He Shouldn’t Have Said It, But He’s Right

Today was Super Bowl Media Day, but that didn’t stop Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco from making headlines with something he said yesterday.  When asked about next year’s Super Bowl in New York, Flacco said the idea was “stupid.”  That, of course, didn’t go over well with the NFL suits and Flacco was pretty much forced to apologize.  Problem is, though, he’s right.

You would think that I’d be excited about the Super Bowl coming to my hometown.  But I’m not.  I haven’t been on board with the New York Super Bowl from the start.  It’s a bad idea.  And there are plenty of reasons why.

For starters, let’s consider the most obvious potential problem: it’s outdoors in New York in February.  While it’s by no means a guarantee, bad weather is almost a certainty.  Last week was bitter cold throughout the Northeast.  Then it snowed.  Today was comfortable, but by January-in-the-Northeast standards.  Sitting outside in 40-degree weather might be fun when it’s a Giants game, but it’s something completely different when you have fans coming in from out of town, none of whom are used to it, out there for four hours after dark.  The chances of them being incredibly miserable are extremely high.  And that’s not even mentioning the corporate sponsors and other NFL bigwigs who’ll be subjected to the same miserable conditions.  They won’t be comfortable for anybody.  Is that really the type of environment you want the biggest event in American sports to be held in?

The NFL’s argument is that a) they have a contingency and b) they’ve held the Super Bowl in cold-weather cities before.  Do they really have a contingency for snow or freezing rain or any other type of winter-weather-related situation?  Look at this year’s Pinstripe Bowl, which was played in a snowstorm.  Sure, it looked cool on TV, but can you say anything else that was good about that situation?  And, yes, the Super Bowl has been played in cold-weather cities before.  IN DOMES!  Fans didn’t have to sit there in the elements for hours, and there wasn’t any chance of the weather having an impact on the field conditions, etc.

Even when the Super Bowl has been played in places where the February weather traditionally isn’t that bad has created havoc.  Remember the ice storm in Dallas two years ago?  Even Atlanta, where you think you’re safe, had a winter storm prior to the Rams-Titans Super Bowl in 2000.  The Super Bowl hasn’t been in Atlanta since.  Of course, the Super Bowl was given to New York on the understanding that it was going to be a one-off thing, but that doesn’t change the fact the weather is the most serious potential problem the NFL’s going to face.

My other big problem with the New York Super Bowl is the inherent unfairness that exists with a number of the potential matchups.  This year’s participants actually provide a good example of what I’m talking about.  While not as bad as New York, Baltimore is still, for the most part, a cold-weather city.  San Francisco is not.  The Ravens regularly play games outdoors in cold weather.  The 49ers don’t.  So, if this year’s game was in New York instead of New Orleans, the Ravens would have an inherent advantage.  The whole idea of playing the Super Bowl at a neutral site is so that neither team has an advantage.

Or let’s take it the other way. Imagine it’s the Falcons vs. the Dolphins. Atlanta doesn’t just play in the South, they also play in a dome. Miami’s a frequent Super Bowl destination for obvious reasons. The Dolphins and Falcons both aren’t used to playing in the type of conditions they’d face in New York. As a result, the quality of the game, which is supposed to be a display of football’s two best teams, would be severely compromised.

To be clear, I have no problem with warm-weather teams visiting cold-weather cities in the Conference Championship Games.  You play all season for home field advantage precisely because it’s an advantage.  If you go 14-2 and you’re playing a 9-7 team for the right to go to the Super Bowl, you deserve to be at home in whatever kind of elements with your fans there.  But the Super Bowl, the one-off championship game, is different.  It’s played at a neutral site for a reason.  Taking the weather out of the equation and making it a fair playing field for both teams, regardless of where they come from.

I could be dead wrong.  The Super Bowl in New York could end up being wonderful.  Or it could be the tremendous disaster I’m predicting.  But the NFL gave the Super Bowl to New York to reward the Giants and Jets for building the new stadium, as well as the league’s appreciation for the Mara family’s contributions to the sport.  I’m sure it’ll be a good show.  This city sure knows how to throw a party!  And the non-game events will certainly be spectacular.  But it’s a definite risk.  And I’m not sure it’s one worth taking.