To East Rutherford, perchance, to dream: Today, the NFL will vote on the location of the 2014 Super Bowl, and the favorite is New York, as represented by East Rutherford, NJ and the New Meadowlands. As the Wall Street Journal puts it, "The main thing holding the N.Y./N.J. bid back? The weather. One of the best things going for the bid? The weather."
The WSJ says that if the 2014 Super Bowl is played on February 2 (based on a 17-week schedule), "The average high temperature at Newark's airport on that date, according to 82 years of National Weather Service records, is 39 degrees. The record high was 62 degrees (in 1973), the record low minus-2 (in 1961) and the most snowfall 3.4 inches (in 1985)."
However, some, like WFAN's Mike Francesa, say a cold, snowy, even blizzard-like day would be even more memorable. Plus, the projected economic impact to the metro area would be $550 million. The Post's Steve Serby gets grandiose (he says "tough"), "This is the time, this is the day, to put on ice all the cold-weather shivering from men who forget when men were men and vote New York... The Greatest Game Ever Played -- Baltimore Colts 23, New York Giants 17 in OT -- was played here, on a cloudy Dec. 28, 1958, afternoon at Yankee Stadium."
Jets coach Rex Ryan said, "I don't see how it's not played here. We've got the best city in the world. I think that's indisputable. We've got arguably one of the top stadiums in the league, a brand-new stadium and it helps two teams.'" The other bids are from Tampa and South Florida. Denver Broncos owner Pat Bowlen told the Daily News that a Big Apple Super Bowl "would be a great one-time thing. I personally love New York. I think it's a great place. I would imagine other owners feel the same way."
The vote will take place at 4 p.m. EST.
