No Super Bowl in NY

The Super Bowl is the most watched sporting event each year. Hundreds of millions of people tune in from around the world to watch the game and see the new commercials. This year the league has approved the New York and New Jersey areas to host Super Bowl XLII (48) in 2014. While fans are excited about this opportunity for New York City and its surrounding areas, playing the game in bad weather will have a negative impact on the ability of the players. A number of recent Super Bowls have been poorly played games in excellent weather conditions where weather was not a factor. However hosting the game in a city that is known for snow and heavy rain in the month of February can make the experience bad for the fans watching the game live, the media visiting the city to report on the game, and the fans at home watching it on television. There have been a number of memorable contests affected by weather throughout the National Football League’s history.
Games such as the “Ice Bowl” are widely regarded as one of the most influential bad weather games. The “Ice Bowl” was played in 1967 between the Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys for the NFL Championship. The game was played at -13* F which is still the coldest game in league history. Fans had to endure the brutal conditions, while league officials and members of the local band had materials frozen to their lips. It is highly unlikely that conditions for Super Bowl XLII will be this extreme, but playing the game in a blizzard or a torrential downpour is a possibility.
The Super Bowl is supposed to be played in a neutral site determined to keep either team from having an advantage. How will fans and the league react if a cold weather team such as the Philadelphia Eagles plays a team from warm weather such as the Miami Dolphins in heavy snow? The conditions will highly favor the Eagles and can turn the game into a sloppy mistake filled mess, or an uneventful contest resulting in a 13-6 Philadelphia win. Keeping the most important game of in a warm weather neutral site is the best option for the league because it will benefit consumers, fans, and the league as a whole.