What If Super Bowl XLIX Were In New York This Year?
Bryan Altman, CBS Local Sports
Now that winter storm Juno has come and gone and the Tri-State area has recovered from the most feared half-foot of snow in history, we can once again focus on the things that truly matter in life – like the Super Bowl. That of course includes the entire week leading up to the Super Bowl, which has basically become the longest and most tedious pregame show in the history of mankind. Nevertheless, Super Bowl week events such as Media Days and celebrity-laden galas have become a huge part of the hype surrounding the biggest sporting event of the year. And based on New York’s weather this past week, I couldn’t help but wonder what this week would be like if the NFL’s worst nightmare came true and Super Bowl XLIX were being playing in the New York area rather than in Glendale, Arizona. Let’s take a look at how the week might shake out…
Sunday – The Arrival:
The two teams board their respective planes and head to New York/New Jersey for a full week of Super Bowl festivities. Both squads in all likelihood wouldn’t have had an issue making it into the area as the “storm of the century” would still be a full day away from gracing the region with its presence. But behind the scenes the NFL powers that be, in all likelihood, are freaking out. Forecasts are beginning to take shape and contingency plans are being launched.
Monday – The Shutdown:
Monday brings with it more mayhem than an Allstate commercial as Governor Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio decide to shut down mass transit until further notice. This would probably be the moment when Roger Goodell’s inner monologue starts sounding slightly schizophrenic as he tries desperately to convince himself that this whole “cold weather Super Bowl” thing was a good idea, all the while knowing it wasn’t. Monday’s evening activities are cancelled post-haste. The Super Bowl Committee’s raucous kickoff party scheduled for Monday night is no more. Media Day scheduled for Tuesday is invariably cancelled as well. Grounds crew try and prepare the roofless abomination of a stadium in New Jersey for the impending blizzard as the city that never sleeps grinds to a halt.
Tuesday – Here’s Juno:
Wait, where? In Massachusetts? And Montauk? And we cancelled Media Day for this!? I want every meteorologist in this city on the phone right now, tell them they’re fined $100,000 each and suspended indefinitely!
Tuesday would more than likely be a wash for the NFL. Even though the forecast was a bust, it would still have done enough to completely disrupt everything planned for Tuesday. That’s right, no Marshawn Lynch explaining why he's here, no “Gronking to Remember,” and no Bill Belichick discussing his favorite types of stuffed animals. This is shaping up to be an alternate reality nobody wants to live in.
PHOENIX, AZ - JANUARY 27: Marshawn Lynch #24 of the Seattle Seahawks addresses the media at Super Bowl XLIX Media Day Fueled by Gatorade inside U.S. Airways Center on January 27, 2015 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Wednesday – Back to Normal?
Wednesday was more or less a normal day in the greater Tri-State area. Public transportation resumed, albeit, slower than usual and everything was as it should be. The burning question for Wednesday would be whether or not Media Day, or some abridged version of it, would take place. Wednesday is typically the first practice day for the two Super Bowl contenders and altering that would cause nothing short of an uproar. Football players and athletes in general are creatures of habit. Changing their usual schedule four days from the biggest game of their lives might just be impossible, or at the very least ill-advised.
Thursday/Friday – More Snow?
That’s right, snow is in the forecast for Thursday night and Friday during the day once again. Nobody’s predicting much more than a couple of inches of snow, but I’m not quite sure anyone is prepared to hang their hat on any meteorological predictions at present time. Especially not coach Belichick as we already know exactly how he feels about meteorologists. Either way, at this point the league would probably be relieved to see some snow on Thursday and Friday in order to avoid any in the forecast on Sunday. These days are pretty inconsequential in relation to Sunday transportation and shouldn’t have any real impact on game day.
Saturday – Judgement Day:
Saturday would be the most important day leading up to our cold weather Super Bowl. With projected snowfall on both Friday night and Monday morning, the slightest change in the forecast could result in a storm on Super Bowl Sunday, potentially turning it into Super Bowl Monday or Tuesday. And if you don’t think the league could get spooked by a forecast and change the day of the game, think again. The brass of the biggest city in the country were spooked into shutting down completely by 11 p.m. The point being, it could happen.
Sunday – Gameday!
What? Oh yeah, football! Now that the hype and hoopla are behind us we can focus on the final Sunday of football. Looks like it would be a brisk Sunday evening in New Jersey but the sky should be clear and we can get down to business. No more interviewing, no more prognosticating and no more forecasting (at least until next season), just one last Sunday of football. The NFL wouldn't have escaped the New York/New Jersey experiment scot-free, but it certainly could have been a lot worse.
More from Bryan? You can email him or find him on Twitter @bcaltman.
You May Also Be Interested In These Stories
