Catsup!!

No major theme today, just lots of little things that have been building up.

• November 3 I posted about how I saw some college conference logos were placed between the yard line markers and the hash marks. I thought, at the time, this was unusual. Further research shows that it's pretty standard. Here's the Cincinnati Bearcats, they put theirs on the 20 yard line. Also, notice also their yard line markers are in red with the white drop shadow. The Clemson Tigers have theirs on the 25 yard line (which seems to be a standard placement) and also have a ribbon. The undefeated Florida Gators have theirs on the 35 yard line, and have their Gator logo out there too. I haven's seen any Big Ten schools with the conference logo at all.
• Speaking of the Big Ten, the Iowa Hawkeyes have been having a good season. I've been waiting a while to post this. Let's take a look at this shot from the Iowa/Michigan game about a month back. Take a look at the 10 yard line marker. It seems every football team has a different look for their yard lines. What does Iowa use? A check of this site reveals the Hawkeyes use....helvetica!!
• I can't tell what typeface LSU uses but they like to label every 5 yard line, not just the 10s. I also love their 'tiger eye' logo at midfield. The way they 'fade' it at the edges is outstanding. One of my favorite college midfields.
• Clemson University has their paw at midfield and in the end zone. Nice!
• The Denver Broncos end zone is unchanged since October 9. They have a Legacy game November 22, we'll see if they make any changes then.
• How many football teams put their city (or state) name in one end zone, and their nickname in the other? I don't know, I'm going to have to start keeping track of this. This past weekend reveals the Chicago Bears do it.
• College basketball season is ramping up. Here's a shot from a 1955 NC State/Clemson game at Reynolds Coliseum. Notice how narrow the lane is. And how short the shorts are.
• Ahh the Raiders. A once proud NFL team on hard times. Their field is on hard times as well. To be fair, their facility is also home to the Oakland A's. The conversion to football is not going well. The sad looking area is the second base area. I'm not sure why the area behind second base was replaced, but it looks terrible.
• The Miami Dolphins midfield classic logo.
• The Steelers recently replaced the 'main street' down the center of Heinz Field. Looks like the Chiefs need to do the same.
• Lastly...NASCAR! I love racing and it was in nearby Martinsville recently. When entering their pit box, it is critical that the driver parks their car/truck in the right spot. Check out the detail that Kevin Harvick's team achieved in marking his spot. Not so much for this team.

Well, that should do it for now.

Until next time!

Let's fire up the Way-Back Machine!!

I recently spent some time nosing around some lesser known corners of the internet and have returned with some pictures of some interesting things:

• First stop, Metropolitan Stadium in Minneapolis! (Now site of the Mall of America) Way back on October 20, 1968 the Vikings hosted the Dallas Cowboys. Let's check out their midfield logo. Very simply a Viking "V". Also notice how close the yard line numeral is to the hash mark.
• Still at Metropolitan Stadium, the Vikings had the classic 'diamond' pattern in their end zone. Here's a shot of the other end zone. Not sure of the dates of these.
• Remember the Raiders? You may not have heard from them lately but they were quite the team back in the day. These two shots are from November 17, 1968 (the infamous Heidi Game). Diamond end zones again, but with a silver background and black diamonds. Shot #1 and shot #2.
• Let's stay in the AFL. Kansas City used to play in Municipal Stadium, and like many football teams have their helmet painted on the field. But how often do they paint the other team's helmet on the field? I've never seen it before but I located a shot from November 1, 1970 between the Chiefs and the Raiders showing both. By the way, in the shot, George Blanda is attempting a 48 yard field goal. He made it to tie the game in the fourth quarter. The game finished tied.

Until next time!

Broncos Legacy Turf, and other NFL notes!!!

Would you look at that!!!

Gorgeous!!!!

As mentioned previously, the Broncos are really getting behind the Legacy/AFL 50th big time!

Last Sunday featured simple crossed lines. This week the Mile High staff took things a little further by filling in every other 'diamond' with white paint. That really takes you back to the late 60's.

Mile High also has a midfield commemerative logo. Looks and understated and classy.

The Broncos have two road games and a bye week before their next home game November 9 against the Pittsburgh Steelers. That should give them time to work up something choice!

The Chiefs have taken a different approach. They have a nice midfield commemorative logo (looking a little rough at this point, it's their third home game in four weeks) but have their regular end zone.

The Eagles midfield logo is still in pretty good shape. (Donovan McNabb is still in pretty good shape as well).

The 49ers midfield logo looks terrific, but I find their end zone rather ugly. It looks in pretty good shape, maybe it's cause only one team was scoring in that game.

Want to see another shot of the Broncos end zone? Here you go!!