favthingsatl / CC

I'm not a huge football fan (I prefer baseball)—but I sure do like to eat. The meat-free offerings at the pro football stadiums listed below would be enough to convince me to shiver through a Sunday afternoon game, sans face paint, of course.

10. San Diego Chargers fans bolt to the concession stands at Qualcomm Stadium for veggie burgers, fruit salads, vegetable plates, taco salads, and the baked potato bar. There's even a seven-layer dip, which can be made vegan upon request.
9. The cruelty-free cuisine at Heinz Field—including veggie dogs, wraps, sandwiches, burgers, crudités, pasta, fresh fruit, and hummus—provide Pittsburgh Steelers fans with a winning lineup.
8. Tony Gonzalez, tight end for the Atlanta Falcons, notes the benefits that his nearly-vegan diet has on his game. His team's new home, the Georgia Dome, has plenty of savory meat-free options, including veggie burgers, a baked potato bar, a salad bar, baked five-spice seasoned tofu, curried grilled tofu cutlets, soba noodle stir-fry, and much more.
7. Have the Purple People Eaters become the Purple Veggie Eaters? Methinks so. After all, the Metrodome offers Minnesota Vikings fans a tantalizing lineup that includes veggie burgers, wraps, black-bean burgers, hummus, salads, fruit platters, and veggie platters.
6. Animal-friendly Cleveland Browns fans score big at Cleveland Browns Stadium's concession stands, which offer veggie burgers, baked potatoes, fruit salads, and the classic crowd-pleaser, PB&J.
5. Baltimore Ravens fans tackle animal abuse and meat-related illnesses when they order veggie burgers, burritos, and wraps—as well as veggie crudités, hummus, and fruit platters—at M&T Bank Stadium.
4. Want to know the real reason why Arizona Cardinal fans do the wave? They get on their feet for the meatless fare at University of Phoenix Stadium, where they can enjoy veggie burgers, bean and rice burritos, veggie stir-fry, crudités, fresh fruit, fajita bowls, and portobello sandwiches.
3. Green Bay Packers fans line up for Lambeau Field's healthy and humane veggie options, such as veggie brats (hello!), veggie burgers, baked potatoes, fresh vegetables, fresh fruit, and hummus.
2. San Francisco 49ers fans know that the long lines at Candlestick Park concession stands are worth the wait: Bellies are rewarded with mouthwatering veggie burgers, veggie dogs, and veggie burritos.
1. Delicious veggie burgers, dogs, burritos, and salads at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum help the Oakland Raiders avoid the need for a quadruple bypass surgery.

Can't make it to any of the stadiums listed above? No need to wait for the Super Bowl to invite friends over to your game-day party—any Sunday will do.

Posted by Karin Bennett

boston / CC

Ever since notorious dog abuser Michael Vick got out of jail and was signed by the apparently desperate Philadelphia Eagles, there has been a lot of discussion in the press and at your local humane society and sports bar about the ethics of his return to the NFL—and all the other issues that go along with it.

Now, the Washington Post (along with media outlets everywhere) is reporting that Nike might again be teaming up with Vick for product endorsements.

Today in the Post's special online NFL feature, "The League," PETA's own Dan Shannon cuts through the noise with a guest post on the subject. Dan puts it bluntly when he writes, "If Nike and other companies know what's best for the bottom line, they won't touch Michael Vick with a 10-foot pole."

Read the whole post here.

Posted by Jeff Mackey

compliance-helpline / CC

At least one corporation that stood to profit from Michael Vick's NFL reinstatement has decided to put morals before money.

While the NFL rushed to reinstate Michael Vick the second his ankle bracelet hit the floor, sporting goods giant Dick's has made it clear that it cares more about animals then it does its bottom line by refusing to sell replicas of Vick's Philadelphia Eagles jersey in any of its stores nationwide.

We hope you'll join us in letting Dick's know that it made the right decision by calling 1-877-846-9997 (dial 3 to speak to the operator). And if your dialing digits still feel like dancing, you can also call and complain to the NFL.

Posted by Karin Bennett

farm1 / CC

Calling all football fans! The results are in, and it looks like this year's contenders for the most vegetarian-friendly NFL stadium fought all the way to the end zone. These stadiums satisfied the hungriest of the hungry with delicious munchies ranging from the oldie-but-goodie veggie burger to the more exquisitely prepared Garden Harvest vegetable crudités.

Get out your pen and paper and jot down PETA's Top Five Vegetarian-Friendly NFL Stadiums; because even if your number one team isn't listed, you're going to want to make a point of traveling to these stadiums! Get ready! Drum roll, please ….

5. Lambeau Field (Green Bay Packers) In fifth place is the home of the Green Bay Packers. These fans really know how to "pack" in the vegetarian bratwurst and PB&J! My question: Does that bratwurst come with a heaping side of sauerkraut? Delish!

