If you’re like me, every time you watch a Ravens home game on the TeeVee you start grinding your teeth with impotent rage at the fact that every time the NFL folks come to town to shoot flyovers of M&T Bank Stadium and stock footage of Baltimore, it’s always the exact same thing: The Inner Harbor. I think once I’ve seen them use footage of City Hall, but otherwise we get the same 3 shots of The Constellation, World Trade Center, and maybe Harbor Place. Yawwwwn. This isn’t limited to just Baltimore obviously, every single time a Saints game is played in New Orleans the only parts you’ll ever see are Bourbon St. and the French Market, even though there are plenty of beautiful spots within two miles to showcase the city’s other parts.
And the same is true for Baltimore. Off the top of my head, here are 3 other places within a mile or two of downtown that the NFL could throw up on the screen, making our town look just the tiniest bit more expansive.
 |
Patterson Park / Druid Hill ParkAre you kidding me? Look at this pagoda. It’s awesome. Put up some nice lighting for an evening shot and people watching the game in St. Louis will vomit with excitement and scream “HOLY SHIT WE HAVE TO VISIT BALTIMORE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!” Granted the NFL crew would have to get their shots in in a timely fashion to avoid some form of armed robbery or gang violence coming from the north end, but the views are pretty gorgeous nonetheless. Same goes for Druid Hill Park; the views of the city from Druid Lake are phenomenal, especially from the Moorish Tower on the southeast corner. Not to mention the old ice skating pond, various monuments, and a gazillion other things dotting the park. |
 |
Peabody Court HotelAny citizen of Baltimore looking for a fantastic view of the holiday-lit Washington Monument should head over to the Peabody Court Hotel’s (612 Cathedral St., Mount Vernon) top level and hang out in the ballroom. Or alternatively, if you work for the NFL and have a video camera in your hand, you should head over to the Peabody Court Hotel and shoot a nice panning vista of Mount Vernon and its historic awesomeness, a view that stretches all the way to the east side’s Hopkins Hospital campus. Pretty awesome stuff right there, NFL. |
 |
Locust Point Marine TerminalYeah, you might be thinking to yourself “What the hell would the NFL want to shoot at a Marine Terminal?” but the thing is, we get ships from all over the world coming in and out of our ports, including some of the largest freighters, battleships, and cruise ships around. The cruise ship station alone brings millions of dollars to the city every year, and with a little gussying up could function as a great shot to broadcast – in effect letting everyone know that Baltimore is an international destination in the process – while demonstrating the kind of industrial roots the city is steeped in. (note in the pic the USS Constellation in the background, it was docked for a time at the LPMT for restoration) |
So there you have it Baltimore and the NFL, I just gave you three easier than hell ways to make this city look great without costing you a dime. Someone get on the horn and butter these guys up to make it happen.
I agree totally, but stock footage is just that… stock footage. the idea is you shoot it once and use it for 10 years or so.
With the amount of Orioles’ games I watch on MASN, I’ve caught them using the same footage of each road city over and over.
This wouldn’t be so bad, except that Jim Hunter and Gary thorne always insist on making some harebrained comment like “What a marvellous day for sailing” when it’s actually a September game and windy and rainy.
well, since i live in maine, everytime i see the city on tv, i just get really excited and nostalgic, not filled with impotent rage. but i’m glad you’re still getting angry for the rest of us.
to be fair the impotent rage part was kind of a joke
So … just impotent?
I wonder why rage is so often described as “impotent”…