Cold weather Super Bowls on the way

[irish]

Originally Posted by JoeRedskin

I too have hated the "Dome Rule" - How many of the truly great games in NFL history have had weather be a component? It's 40 years later and we still talk about the Ice Bowl. Anyone remember the classic playoff game between Cinci and S.D. in the 80's (I think) - brutal! and yet a terrific game for fans.

The problem of course is that the SB is such a HUGE event, bad weather would do more than just affect the game. I think the only reason this happened is b/c it's NY and, quite frankly, when it comes right down to it, there are just different rules for NY (Remember the Saints "Home" game in NY after Katrina- pffff!).

Those cold weather games are great for fans watching at home, its not quite as much fun sitting out in the bitter cold.

I agree that NYC has different rules. There's no way Detroit or Minneapolis get a SB without a dome, there'sjust nothing to do there while there's lots to do in NYC even if it is cold. Ask any Skins fan that went to the SB in Minneapolis, the game was great and the rest sucked because it was so cold. I knew a few guys that took their SB $ and went to the Bahamas and watched on TV in a warm place with lots of fun stuff to do prior to the game.

The SB is a huge event and had it been in NYC this past winter I'm not sure they could have played the game because that was the weekend the big east coast blizzard hit and there is no way anyone could have got there and the stadium would have been full of snow. Imagine having to cancel the SB, I wonder how the players and fans would have felt about that. I know that chances of that happening are slim but why even take the chance with such a huge event.

[CRedskinsRule]

Originally Posted by irish

Those cold weather games are great for fans watching at home, its not quite as much fun sitting out in the bitter cold.

I agree that NYC has different rules. There's no way Detroit or Minneapolis get a SB without a dome, there'sjust nothing to do there while there's lots to do in NYC even if it is cold. Ask any Skins fan that went to the SB in Minneapolis, the game was great and the rest sucked because it was so cold. I knew a few guys that took their SB $ and went to the Bahamas and watched on TV in a warm place with lots of fun stuff to do prior to the game.

The SB is a huge event and had it been in NYC this past winter I'm not sure they could have played the game because that was the weekend the big east coast blizzard hit and there is no way anyone could have got there and the stadium would have been full of snow. Imagine having to cancel the SB, I wonder how the players and fans would have felt about that. I know that chances of that happening are slim but why even take the chance with such a huge event.

So, again, lets say NY Jets and GB host the conference championships, should they be moved to a different location because the game might be cancelled? When was the last time any Conf. Championship was cancelled? It's only 2 weeks earlier, and can be played in any NFL city. There is reasonable risk planning, like for a faulty BOP, but keeping half the country out of the running for the SB is just overkill.

[firstdown]

The only reason the NFL was just using warm cities to host the SB was to cater to the ass holes who don't give a shit about football but want to be seen at the SB. Also the big corporate donors want to fly in their big time customers so they can throw around some money while the game is going on in the back ground. Just think of the mid level section at FedEx and how the people there are too busy trying to impress someone to even look out of the booth to watch the game. Its time they switch the SB from the ass wipes who don't really care over to the fans who actually watch football but cannot afford to go. This will not solve the cost issues but its a start in the right direction.

[irish]

Originally Posted by CRedskinsRule

So, again, lets say NY Jets and GB host the conference championships, should they be moved to a different location because the game might be cancelled? When was the last time any Conf. Championship was cancelled? It's only 2 weeks earlier, and can be played in any NFL city. There is reasonable risk planning, like for a faulty BOP, but keeping half the country out of the running for the SB is just overkill.

The Conf Championship games arent nearly as big as the SB so the comparison isnt even close. Also I think if something like that blizzard was scheduled to happen during Conf Cahmpionship week they could move the game to the other teams stadium, that option doesnt exist with the SB.

The bottom line is that outside of NYC, WDC, Boston & Chicago there really arent any cold weather cities that anyone would want to go to for a SB. Would you want to go to GB, Buffalo or Clev for a SB? I sure wouldnt and I suspect most fans wouldnt either. The NFL can get away with a cold weather site because they have the corporations that will buy tix and hotel rooms no matter where the SB is played.

[MTK]

It would take a whopper of a storm to get a game canceled. It's not something they couldn't handle though, it's NY. NYC is much better equipped to handle big storms than somewhere like D.C.

[MTK]

2014 Super Bowl: Here's your weather forecast - Game On!: Covering the Latest Sports News

Snow on the East Coast in February is always a concern. However, over the past 44 years on Feb. 2, only 4% of the days had snowfall, with 1985 recording the highest amount of 3 inches.

14% of the days had rainfall, with the highest amount of 0.89 of an inch recorded in 1999.

Although precipitation may not be a concern, wind may be a factor at game time. Of the past 44 years, 54% of the days were windy, or having a sustained wind speed of at least 15 mph. Wind speeds exceeding 20 mph could affect the passing game of either team.

As for temperature, the warmest high was 57 degrees in 1988 and 1973, while the coldest high was 16 degrees in 1971.