4. Metrodome (Minnesota Vikings) Sittin' in fourth place is the Metrodome, where vendors offer Gardenburgers and Blimpie's vegetarian sandwiches and salads.

3. Lincoln Financial Field (Philadelphia Eagles) Philly might have taken home top prize for having the number one vegetarian-friendly baseball stadium this year, but on the football side of things, the city ranks third with hungry helpings of the classics: veggie dogs and veggie burgers.

2. McAfee Coliseum (Oakland Raiders) Just out of first place is McAfee Coliseum. One could eat for days here snacking on veggie dogs, veggie burgers, baked potatoes, and fruit cups!

1. Qualcomm Stadium (San Diego Chargers) And congratulations to … Qualcomm stadium! With bean burritos, veggie sushi rolls, vegetable wraps, veggie hot dogs, and Gardenburgers, the avid sports fan can pile his or her lap high with mouth-watering goodies. Heck, you can buy enough in one trip to last the whole game!

Of course, two more contenders deserve honorable mentions: Fed-Ex Field (Washington Redskins) for its black-bean veggie burgers and vegetarian wraps and Paul Brown Stadium (Cincinnati Bengals) for its Gardenburger, hummus with pita bread, and various salads.

Whether you're a soda and veggie dog kinda sports fan or lean more toward a fruity wine and grilled bratwurst, these stadiums will have something to satisfy even your strongest fourth-quarter hunger pangs. So, go on and cheer—now you really have something to shout about during Monday Night Football!

Posted by Jennifer Cierlitsky

ericaberghan / CC

It's a classic story: Boys play with football, football goes over the fence, elderly neighbor refuses to return football, elderly neighbor is arrested ….

Wait, what? No, seriously—89-year-old Edna Jester of Ohio, in a move straight out of every kids' movie I ever watched growing up, declined to return the errant football that made its way onto her lawn. Here's where the story changes, though; Ms. Jester was then arrested and charged with petty theft for refusing to hand over the ball—and you know we just had to get involved. Fortunately (for Ms. Jester, anyway), the charges have since been dropped.

"But," our hearts cry, "what about the kids who lost their football? Will they ever get it back?"

Probably not—as of yesterday, one of the kids' fathers told news sources that his son just wanted the $15 football back. Well, we hear ya, Paul—and you know what? Being the charitable people that we are, we are more than happy to send your son a football (leather-free, of course) to replace the one he lost.

Heck, we'll even send two. Ya know, in case the first one ends up over the fence.

You can check out the letter we're sending to the boy's mother—or you can check out where you can get your very own leather-free football! (Defiant elderly neighbor not included.)

Posted by Amanda Schinke

We at PETA have just heard that the organizers of a fashion show sponsored by the Pro Football Hall of Fame are planning to include real fur in the show. Now—ignoring the question of what football has to do with a fashion show in the first place—why would the Hall of Fame want to be associated with the cruelty of fur farms?

We're sure that the director of the Pro Football Hall of Fame will change his mind about fur once he reads our letter, which is printed below. I mean, the Hall of Fame isn't knowingly supporting the fur industry, right? We hope not!

Ron Dougherty, Interim Executive Director
Professional Football Hall of Fame

Dear Mr. Dougherty:

On behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and our more than 2 million members and supporters, I am writing to urge you to pull all real fur from this Friday's Pro Football Hall of Fame Fashion Show Luncheon.

Dozens of designers and retailers—including Stella McCartney, Calvin Klein, Marc Bouwer, Banana Republic, Tommy Hilfiger, Ann Taylor, and Jones New York—refuse to use or sell fur. Long recognized as a leader in fashion, Polo Ralph Lauren also recently announced that it would no longer use fur in any of its apparel or home collections.

You might be interested to learn that animals trapped for their fur can suffer for days in steel traps before dying of exposure, frostbite, shock, or infection. Mothers who are desperate to return to their young will even chew off a limb in a desperate attempt to free themselves. Trappers eventually return and strangle, stomp, or bludgeon the survivors to death.

On fur farms, animals spend their lives in barren, filthy wire cages, exposed to all weather extremes. They often go without adequate shelter, clean water, or veterinary care (even for severe injuries, including broken bones). Unable to escape and deprived of everything that is natural and important to them, animals often go insane from these conditions. Fur farmers use the cheapest killing methods available. Many animals are electrocuted by having rods inserted into their rectums or vaginas, and others are beaten, gassed, or suffocated to death. These crude killing methods aren't always effective, and sometimes animals regain consciousness while the skin is being ripped off their bodies.

Please take a few minutes to watch this brief video about fur production to see why fur is unacceptable.

No organization wants to be associated with blatant cruelty to animals. I think you'll agree that this is a serious matter that deserves your immediate attention. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Dan Shannon, Assistant Director
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals

Posted by Amanda Schinke