...
There was nothing quite like a twilight game at Candlestick... it was so bad there the S.F. (baseball) Giants literally gave out a medal to fans who stayed for extra-inning night games (The Croix De Candlestick).
I am often reminded of the (perhaps apocryphal) Mark Twain quote: "The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco".

And while we're mentioning San Francisco stadiums let us not forget the wooden bus-stop bench seats from Kezar.
After a half of football one's butt would be full of splinters and more than a little uncomfortable.
Actually, "bus stop" is being charitable... I think the City bought them used from an old Pony Express office...
JohnTurney wrote: The earthworms that would come up on really wet days a Kezar.
I played on that field. The worms were squishy... you'd have loved it...
Brian wolf
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Joined: Wed Nov 27, 2019 12:43 am

Re: NFL stadium quirks

Post by Brian wolf »

I would rather watch games at the Cotton Bowl over that crappy stadium Dallas has now.

*Memorial Stadium in Baltimore had that crazy airplane crash in the stands like an hour after the playoff game against Pitts in 1976. The radio announcers, Chuck Thompson and Art Donovan were incredulous ...

*In Tulane Stadium, a Vikings fan in a hot air balloon crashed into the stands before SB 4 ... An ominous sign for the Minnesota team that day ...

*Despite a great field and sightlines for fans and television viewers, Municipal Stadium in KC barely seated 35,000 fans a game till 1968 ... The Chiefs were never the same in Arrowhead and never won games until the 90s with Martyball and Peterson.

*Damn I miss RFK Stadium ... Great electricity from the Redskins Fans

*John Madden wrote in his first book how seagulls instinctively knew when the games were about to end in Kezar Stadium awaiting all the people to leave for the leftover food. Kezar is also in the film Dirty Harry, which has more impact as a horror film on the bigscreen.
Last edited by Brian wolf on Wed Mar 29, 2023 12:08 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Todd Pence
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Re: NFL stadium quirks

Post by Todd Pence »

Citizen wrote: • The grandstand at RFK Stadium that would move up and down when the fans jumped in unison
How well I remember this from my first NFL game (1980 Redskins vs. Vikings)
sheajets
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Joined: Sun Oct 12, 2014 12:22 am

Re: NFL stadium quirks

Post by sheajets »

ChrisBabcock wrote:I always thought that the unused set of seats to the left of one of the endzones at Candlestick looked really bizarre.

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Yep always saw those on the Candlestick highlights...and you'd every so often have some stragglers that found there way there...always wondered how and why.(probably drunk)..could they see anything?
sheajets
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Joined: Sun Oct 12, 2014 12:22 am

Re: NFL stadium quirks

Post by sheajets »

Not really a quirk but I always liked those palm trees in the open end of the Orange Bowl. Just a signature Miami/Florida things. They would always show up in NFL Films highlight packages as Marino throws another bomb to Duper or Clayton...and they're running towards the palm trees. I'm a Jets fan and looked forward to night games there, just the ambiance and atmosphere of it during those wild 1980s nights in Miami. That's the last time the Dolphins ever had any sort of home field advantage too

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Last edited by sheajets on Wed Mar 29, 2023 1:43 pm, edited 1 time in total.
sheajets
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Re: NFL stadium quirks

Post by sheajets »

Also Baltimore Memorial Stadium during Colts games, beyond the scoreboard you could see the tops of suburban houses...regular capes and craftsmen middle class homes. Just like somebody dropped a football stadium in Anytown USA.

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Old Cleveland Stadium to me was imposing and monolithic. It gave off a Battersea Power Station vibe to me

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slats7
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Re: NFL stadium quirks

Post by slats7 »

It's amazing how much litter (hot dog wrappers?) was on the field back in the day.

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