NFL Geography

WHEN: February 6, 2011
WHERE: Arlington, Texas

Did you know the Superbowl is today?  Yeah, it's Superbowl XLV (that's "45", for those of you who don't speak Roman) and it's being hosted at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas, Texas.

OK, so no one was impressed with any of my knowledge of the game, nor are you going to be.  While Stace and I are uber-excited for the game today, I don't know much about the game, teams, or players.  For as much as I love facts, stats, and keeping track of large volumes or ridiculous information, I have never found much interest in rooting myself in the "debate-around-the-grill-with-your-guy-friends-and-shirt-off" analysis, components, and strategies of sports.  I don't know most players names, what their stats are, what school they came from, how many times they have or have failed to make it to a Superbowl, or the history of a team.  Football is about the only sport I can sit and watch, and the most I bring with me to the game is a sense of pride and competitiveness.  And isn't that what matters?  Who really cares how many times player X has scored X amount of points on team X against team Y when the temperature was below X, there was X minutes left in the game, and X number of refs were wearing a toupee?  I can't imagine how many statisticians the NFL must employ, for the amount of random facts they produce each game for each player or team.  To be honest, those facts are one my favorite parts of the game.

So, you're not going to get any analysis of the game here and not even any boastful pride over our Super Bowl Champs, the Green Bay Packers (alright, there was my pride for the post).  You're not looking for that here and I'm not offering it here.  But of course I would have to turn the Superbowl in to a matter of geography, because as the mantra goes (which is missing, in big letters somewhere near the top of my blog)...everything happens in time and space.  That's just where my mind goes.  "Hmm, the Superbowl is coming up", I say to myself, "Maybe I could do a post about it.  Let's see...how about I make maps and title it 'NFL Geography'?  Perfect."

So, here it is and here you are, still reading along and wondering how I could get "maps" out of "football" and put forth the time and effort to make a post out of it.  Loyal spectators, because I'm _________ (you choose the word).  I chose "talented".

I'm sure the NFL has hundreds of maps on the web that are much more savvy and sleek than the ones I've created.  I know.  I've seen them.  Mostly after I started making my maps.  Discouraging.  But I proceeded.

In case FOX asks you before a commercial break which team's stadium is located furthest north, you'll know it's the Seattle Seahawks because you brushed up on your NFL geography.  And if they ask all 32 teams in order you would also know they are...

#    LOCATION      TEAM             LATITUDE
1    Seattle                Seahawks         (47.595°N)
2    Minnesota           Vikings             (44.974°N)
3    Green Bay          Packers             (44.501°N)
4    Buffalo               Bills                  (42.774°N)
5    Detroit                Lions                (42.340°N)
6    New England      Patriots              (42.091°N)
7    Chicago              Bears                (41.863°N)
8    Cleveland           Browns              (41.506°N)
9    New York          Giants                (40.814°N) (shared stadium)
10   New York          Jets                   (40.814°N) (shared stadium)
11   Pittsburgh           Steelers             (40.447°N)
12   Philadelphia        Eagles               (39.901°N)
13   Indianapolis        Colts                 (39.760°N)
14   Denver               Broncos            (39.744°N)
15   Baltimore           Ravens              (39.279°N)
16   Cincinnati           Bengals             (39.096°N)
17   Kansas City        Chiefs               (39.049°N)
18   Washington        Redskins            (38.908°N)
19   St. Louis            Rams                 (38.632°N)
20   Oakland             Raiders              (38.752°N)
21   San Francisco     49ers                 (38.714°N)
22   Tennessee          Titans               (36.166°N)
23   Carolina             Panthers            (35.226°N)
24   Atlanta               Falcons             (33.758°N)
25   Arizona              Cardinals           (33.528°N)
26   San Diego          Chargers            (32.783°N)
27   Dallas                Cowboys            (32.748°N)
28   Jacksonville        Jaguars              (30.324°N)
29   New Orleans      Saints                 (29.951°N)
30   Houston             Texans               (29.685°N)
31   Tampa Bay        Buccaneers         (27.976°N)
32   Miami                Dolphins             (25.958°N)

I know, I know.  What if they ask you to list all 32 teams in order of when they were formed?  I've got you covered.

