Commentary

Weather Or Not: A Snowy Super Bowl -- Or Rainy Miami Beach NBA Playoffs?

by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, May 26, 2010

It's not enough to choose a cold-weather Super Bowl. Better to choose a place where there's a 90% predictive weathercast it will snow that weekend in February.

Much has been made of TV sports analysis that fans -- both at the game itself and TV viewers -- would love to watch football in dramatic inclement weather like snow, rain, lightning, whatever.

Sure, those high-scoring quarterback and offense teams will suffer. But wouldn't it be great to watch a bunch of flutter balls thrown, with receivers, defensive and running backs slipping on the ground like dolphins?

The key is finding the best weatherperson who can deliver the worst forecast.

The NFL has been most consistent for TV advertisers, with predictable and strong male 18-34 and 18-49 viewership. Right now, the market for upcoming NFL season is very hot, with double-digit cost-per-thousand-viewer price increases.

One network sales executive told TV Watch: "I've been selling the NFL for many years. I've never seen anything like it."

As this column has said before, TV needs to be a bit more unpredictable. The biggest TV event of the year needs more drama than just the sudden appearance of one of Janet Jackson's breasts every now and then.

The first cold-weather Super Bowl will take place February 2014 in the New York area, the biggest TV market. Fox Sports chairman/CEO David Hill was jazzed about the possibilities: "If we're really lucky, it will begin snowing right after halftime."

But that'll be three years from now -- in the middle of an increasing trend of global warming. February 2014 might just mean a Super Bowl with 70-degree temps in East Rutherford, N.J. What then?

Whatever it is, TV sports should continue to find the worst weather conditions possible. The NHL already stages its January Winter Classic outdoor in the likes of Buffalo, Chicago and Boston -- all to get the benefit of cloudy, snow-filled skies.

What next? An NBA All Star game in Miami Beach in a rainstorm? We can't wait.

super bowl, tv

3 comments about "Weather Or Not: A Snowy Super Bowl -- Or Rainy Miami Beach NBA Playoffs?".

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Rob Frydlewicz from DentsuAegis, May 26, 2010 at 2:30 p.m.
The way people are talking about NJ playing host to the '14 Super Bowl you'd think New Jersey's winter climate was comparable to that of Green Bay or Buffalo! However, chances are just as good that temps will be in the 40's or 50's - and this was true even before global warming.
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Aaron B. from AnimationInsider.net, May 26, 2010 at 2:59 p.m.

Specks of snow would make for a great image, but as a football fan, I would definitely be satisfied with some cold rain.

I'm pretty sure the field at the new stadium is Astroturf, which will make any snow or heavy rain competition still a relatively good game.

Paula Lynn from Who Else Unlimited, May 26, 2010 at 3:10 p.m.

There must be a lot of people who forgot about the Superbowl in Minneapolis. Besides the frenzy of the lack of hotels in the area and the lack of venues for parties, the stadium has a dome. It's not even that the day of the SB that it could be snowing, the roads could be piled and jammed from prior snowfall. The area is not a snow ready area as the top of the states. People will be traveling directly from NYC, PA, SJ and north to an area, again without a vast hotel to stadium easy range and venues....The press, the broadcast families, sponsors and clients who expect a sunny vacation will be jamming the airports to get out of town. Group W sent its crew down to Martinique very early the following day creating additional expenses. We had a great time. The only people who are really profiting from this decision are the creme de la creme of the various organizations involved. The best seat in the house (outside of the superboxes) is going to be at your own house (bar, etc.)