There is a God! Superbowl 2014 to be in the Cold!

[MKSheppard]

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IRVING, Texas - Check the antifreeze, grab the mittens, make sure the airport’s not snowed in.

We’re going to the Super Bowl.

In New Jersey. In February!

NFL owners voted Tuesday to put the 2014 Super Bowl in the new $1.6 billion Meadowlands Stadium that this season will become home to the New York Jets and Giants. It’s the first time the league has gone to a cold weather site that doesn’t have a dome and, until now, those places couldn’t even bid on the big game.

The league made an exception for the New York area, and New York only. But just a few years ago, the NHL experimented with an outdoor game on New Year’s Day, and it was such a success that teams now fight to host what’s become an annual event.

“We believe the owners have the faith in us that 3½ years from now we’ll put on a remarkable event,” Giants co-owner Jonathan Tisch said on the NFL Network. “The greatest game in the world will be played on the greatest stage in the world.”

For all the hoopla on putting the Super Bowl in the Big Apple, it wasn’t a slam-dunk. It took four votes by NFL owners to pick New Jersey over two Florida cities, Miami and Tampa. Miami was eliminated after the second ballot.

If the NFL decides to wait and see how this foray into the great outdoors in winter goes, it could be until about 2019 or 2020 to try again because it takes a year or two to put together a bid for a game that’s another four years away.

The slogan for New York’s bid is “Make Some History.” The first piece likely to be made is a record-low temperature at kickoff. The current record is 39 degrees in 1972 at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans, and that would be considered a warm February day in East Rutherford, N.J.

There’s never been snow in a Super Bowl game and that could happen, too.

The average temperature range for the Meadowlands area during February is 24 to 40 degrees, with several inches of rain, according to the bid documents. Remember, the game kicks off after sunset in the Eastern time zone, so temperatures would be dropping throughout the night.

Planners have factored it all in. They’re plotting giveaways to warm hands and seats, having hundreds of folks ready to shovel away snow and anything else they can do to make the experience more than just bearable.

[Phantasee]

So those pussies in the NFL will finally play a real game in the elements? Nice to know the cultural exchange between Canada and the US goes both ways

[Gandalf]

I'd love to see this game played in the snow. It'd certainly make for fun watching considering I usually have no stake in the teams.

Though, what happens if the game is snowed under? Will it be called off, or will there be an army of people keeping the surface playable?

[houser2112]

Though, what happens if the game is snowed under? Will it be called off, or will there be an army of people keeping the surface playable?

The latter. This is the biggest game of the year, and the NFL pulls out all the stops. It's too expensive to hold the Super Bowl to postpone it. However, Giants Stadium doesn't typically get that kind of epic snowfall.

[Bilbo]

This is just fucking stupid and I am sure financially the NFL will realize this once they tally up the profits for the game. In addition it adds possible advantage to one team over the other which was one of the major reasons why the game was always held in a dome or warm weather stadium.

[Qwerty 42]

In this part of the country, winters tend to be fairly dry. However, in the event that there is snow, I know that workers at Giants Stadium and Lincoln Financial Field (Philadelphia) have sometimes labored until just before the gates opening to make sure that the stadium and field are both serviceable. Those efforts would be redoubled for a Super Bowl. Barring a complete system-shutdown snowstorm like hasn't been seen in my lifetime, the Super Bowl will be played on that date.

I'm glad it's in the cold, and I hope that they continue to consider cold-weather stadiums when planning these events in the future. I hope it snows, something like the Tennessee at New England game this past October.

[SCRawl]

You know, this is something I never really got about the major outdoor professional sports in North America: why is it that the most important games of the season are played during the worst possible weather periods? The baseball post-season is in October (and sometimes November), which can be really awful baseball weather, and late and post-season football goes until January, when it gets really fucking cold in the more northerly parts of the U.S. Even in Canada, our CFL championship game (which is played for the Grey Cup, for those who care) happens in late November, which can still make for some very extreme playing conditions if the game is in, say, Winnipeg.

I suppose I know the reason -- they make the regular seasons as long as possible to make more money and doing that makes for the more extreme conditions at the end of it. The sensible solution is to shave a few games off the regular season, but I believe that I already know what the chances are of that happening.

[Norade]

You know, this is something I never really got about the major outdoor professional sports in North America: why is it that the most important games of the season are played during the worst possible weather periods? The baseball post-season is in October (and sometimes November), which can be really awful baseball weather, and late and post-season football goes until January, when it gets really fucking cold in the more northerly parts of the U.S. Even in Canada, our CFL championship game (which is played for the Grey Cup, for those who care) happens in late November, which can still make for some very extreme playing conditions if the game is in, say, Winnipeg.

I suppose I know the reason -- they make the regular seasons as long as possible to make more money and doing that makes for the more extreme conditions at the end of it. The sensible solution is to shave a few games off the regular season, but I believe that I already know what the chances are of that happening.

You could just start the season earlier as well, at least for NFL football there is no reason not to start earlier.

[Qwerty 42]

You know, this is something I never really got about the major outdoor professional sports in North America: why is it that the most important games of the season are played during the worst possible weather periods? The baseball post-season is in October (and sometimes November), which can be really awful baseball weather, and late and post-season football goes until January, when it gets really fucking cold in the more northerly parts of the U.S. Even in Canada, our CFL championship game (which is played for the Grey Cup, for those who care) happens in late November, which can still make for some very extreme playing conditions if the game is in, say, Winnipeg.

I suppose I know the reason -- they make the regular seasons as long as possible to make more money and doing that makes for the more extreme conditions at the end of it. The sensible solution is to shave a few games off the regular season, but I believe that I already know what the chances are of that happening.

You could just start the season earlier as well, at least for NFL football there is no reason not to start earlier.

I'd imagine that the NFL player's union would complain about starting earlier for fear of heat-related problems for their players. In places like Miami it could be over 100 degrees, and the players are required to basically wear suits of armor. At least when it's cold, you can always put on more stuff.

[Elfdart]

I'd love to see this game played in the snow. It'd certainly make for fun watching considering I usually have no stake in the teams.

Though, what happens if the game is snowed under? Will it be called off, or will there be an army of people keeping the surface playable?

They made the Chargers and Bengals play the 81 AFC Championship when it was -59F (with 40 mph winds). Not only did the wind and cold completely screw San Diego's passing game, but they had just played a game against Miami where the temperature and humidity were like a Turkish bath (85F and 85% humidity). Mother Nature was not a fan of the Chargers.

As far as other weather is concerned, the NFL will only postpone a game for hail or lightning -and only long enough for the storm to pass.

[Darth Fanboy]

You know, this is something I never really got about the major outdoor professional sports in North America: why is it that the most important games of the season are played during the worst possible weather periods?

Indoor sports aren't completely immune. When the Stanley Cup Finals are being played in late may and early June the ice in some of the buildings will completely suck as a result of the warm weather.

[Darth Fanboy]

I'd imagine that the NFL player's union would complain about starting earlier for fear of heat-related problems for their players. In places like Miami it could be over 100 degrees, and the players are required to basically wear suits of armor. At least when it's cold, you can always put on more stuff.

This.

That plus the NFL during the fall and winter doesn't have to worry in large parts of the country about viewers having other things to do. I think it is one of the things football has done to make itself more endearing to the casual fan. Got a free day on a weekend on a nice June day? There's lots of things you can do other than see a baseball game. Freezing your ass off and don't want to go outside if you don't have to in November or December? Football's on and it is going to be on for no less than nine hours so just pick when you want to watch!