Pretty Pictures

I saw the start of two NFL wildcard games over the weekend, more for the initial camera shot than the action. I saw what I expected to see. The Baltimore skyline looked great at night; you could hardly tell this was a city in crisis. The Bills played during the day and don’t actually play in Buffalo (Orchard Park instead). But in the daylight there was no mistaking the massive new facility going up across the street from Highmark Stadium. Pretty pictures—this is what the NFL traffics in, and what the Bears want in on. It’s not enough for them to play in Soldier Field and be able show the Chicago skyline, which includes the lakefront, by the way. No, the McCaskey-Munsters want to show off a pretty new bauble of a field as well. Provided the public picks up a big part of the tab.