While I am a native New Yorker and fan of most Big Apple teams, I don't believe today's decision to play the 2014 Super Bowl in the new billion-dollar stadium in the New Jersey Meadowlands is a wise one.This will be the first Super Bowl played in a cold-weather city without a domed stadium. Being that the game will be played in February, weather conditions are likely to be miserable, which is why the NFL has always stuck to host cities like Tampa, Miami and San Diego or played in domes to showcase its final game of the season.
Anything in New York tends to draw extra attention and extra money. Like with most things, the bottom line probably had a lot to do with today's decision by the NFL.
If the Super Bowl is now going to be played anywhere and everywhere, I would like to see one other change. I suggest allowing the higher-seeded team to host the game, essentially giving home field advantage to the franchise with the best record, as is done for all of the other postseason games in football and other sports. Season-ticket holders of both teams would have first shot at Super Bowl tickets, thereby keeping out some of the corporate types who tend to fill too many seats at most Super Bowls. The game would have the same dynamics as the conference championships, with true fans rooting for their teams.
Nice suggestion, but it isn't going to happen for a couple of reasons.
ReplyDeleteFirst, only a small percentage of the tickets to the game go to the fans of either of the teams in it. The Super Bowl is intended to be a showcase for the league and its corporate sponsors. Good luck getting the league to hold back more tickets for Joe Fan.
Second, if you've lived in a city that has hosted a modern-era Super Bowl, you already know that literally years of logistical planning go into every imaginable aspect of the event, beginning with making sure enough hotel rooms have been blocked out for league officials and corporate sponsors.
The NFL leaves nothing to chance. I'm surprised the NFL is willing to play their showcase game outdoors in New York in January. For the NFL, that's already a wild gamble.