February 2014

When I first tried to create some writing momentum here three months ago, I did so courtesy of the just-concluded Winter Olympics in Vancouver, with my first four posts being about the great cold-weather sports I had thoroughly enjoyed watching. While I will enthusiastically watch the next Summer Olympics in 2012, I’m more interested to see what happens in Sochi, Russia, in 2014—will Team Night Train do it again? Will Team USA get a shot at redemption against Team Canada in another hockey classic? Will Ohno, Vonn, Davis, Spillane, etc, come back? It’s way too far off to think about such stuff, let alone write about it. Right?

It seemed too far off to be relevant until the NFL revealed the site of the 2014 Super Bowl--the Meadowlands--and I remembered that it was an Olympics year as well. So come February 2014 we will have a local Super Bowl affair and then the winter games—which could overlap from the dates I’ve seen given for each, although I doubt the networks covering the events would allow it. Regardless, I love the idea of the Super Bowl being played here. Outdoors, in the cold. With so many great and memorable games having been played in cold, snowy weather, why not play the mother of all football games in such elements too? This type of weather has made for classics in New England, Denver, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, etc. Oh yeah, and Lambeau Field. Recently, in the game before the Giants beat the Patriots in the desert to win Super Bowl XLII—you remember it, the game where Eli Manning escaped what appeared to be a sure sack and flung that wonderful wobbler to David Tyree’s helmet—the Giants played the Packers in another classic on the frozen tundra. Cold weather suits playoff football just fine all through January. Why not for one weekend in February too? Is it too cold for the fans? Of course not. I’ve watched football games in the snow and in 10-degree weather and was fine. I wasn’t alone in the stands either: stadiums still fill up when the mercury drops. The half-time show? Who cares, really, although one perk I can imagine is less chance for a wardrobe malfunction and its ensuing hype. And, I’ll refer to the Olympics again: with the exception of Vancouver, performers at the opening ceremonies do their thing outside, in the cold. So, if it can be done at the Winter Olympics, it can be done for a cold zone Super Bowl show as well. Bring it on.

And that’s it—I am hoping for a cold, cold February 2014 on two continents. Well, maybe not the whole of both continents. Just in the Meadowlands and Sochi. Oh yeah, and for the Giants and Jets to play in that Super Bowl too. Well, why not?

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