Sports Art

This panorama, taken by James Blakeway, captures the excitement at Bryant-Denny Stadium as the University of Alabama football team scores a touchdown. Denny Stadium opened in 1929 and was renamed in 1975, in honor of legendary coach Paul “Bear” Bryant. With completion of the 2010 expansion of the stadium’s south end zone and suite level, it became the second-largest stadium in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and among the largest stadiums in the nation. The Crimson Tide has an extraordinary football history. It includes more Super Bowl winning quarterbacks than any other college football program and more SEC football titles than any other member.

 

This panorama, photographed by James Blakeway, captures the overtime thriller as the Arizona State Sun Devils football team defeated their ranked opponent, the Missouri Tigers. Adding to the excitement of the evening, 70,236 Devil fans were dressed in black to create the “Black Out” as the Sun Devils team debuted its new all black uniforms and helmets. Arizona State University was founded in 1885 in Tempe, Arizona. Today, the university spreads across the greater Phoenix metropolitan area and is broadly organized into 14 divisions and four campuses with annual enrollment of over 72,000 students.

  

This panorama captures the excitement of one of the most anticipated college football games, as the SEC Auburn Tigers and Pac-10 Oregon Ducks go head-to-head at the Tostitos BCS National Championship Game. While both teams made it through their conference seasons and rivalry games undefeated, it was the top-ranked Tigers that achieved national championship status after playing the biggest game of the year with a final score of Auburn 22, Oregon 19. This was Auburn’s first national championship win since 1957. The BCS National Championship Game is the final bowl game of the season, played between the two highest-ranked teams in the BCS standings.

  

This panorama, photographed by Desiree Mostad, features the Cleveland Browns playing to a capacity crowd at Cleveland Browns Stadium. Ever since the Browns were established in 1946, they have played on the same site on the shores of Lake Erie. From 1946 to 1995, their home was Cleveland Municipal Stadium. On that same footprint, Cleveland Browns Stadium was built and opened in 1999. As tradition dictates, the playing field runs east to west and the Dawg Pound can still be found on the east side of the stadium. In 1950, the year the Cleveland Browns joined the NFL, they had the distinction of winning the NFL Championship their first year in the league.
 
  

This panorama of the Detroit Lions NFL football team playing at Ford Field was photographed by James Blakeway. The team started in 1929 as the Portsmouth Spartans, joined the NFL in 1930 and became the Detroit Lions in 1934. The Lions played at the University of Detroit Stadium for four years and then moved to Briggs Stadium (later named Tiger Stadium) in 1938. In 1975, the Lions moved to the Pontiac Silverdome, where they played until moving to Ford Field in 2002. The Lions' history includes NFL Championships, several enshrinees in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and one of America's best holiday traditions – Detroit’s annual Thanksgiving Day Classic.

 

This panorama of the Detroit Red Wings was taken by James Blakeway in the opening game of the 2011 Stanley Cup® Playoffs – a contest that marked the Red Wings 20th consecutive season in the playoffs. One of the Original Six™ teams of the NHL®, the Red Wings were established in 1926.  Winning their first Stanley Cup Championship in 1936, they repeated the feat the following year, becoming the first American team to win consecutive Stanley Cup Championships. As of 2011, the Red Wings have won more Stanley Cup Championships than any other NHL franchise based in the United States. 

  

This panorama of Jack Trice Stadium, taken by Christopher Gjevre, captures the jubilation after the in-state battle between the Iowa State Cyclones and the Iowa Hawkeyes for the Cy-Hawk Trophy. At the end of the afternoon, the Cyclones emerged victorious after triple overtime for a final score of 44-41. The 56,085 fans who packed Jack Trice Stadium set the second-highest attendance record in stadium history. Many of those fans rushed the field at the conclusion to share in the Cyclone victory. The Iowa State – Iowa Rivalry began on October 1, 1894, with Iowa State winning 16-8. Today it is still one of the most highly anticipated football games in the state of Iowa. 

  

This aerial panorama of Michigan State University, taken by James Blakeway, spotlights the university during a Michigan State Spartans football game. MSU, located in East Lansing, Michigan, is one of the top 10 largest universities in the United States with more than 46,000 students and offers more than 200 academic fields of study. Founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, it was renamed several times prior to becoming Michigan State University in 1964. Spartan Stadium originally opened as College Field in 1923. The natural grass stadium seats 75,005 fans and has ranked among the top 20 in attendance each of the last 52 years. Spartan football has won six national titles.