Dome Sweet Dome

 The first football game I saw in a dome was Oklahoma State against Texas Tech in the Tokyo Dome in the late '80s when I was stationed in Yokosuka. I don't think we paid much attention to the stadium itself, we were more excited to see Barry Sanders on his way to the Heisman Trophy.
 The second was last Thursday night when the Atlanta Falcons hosted the Baltimore Ravens at the Georgia Dome. I was in town for a job fair, although it realistically could have called an intern fair or job trainee fair. 
 It's hard to imagine two Super Bowls have been played at the Georgia Dome. I can't think of a worse place for a game. Not fan-wise, the Falcons fans were as enthusiastic as I've seen; they were starting to tailgate for an 8:20 game that night when I got there a little after noon and during the game they were just as rabid as the most crazed Redskin fan.
 Football was made to be played outside. Being inside felt just so...antiseptic. Yes, it was nice not having to fight the elements, but that should be part of the process for both players and fans alike.
 The arena itself was the problem. The seats were small and cramped and the way the public address system works makes it hard to hear/understand the announcer. They have video boards that rival what they have at FedEx Field, but there's a problem with either the camera operators or the directors. The way they shoot events on the field are disjointed; there's little head room, the transitions are choppy and just overall sloppy.
And when they honored Deion Sanders at halftime, they actually cut off his microphone before he was done talking. I know some people don't want to listen to him all the time, but really?
 Hopefully the Falcons won't get home-field advantage throughout the playoffs and we'll have playoff football out in the open.