Bringing elements into play fine for Super Bowl
Congratulations to the Broncos and Seahawks for not complaining that the NFL scheduled Super Bowl XLVIII outdoors in a cold location.
Denver head coach John Fox said football teams have to be “weatherproof.” Seattle head coach Pete Carroll said, “It's going to be nice.”
Broncos quarterback/NFL statesman Peyton Manning added, “The weather is what it's going to be. I think we'll be able to handle it no matter what the conditions are.”
All probably are playing mind games with themselves because they're reasonably certain that the game won't be moved to Miami at the last minute. That leaves it to journalists to whine about not being able to wear shorts and T-shirts on the buses to news conferences.
My first reaction to the NFL awarding the Super Bowl to New York/New Jersey was, “Quick, douse commissioner Roger Goodell's brain with antifreeze.” This was a mind-numbing decision, for sure.
My second reaction was warm to the idea.
It isn't merely football going back to the past when championship games like the “Ice Bowl” were romanticized. Playing the Super Bowl in real winter actually is going back to the future.
Wimps like me want to live our lives vicariously through these large human beings who test each other's manhood. However, new rules are extracting the machismo from the game because players can't hit opponents here anymore, they can't hit opponents there anymore, they can't hit opponents anywhere anymore.
As the NFL acts to protect players from themselves and each other, the mano-a-mano aspect fades.
Here's the solution: Mano-a-mama, as in man against Mother Nature.
These guys are paid so much money that there has to be some jeopardy in how they earn their comfortable lifestyles. It used to be concussed heads and from now on it should be frostbitten feet.
If the threat of torn knees and separated shoulders is reduced, the threat of blizzards and freezing temperatures should be increased. Heck, move the regular season to November through February and alternate Super Bowls between Siberia and the North Pole.
(Meanwhile, alternate the official Super Bowl parties between the French Quarter and South Beach.)
Football still needs more rules that make it safer, which will take the game to the point where players' uniforms include skirts or shorts.
Try that in outdoor stadiums during winter, fellas.
Seriously, good for the Broncos and Seahawks for being smart enough not to seek sympathy for enduring Sunday's minor inconveniences.
Win or lose, how could they whine about a frigid Super Bowl to their mail carrier trudging through sleet and snow? Or to NHL players living on their block who started playing outdoors during winter? Or most of all to the weather-beaten troops returning from Afghanistan?
Fans shouldn't seek any sympathy either. Psychiatrists likely would suggest they thaw their heads in ovens if they are foolish enough to pay big bucks for Super Bowl tickets that have icicles dangling from them.
In the past I have bemoaned that the Bears didn't build a domed stadium to factor out Chicago weather. I'm amending that: They should have built a stadium that exposes players to the elements but protects all fans in enclosed areas.
Getting back to reality, a sloppy, slippery Super Bowl XLVIII is something to look forward to.
The only regret is that the weather isn't expected to be colder or wetter.
Maybe the mild forecast is the real reason the Broncos and Seahawks haven't gotten cold feet over playing this game.