Start Spreading the Cash...

I prefer Chicago-style pizza. I see nothing special about their bagels, skyscrapers, delis, clubs or subway system. I just don't love NY.

I'm not a hater of New York City. I just have a problem with it hosting the Super Bowl in 2014.
While the NFL's choice of New York as host is being ripped because of the potential for bad weather, it's just another example of a bad decision by the NFL motivated by money.

Let's face it - New York will be a huge hit for the world's largest party. Clubs will be full no matter how much snow is on the ground. Talk about a stimulus package - anytime you put sportswriters within 100 miles of Scores, money is going to be spent. 

But the problem is the game has become more about the party and the hype than it's ever been about the football.

And the tickets? Fuhgetaboutit! God help you if you don't happen to be a millionaire. 

I won't be at the game unless I happen to win the lotto between now and then. But that's nothing really new. The blue-collar fan has been squeezed by the league for quite some time. Joe Sixpack is too busy papering his walls with his 401K statements to blow the kind of cash the NFL expects from corporate entities.

That's why we're seeing so many blackouts from teams. When the economy has gotten bad, they've decided to watch games at home rather than spend thousands of dollars in cramped seats with $10 beers. And let's not even start talking about personal seat licenses.

The NFL simply has become too money-hungry, treating its fans like Wal-Mart treats its employees. If you pinch too many pennies, you eventually lose loyalty, and fans won't support a team if they have an adversarial relationship.

That's why the Super Bowl in New York is worse than any blizzard that Mother Nature can throw our way. It's just one more example of the league valuing cash over crowning a rightful champion. If a blizzard shows up and we see a 3-2 game, the NFL doesn't care. They simply value cash over the integrity of their champion. If Wall Street tells us that greed is good, then the NFL is great.

It's no different from college football and the BCS. You don't actually buy into the ridiculous argument that colleges nix a playoff because of tradition, do you? They want the cash, and a playoff will happen the moment a playoff results in more money.

Pete Rozelle was all about making the right decisions for football. He wanted the Super Bowl played in neutral locations in warm-weather cities. I get that the game has to be played in NFL cities, even if it's only a matter of time until a team lucks into home-field advantage.

It's a shame anytime weather plays a role in who wins or loses a game. I think we can say it's never happened in a Super Bowl. I hope after New York, we can still say that.