The Super Bowl should return to its rightful home … the Rose Bowl. (Getty Images)
How big is the NFL?
So big that it’s quite possible many American cities would rather host a Super Bowl than the friggin’ Olympics.
Think about it. With the Super Bowl, you don’t have to build any new stadiums. Your bill for security will be substantially lower. You don’t have to change your city around to accommodate the ego-maniacs at the IOC (but where are we going to create our own VILLAGE!?). You deal with a lot of media requests, but substantially less than the Olympics. And you deal with a lot of athletes, but substantially less than the Olympics.
The best part? The Super Bowl game itself is over after one day. The Olympics lasts two weeks! After two weeks of anything in ADD America it’s a safe bet that you’ll get sick of it – sprinting, swimming and speed-walking nonetheless.
Tuesday at 2 p.m., the NFL will select which city will host Super Bowl L (the 50th Super Bowl – a big deal) as well as Super Bowl LI (no it will not be held in Long Island’s Nassau Coliseum – but that magical building would certainly get my vote if it was on any ballot). Here are a few other cities on my wish list to host a Super Bowl:
1. Pasadena, Calif. – It’s a shame that Roger Goodell won’t bring the big game back to the Rose Bowl, THE nostalgic Super Bowl site of a vast majority of this country’s former youth. It is without question the most picture-perfect location for a football game in the middle of an American winter. The Rose Bowl hosted five Super Bowls, but the last one came in 1993, so I’m not gonna hold my breath on this one. The stadium itself is a little too far removed from Los Angeles to get people excited, plus it’s an old building (which Goodell hates).
2. San Diego, Calif. – Another picture-perfect spot for winter football, ruined by politics. San Diego hasn’t hosted the Super Bowl since 2003, simply because Qualcomm Stadium is a dump in the NFL’s ridiculous terms. Of course, those in the know wouldn’t even go to the game on Sunday and just enjoy San Diego for what it’s worth (i.e. day drinking and hanging out at its amazing beaches). What’s the problem here?
3. Seattle, Wash. – Another great city but this one, unlike San Diego, has a state-of-the-art stadium. Guessing the threat of rain is the only thing scaring off NFL suits.
4. Boston, Mass. – The Super Bowl is in New York next year, so we in Boston are automatically in “what about us?” mode. No, the La Quinta Inn in Milford does not scream luxury and there are few roads in the world less equipped to host Super Bowl traffic than Route 1, but give us a couple of days and we could come up with a plan. The city of Boston could host all the pregame activities and then we could shuttle everyone down to Gillette Stadium a half hour before kickoff on Sharon, Mass. public school buses. Boom. Done.
5. Buffalo, N.Y. – Who else is going to put Buffalo on a list like this? Can we at least throw this franchise (and city) a bone once in a while? I mean their greatest player of all-time now has ‘The Girls,’ a gay prison posse that reportedly adores ex-football playing-accused murderers blocking for him right now (this, according to the always reliable National Enquirer – but it’s O.J., so you get the ultimate point. It’s ugly in prison and in Orchard Park).
Still, Buffalo Wings. Football. Hand in hand. Forever.
Follow Metro Boston sports editor and columnist Matt Burke on Twitter @BurkeMetroBOS
