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| Joe Flacco has a strong opinion about outdoor Super Bowl sites. (Ryan Wilson, CBSSports.com) |
NEW ORLEANS -- While we bask in the warm late January weather of New Orleans, we should appreciate this temperate climate for as long as we can. Because that’s probably going to be untrue this time next year when the world descends on New York and New Jersey for Super Bowl XLVIII.
For the first time in Super Bowl history, the NFL next season will play its biggest game in a Northern city in which the stadium is not domed or equipped with a roof. Apparently, Denver also is looking to the latter part of this decade to bid on a Super Bowl, and during media avaibility on Monday, a reporter from Denver asked Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco about playing outdoor Super Bowls in cold climates.
Before the reporter could finish his question, Flacco cut him off.
“It’s retarded, “Flacco said before back-stepping. “I guess I shouldn’t say that. It’s stupid. If you want a Super Bowl, put a dome on your stadium and then you can get one. Other than that, I don’t really like the idea. I don’t think it would suit us badly. We’d react very well to that if we had to play anybody in that kind of weather. But I just can’t see that being a good idea.”
The NFL, I imagine, has a different idea about what’s a good idea.
Forgive Flacco his original language, because he briefly misspoke in front of a semi-large group of people.
But it does give you an idea about what players might think about playing for an NFL title in the snow or the wind or the rain or the hail. Not that it matters what the players think. If the idea makes money, the NFL surely will follow.
Even if it’s a miserable experience for the players and the fans (and the media!), the league doesn’t seem to mind as long as something is in it for the NFL.
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