The Broncos-Ravens game at Sports Authority Field at Mile High last night drew a crowd of 76,977, the "third-highest home attendance in Broncos history" (DENVERPOST.com, 9/5). The start of the season was "rather anticlimactic because of a weather delay that began just as the two teams were set to hit the field for pregame warmups." Lightning was "in the area around the stadium, forcing the league to push back the opening kickoff 34 minutes, same as the blackout delay in Super Bowl XLVII" (Baltimore SUN, 9/6).
In Baltimore, the combination of a Keith Urban NFL Kickoff concert and a White Sox-Orioles game "went smoothly." Police "did not report any major incidents at the Inner Harbor event" (Baltimore SUN, 9/6). The concert and other attractions drew more than 40,000 fans. The event "felt less like a concert and more like an extravagant announcement that football had finally returned." The "corporate sponsor logos surrounding the stage were a reminder that this was a show for TV" (Baltimore SUN, 9/6). Attendance at Camden Yards was 17,383 (Baltimore SUN, 9/6).