AccuWeather.com Expert Senior Meteorologist Bernie Rayno said the normal game time conditions would see a temperature in the 30s at kickoff with winds 10-20 mph, but it will be unlikely for the actual conditions to match the normal.

"You're playing averages," he said. "Only 20 percent of the years recorded a high temperature within 2 degrees of the average high of 41 degrees. Climate is a product of extremes."

[irish]

Originally Posted by Mattyk

It would take a whopper of a storm to get a game canceled. It's not something they couldn't handle though, it's NY. NYC is much better equipped to handle big storms than somewhere like D.C.

In reality I think there's a 0% chance they'd cancel the game even if they had a whopper storm. The tricky part would be whether the fans could get there but I suspect NYC & NJ would figure out how to make it happen. Like I mentioned in a previous post, the big east coast cities and Chicago have enough to do that the cold weather wont matter to the fans but nobody wants to go to GB or Clev in Feb.

[SirClintonPortis]

Sometimes winters are mild here in MD. 2000 comes to mind...

[CRedskinsRule]

Originally Posted by irish

In reality I think there's a 0% chance they'd cancel the game even if they had a whopper storm. The tricky part would be whether the fans could get there but I suspect NYC & NJ would figure out how to make it happen. Like I mentioned in a previous post, the big east coast cities and Chicago have enough to do that the cold weather wont matter to the fans but nobody wants to go to GB or Clev in Feb.

Let's be fair, no one wants to go to Cleveland regardless of what month it is.

[CrustyRedskin]

Originally Posted by CRedskinsRule

Let's be fair, no one wants to go to Cleveland regardless of what month it is.

Now thats some funny arse stuff right there!!!

[irish]

Originally Posted by CRedskinsRule

Let's be fair, no one wants to go to Cleveland regardless of what month it is.

True that!

[sportscurmudgeon]

Originally Posted by firstdown

The only reason the NFL was just using warm cities to host the SB was to cater to the ass holes who don't give a shit about football but want to be seen at the SB. Also the big corporate donors want to fly in their big time customers so they can throw around some money while the game is going on in the back ground. Just think of the mid level section at FedEx and how the people there are too busy trying to impress someone to even look out of the booth to watch the game. Its time they switch the SB from the ass wipes who don't really care over to the fans who actually watch football but cannot afford to go. This will not solve the cost issues but its a start in the right direction.

The Super Bowl is NOT a game for fans to attend. For real football fans, the Super Bowl happens in their living room or in the living room of a good friend who is throwing a Super Bowl Party. For the hardcore NFL fan, the venue of the game is irrelevant so long as there is a sure-fire satellite link for the TV signal to get to his local TV set.

The two teams competing in the game only get about 3-5K tix to spread around and the team takes care of some of its local sponsors before its season ticket holders get a shot at the few remaining tickets. The league uses about half the tickets for its "partners" (read sponsors) so that those partners can bring their buds to the game. This makes the partners look like bigshots and cements relations with those buds.

Fans get to buy tix from resellers at 500% mark-up. Those tix often come from the few tickets that the 30 teams not competing get from the league. They give some to their season ticket holders and a large number of them show up as "resale tix".

The problem with an outdoor cold weather Super Bowl is that since the folks in attendance are not necessarily hard core NFL Fans, they may not "appreciate" freezing their butts off. And for sure they won't be getting any tee times on the Thursday or Friday before the game because no golf courses will be open. Wives of the visiting big shots won't be able to catch any rays around a pool either. You can be sure that at least some of the "partners" will grouse about that to the league such that outdoor cold weather Super Bowls will not happen very often.

As for a Super Bowl in DC, you can forget about that so long as FedEx remains anything resembling what it is today. There will need to be a new stadium or at least $300 - 400M in upgrades to FedEx before the league will think about putting a game here.

[Giantone]

Originally Posted by irish

In reality I think there's a 0% chance they'd cancel the game even if they had a whopper storm. The tricky part would be whether the fans could get there but I suspect NYC & NJ would figure out how to make it happen. Like I mentioned in a previous post, the big east coast cities and Chicago have enough to do that the cold weather wont matter to the fans but nobody wants to go to GB or Clev in Feb.

NO ONE Cares about the fans going to the SB ! Really,the game will be seen by almost 100,000,000 million on TV.With tickets going for 1200-1500 who cares who is at the game.

[53Fan]

They can play it in CRedskinsRule's backyard for all I care. Actually...that might be the only way I'd get to attend it. I kinda like the old style, cold weather, dirt football the best anyway. The weather just adds to the memories.

[CRedskinsRule]

Originally Posted by 53Fan

They can play it in CRedskinsRule's backyard for all I care. Actually...that might be the only way I'd get to attend it. I kinda like the old style, cold weather, dirt football the best anyway. The weather just adds to the memories.

LOL yeah you got tix buddy. Course, the world would have suffered a cataclysmic upheaval for that to happen, but I got your back in that case!