The Wisdom of a New York Super Bowl

New York/New Jersey was awarded the 2014 Super Bowl yesterday. Background: it's cold in the northeast in February and people are upset.

Here's the thing, though: Football is an outdoor game. The fact that The Super Bowl has been played in a sterilized environment for the last couple of decades doesn't make sense. Sure, the people watching won't be as comfortable in below-freezing weather, but I have a feeling that if you're going to be in the stands at the Super Bowl in the first place, you won't mind that your toes are a little cold. Maybe this is even a good thing: corporate types, like mosquitoes, are killed off by cold weather. Maybe the crowds at The NY/NJ Super Bowl will be less corporate and more full of die-hards. I say that's good for the game.

A lot of people don't want the biggest game of the season to be potentially decided by the weather. But what about the Conference Championships? They determine who makes the Super Bowl. Should we just move the entire playoffs indoors? Conference Championship games have been played in less-than-perfect weather, and for the most part, haven't suffered -- the Giants-Packers NFC Championship game from 2008 was played in sub-zero temperatures, which really only added to the legend of this instant classic.

Weather has always been a part of football. If the league doesn't want this, maybe it should just mandate that football be played indoors. There's no reason that some teams should have the advantage of being able to play a Super Bowl in their hometown and others not. Even though no team has yet played a Super Bowl in their home stadium, it's only a matter of time. Even if the crowd there wouldn't be a normal home crowd, there's a certain advantage a team gets from playing in familiar surroundings.

That's the unfair advantage here, not the weather. So until Roger Goodell makes a rule banning Super Bowls from happening unless it's at least 60 degrees outside, I'd like to see all the cities get a chance at this thing. Yes, even Philadelphia.

As for the weather, I think a Super Bowl in the snow would be awesome. If nothing else, it would be memorable. I want a fucking blizzard.

Deadspin's stance on this issue is similar to mine. It's definitely worth a read. But it's not as worthwhile a read as:

The one about the guy who was arrested for groping a woman in a Captain America costume with a burrito down his pants.

The one about the things you can find at Wal-Mart in China.

The one about the phone number that has been issued three times, and whose owners have all died. The first guy was a prominent businessman who may have been poisoned by a rival. The second guy was a mafia boss. The third guy was a drug kingpin. Maybe they should just stop assigning the number to people who are probably being shot at and poisoned on a daily basis. Next time, just give it to an orthodontist. If he dies, then maybe we've got something here.

That's all I've got for you today. Thanks to those of you who sent in cover song ideas. If you've got any more, keep 'em coming. My playlist is getting stronger by the minute.