Should Denver Get to Host a Super Bowl?

With the news of Minneapolis being awarded the 2018 Super Bowl the question of Denver hosting a future Super Bowl has been floating around the internet again. Mike Klis from the Denver Post reported that Denver never formally submitted their bid for the 2018 Super Bowl even after Denver Mayor Mike Hancock spoke publicly earlier this year about wanting Denver to host it.

I believe the city of Denver would be an excellent Super Bowl host, but what about the weather? This years Super Bowl was the first “cold weather” Super Bowl. The first to not be played in a dome or warm weather city. And the NFL got real, real lucky with the weather this year.

I was lucky enough (or considering what happened maybe lucky is not the right word) to attend the Super Bowl this year at Met Life Stadium. The day of the Super Bowl the weather was perfect. Here is the view from my seats on the end zone (no not that end zone).

The weather during the game was great but the week before the weather was bitterly cold. And that’s not good for either the fans who travelled to see the game or the local businesses hoping for a Super Bowl boost in their profits.

And then there was the day after the Super Bowl. I woke up early to catch my flight home (a plane filled with depressed Broncos fans) and the blizzard that popped up seemingly out of nowhere delayed our flight by over 4 hours. The pilot even pointed out the Broncos plane, also delayed, as we finally made our way to the runway. I wanted to jump out and give them all a hug (and yell at them).

Imagine if that weather had come one day earlier. Early morning travelers would have been challenged to get to the game on time and transportation in general to and from the game might have been a total nightmare.  There was talk about moving the Super Bowl if the weather was truly horrible which is just crazy in my opinion. Change the date of a regular season or even a playoff game – fine, not a huge deal. Change the day the Super Bowl is played? No way.

There are reports the NFL is leery about awarding a non-dome cold weather city a Super Bowl because of the close call they had in NJ. But they clearly aren’t too worried about the weather in Minneapolis in 2018. Having a dome isn’t going to help fans get to and from the stadium, but it will keep them warm once they get inside.

Dec 8, 2013; Baltimore, MD, USA; Fans watch the players warm up in the snow prior to the Minnesota Vikings game against the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mitch Stringer-USA TODAY Sports

And this is where I feel conflicted. If you pay, in many cases, thousands of dollars to see a football game, do you want to freeze in the process? I’ve been to plenty of cold games at Mile High Stadium over the years but I admit I didn’t want to experience the first freezing Super Bowl. And I heard stories of people getting great last minute deals on tickets because the overall nervousness of the weather situation was keeping some people away.

But shouldn’t football be played in the cold and snow or whatever the weather has in store for you on that given day? Yes. Shouldn’t the Super Bowl Champ be able to succeed under any weather circumstance? Yes. Should fans suck it up and deal with the weather and enjoy the game? Yes, I think they should.

And so yes, I do think Denver should get to host a Super Bowl. If they get one I’ll be hoping for good weather but if I’m lucky enough to be in the stadium (hopefully watching the Broncos) I’ll enjoy every second of it. Because it’s the Super Bowl. If I survived this last one I can survive anything.