Odds a Jersey Super Bowl would go well? Worse than a snowball's in Hell
Multiple NFL sources are saying New York is the front-runner for the 2014 Super Bowl despite league denials to the contrary. That is, unless the Mayans are correct about 2012.
Great. Why not hold a Super Bowl in Alaska while you're at? Sarah Palin can do the coin toss.
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| Tailgating at the Meadowlands is BYOFB: Bring your own fire barrel. (Getty Images) |
"Where's our Super Bowl?" asks Antarctica.
It's not that the idea of a New York Super Bowl is dumb; it's that the idea of a New York Super Bowl is really dumb.
This is what's happening. Recently the Arizona Super Bowl Host Committee dropped out of the 2014 Super Bowl running, citing financial concerns, leaving it a three-area race between New York, South Florida and Tampa. Actually, New York is a misnomer because the Super Bowl site would be in New Jersey, but we'll stick with New York for now.
The league denies there are favorites but several NFL sources said that wasn't necessarily the case. There is growing sentiment that some owners want to reward the Jets and Giants for building a new stadium. There is also a feeling that a Super Bowl would be a fitting tribute to the Mara family which for decades has been a highly respected NFL force as owners of the Giants.
Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots, has quietly been backing the New York Super Bowl because it would mean he would have a chance to host a Super Bowl at Gillette Stadium one day. The same, I'm told, is true about Daniel Snyder in Washington.
The potential New York Super Bowl stadium -– located in the Meadowlands area -- is in the northern part of New Jersey. It cost $1.6 billion and is scheduled to open next season.
I've lived intermittently within a dozen miles of this area since 1993, traversing the various clogged arteries and exits literally hundreds of times (my home is a three-minute drive from the diner where the final Sopranos scene was filmed).
The area is a logistical nightmare that includes some of the more treacherous stretches of road in this part of New Jersey. In 2007, very close to the Meadowlands area, the mascot for the University of North Carolina was struck by a car and killed while walking along a shoulder on one of the roads. He was staying at a nearby hotel and in town for the NCAA tournament. It's a hotel Super Bowl fans would use as well.
There is no easy way for pedestrians to cross the dangerous thoroughfares near the stadium because there are few walkways.
The entire area around the Meadowlands is basically an industrial wasteland full of cheesy diners, gas stations and cheap motels. Yes, the Meadowlands is lovely this time of year.
This is where the NFL might have the 2014 Super Bowl. It's true. It's not a joke. Not in Florida. Not in freaking Florida. But in New Jersey.
There are plenty of beautiful places in New Jersey. The Meadowlands isn't one of them.
Once here, most of the Super Bowl fans would have few places to go for fun unless they enjoy spending time in Wawa or chatting with toll collectors. The few who are lucky enough to grab one of the decent hotel rooms near the stadium could always hang out in the city (Manhattan is a short drive away) but again, the logistics are far from easily manageable.
In an area already overflowing with people, cars and rudeness, it's difficult to imagine what would occur if tens of thousands of additional souls (if not a lot more) were jammed into this paradise.
Since there are actually few hotels in the area, many fans will have to stay in Manhattan hotels which -- and you can guarantee this -- will charge $500 to $600 a night. The extremely expensive hotels and restaurants would make this the most corporate Super Bowl in history. The average fan would get eye gouged even more than usual.
Then, of course, there are the potentially devastating weather issues. Remember, the new stadium doesn't have a retractable roof and that makes a Super Bowl here a major gamble. Just a few days before the Super Bowl was played in Florida this year, a massive storm buried parts of New Jersey under feet of snow.
The Newark Star-Ledger newspaper read: "It was an epic storm that buried parts of the state under more than two feet of snow ... knocking out power, stopping traffic and creating blizzard conditions that kept New Jerseyans in their homes."
Woo-hoo! Super Bowl in Jersey! Yeah!
Just this past week another huge storm hit. It snowed for so long I paid Bruce Springsteen $20 to shovel my driveway.
This time of year in New Jersey, it can be 40 degrees, or 30 and sunny, or 20 with a high chance of blizzard.
Putting a Super Bowl in this region is the equivalent of Super Bowl Russian roulette.
"I think the idea of playing in the elements is central to the way the game of football is played," commissioner Roger Goodell said during his state of league address earlier this month when asked about a New York Super Bowl. "Being able to do that and celebrate the game of football in the No. 1 market could have tremendous benefits to the league going forward."
What Goodell is leaving out is that a snowstorm would dramatically impact the quality of the game and fan experience. The Saints-Colts Super Bowl happened on a beautiful night and the contest was quick paced and well played. It's fine to have a regular-season or even a playoff game played in miserable weather, but not the Super Bowl. The Super Bowl is the showcase game in all of sports.
Giving a Super Bowl to New Jersey is truly about politics and arrogance, arrogance and politics.
This is typical of the actions of a big-time sports league. Rather than concern itself about the issues that affect fans, it takes care of its own, the wealthy owners.
Nothing about a New Jersey Super Bowl is fan friendly. Not a single thing.
Now pardon me while I get back to shoveling snow.
