When it was decided that Super Bowl XLVIII would be hosted at MetLife Stadium in the Meadowlands on Feb. 2, 2014, the chance for the game to be affected by winter weather instantly became possible. During an announcement of the week-long activities that will take place in New York City the week prior to the game next year, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the plan is basically just to see what Mother Nature brings.
Super Bowl 2014: Roger Goodell says NFL is ‘prepared’ for snow, ice in New York
Roger Goodell and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg basically acknowledged that, yes, wintry weather could descend on the Super Bowl in New York next year.
Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
Here’s Goodell, from a report by Ginger Adams Otis of the New York Daily News on Thursday, on the NFL’s official approach should winter weather threaten to affect a game taking place outdoors in February of 2014:
“We’re going to embrace the weather, embrace New York and New Jersey. We are also prepared for all alternatives, and that includes the weather, and the potential for snow and ice.”
Mayor Bloomberg voiced his gratification towards the NFL’s selection of New York as the site of the first Super Bowl to potentially throw things like flurries and freezing into the mix:
“Some probably gulped and said, ‘You want to do it outside?’ and we said, ‘Yes, we do. That’s football, it’s meant to be played outdoors.”
For what it’s worth, MetLife Stadium does not feature a retractable roof, so even if someone wanted to play the game indoors, this would be an impossibility. Madison Square Garden hasn’t hosted an indoor football game since 1903, so that’s probably out too.
In the article, Adams Otis references the Farmers’ Almanac, which, though it has yet to be published, forecasts chilly temperatures and snow. So: Winter. Luckily, there is plenty of time to prepare.
The week’s worth of fan events will take place on Broadway and features outdoor music shows and other live happenings. Pack your parka.
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