 #     TEAM              ESTABLISHED*
1      Cardinals           1898
2      Packers             1919
3      Bears                1920
4      Giants               1925
5      Lions                1929
6      Redskins           1932
7      Steelers             1933
8      Eagles               1933
9      Rams                1936
10    Browns             1946
11    49ers                 1946
12    Colts                 1953
13    Bills                  1959
14    Patriots             1959
15    Jets                   1960
16    Broncos            1960 
17    Chiefs               1960
18    Raiders             1960
19    Titans               1960
20    Chargers           1960
21    Cowboys          1960
22    Vikings             1961
23    Falcons             1966
24    Dolphins           1966
25    Saints               1967
26    Bengals            1968
27    Seahawks         1976
28    Buccaneers       1976
29    Panthers           1993
30    Jaguars             1995
31    Ravens             1996
32    Texans             2002
*I realize that some teams have changed names/cities/owners over the years, so these years may be misleading.  If you want the authoritative source, look here. If you want low-rate maps of NFL teams then continue.

NFL teams per conference

(Don't ask me why the Colts are in the AFC South or why the Cowboys are in the NFC East)

Distance between Cowboys Stadium in Dallas and the stadiums of the Packers and Steelers

Teams (stadiums) per state for the 2010-2011 NFL season

THE STADIUMS

Candlestick Park

Home of the San Francisco 49ers (San Francisco, CA)

Soldier Field

Home of the Chicago Bears (Chicago, IL)

Paul Brown Stadium

Home of the Cincinnati Bengals (Cincinnati, OH)

Ralph Wilson Stadium

Home of the Buffalo Bills (Orchard Park, NY)

INVESCO Field

Home of the Denver Broncos (Denver, CO)

Cleveland Browns Stadium

Home of the (take a guess)...Cleveland Browns (Cleveland, OH)

Raymond James Stadium

Home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Tampa, FL)

University of Phoenix Stadium (under construction)

Home of the Arizona Cardinals (Glendale, AZ)

Qualcomm Stadium

Home of the San Diego Chargers (San Diego, CA)

Arrowhead Stadium

Home of the Kansas City Chiefs (Kansas City, MO)

Lucas Oil Stadium (under construction)

Home of the Indianapolis Colts (Indianapolis, IN)

Cowboys Stadium

Home of the Dallas Cowboys and Superbowl XLV (Arlington, TX)

Sun Life Stadium

Home of the Miami Dolphins (Miami Gardens, FL)

Lincoln Financial Field

Home of the Philadelphia Eagles (Philadelphia, PA)

Georgia Dome

Home of the Atlanta Falcons (Atlanta, GA)

Giants Stadium (left) and New Meadowlands Stadium (right, under construction)

Home of the New York Giants and the New York Jets (East Rutherford, NJ)

Everbank Field

Home of the Jacksonville Jaguars (Jacksonville, FL)

Giants Stadium (bottom) and New Meadowlands Stadium (top, under construction)

Home of the New York Giants and the New York Jets (East Rutherford, NJ)

Ford Field

Home of the Detroit Lions (Detroit, MI)

Lambeau Field

Home of the Green Bay Packers (Green Bay, WI)

Bank of America Stadium

Home of the Carolina Panthers (Charlotte, NC)

Gillette Stadium

Home of the New England Patriots (Foxborough, MA)

Oakland-Alameda County Stadium

Home of the Oakland Raiders (Oakland, CA)

Edward Jones Stadium

Home of the St. Louis Rams (St. Louis, MO)

M&T Bank Stadium

Home of the Baltimore Ravens (Baltimore, MD)

FedEx Field

Home of the Washington Redskins (Landover, MD)

Louisiana Superdome

Home of the New Orleans Saints (New Orleans, LA)

Qwest Field

Home of the Seattle Seahawks (Seattle, WA)

Heinz Field

Home of the Pittsburgh Steelers (Pittsburgh, PA)

Reliant Stadium

Home of the Houston Texans (Houston, TX)

LP Field

Home of the Tennessee Titans (Nashville, TN)

Hubert H. Humphrey Stadium

Home of the Minnesota Vikings (Minneapolis, MN)

On our approach in to DFW in Dallas on December 28, 2009, Stace and I were looking for the newly-completed Cowboys Stadium.  Stace happened to look out the window across the aisle and spotted it.  I whipped my camera across towards the people sitting to our left and managed to snap this picture right before the stadium went out of sight.

Cowboys Stadium, 12/28/2009

A view of Cowboys Stadium from the tarmac at DFW.  The stadium was 11.5 miles away from us here.

Now that you have brushed up on your NFL geography, go get a map and look up where Green Bay, Wisconsin is, because it's the home of the Superbowl XLV champions!!

GREEN and GOLD!!!

All aerial images provided by Bing Maps