If You Give Me A Yacht Then I'll Give You a Super Bowl
Yeah, yachts are nice. Putters from Arnold Palmer aren't bad either. Hunting trips, well, I'm sure some people would be excited about this. As John Branch of the New York Times has reported, these are all things that factor into where future Super Bowls will be held. It doesn't matter if the temperature is 30 degrees (Detroit). It doesn't matter if a city has no public transportation (Jacksonville). It doesn't matter if the stadium is brand new all the time (Miami). If the owners, who are the ones who ultimately choose each host city, are kept happy they'll be persuaded to choose the city that gives them the best stuff.
Granted, sometimes it doesn't matter how many nice things you offer the owners, certain cities won't be considered. The New England Patriots, who have a beautiful new stadium in Foxboro, MA didn't build a retractable roof and they play in a place where the high temperature in late January/early February is around 10 degrees. So what? Some of the best games people will remember forever were played in the rain, snow, or other "unfavorable" conditions. The Tuck Rule game. The Ice Bowl. The Fog Bowl. The Snow Plow Kick. I'm sure all recent Patriots fans remember the game against Miami where the stands were filled with snow and fans were throwing snow in the air like fireworks. It was a beautiful sight. Places like Chicago, Denver, New England (The fact that Foxboro is over 20 minutes away from the outskirts of the closest major city, Boston, won't be considered here) should not be overlooked just because of their "bad" weather. It should be embraced. Teams and cities like those who host storied franchises (and yes the Patriots and Denver have become or are becoming storied franchises) should be highly considered for hosting future Super Bowls. Perhaps Robert Kraft will throw in some ski passes to sweeten the pot, just as a start.
Can't the NFL just do it the same way MLB does their picks for the All Star Game? Just pick the cities that have a new stadium (and yes, the NFL already takes this into account), the cities that haven't hosted the Super Bowl in a long time, and that perhaps have "earned it" through good play in the past few years. Baseball games get rained out all the time, but that doesn't stop MLB from putting the All Star Game in open stadiums each year. The NFL is the only outdoor sport that WILL play in bad conditions. They pride themselves on the fact that they'll work through conditions that only the post office has claimed to work through. Why not embrace that with the biggest game of the year. I mean, you get all the nice weather you want the following week anyway in Hawaii at the Pro Bowl.
Until Next Time...
Granted, sometimes it doesn't matter how many nice things you offer the owners, certain cities won't be considered. The New England Patriots, who have a beautiful new stadium in Foxboro, MA didn't build a retractable roof and they play in a place where the high temperature in late January/early February is around 10 degrees. So what? Some of the best games people will remember forever were played in the rain, snow, or other "unfavorable" conditions. The Tuck Rule game. The Ice Bowl. The Fog Bowl. The Snow Plow Kick. I'm sure all recent Patriots fans remember the game against Miami where the stands were filled with snow and fans were throwing snow in the air like fireworks. It was a beautiful sight. Places like Chicago, Denver, New England (The fact that Foxboro is over 20 minutes away from the outskirts of the closest major city, Boston, won't be considered here) should not be overlooked just because of their "bad" weather. It should be embraced. Teams and cities like those who host storied franchises (and yes the Patriots and Denver have become or are becoming storied franchises) should be highly considered for hosting future Super Bowls. Perhaps Robert Kraft will throw in some ski passes to sweeten the pot, just as a start.
Can't the NFL just do it the same way MLB does their picks for the All Star Game? Just pick the cities that have a new stadium (and yes, the NFL already takes this into account), the cities that haven't hosted the Super Bowl in a long time, and that perhaps have "earned it" through good play in the past few years. Baseball games get rained out all the time, but that doesn't stop MLB from putting the All Star Game in open stadiums each year. The NFL is the only outdoor sport that WILL play in bad conditions. They pride themselves on the fact that they'll work through conditions that only the post office has claimed to work through. Why not embrace that with the biggest game of the year. I mean, you get all the nice weather you want the following week anyway in Hawaii at the Pro Bowl.
Until Next Time...
posted by Howe at 12:21 PM
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