Nemo Has to Be Making Super Bowl XLVIII Hosts a Little Nervous

One week after the Super Bowl, the New York Metro Area has been blanketed with a foot of snow. Surrounding areas such as Long Island, upstate NY and New England got two and three times that.

Manhattan is basically clear and open. In the outer boroughs, most streets are plowed. But….many major highways have been shut down with abandoned cars still trying to navigate them. Mass transit is running at about 60% capacity.

The snow has stopped and the cleanup is underway, but the airports are still closed. Airlines have cancelled thousands of flights. Travel into and from the area is at a standstill.

The NFL and the SB host committee are looking out the window this morning asking: What if the Super Bowl were this weekend?

Most of the people who will attend the game are from other parts of the globe and would not be able to get here. Outside activities leading up to the game would have to be cancelled. Those are the main issues.

Travel within the Metro Area would not be a problem come Sunday. Things will be clearer and should be normal.

The stadium would have to be cleared an readied. That should not be a problem. The NFL and MetLife officials are ready for that. The rest is out of their control. From Gary Myers of the Daily News:

“The main objective of the NFL and the Host Committee is to be prepared for any and everything, with regard to weather,” Al Kelly, the president and CEO of the New York-New Jersey Super Bowl Host Committee said in a statement Friday. “We have been planning for all possibilities and are creating various contingency plans to deal with each potential situation.”

Last week, Giants co-owner Steve Tisch described the worst-case Super Bowl scenario as a “blizzard at 12:01 in the morning” on game day.

“As it pertains to a clean-up effort, MetLife Stadium has excellent snow-clearing procedures,” Kelly said. “The Host Committee is currently working with Stadium officials to enhance its current top-notch capabilities. Both states — New York and New Jersey — and New York City have strong track records preparing for and handling adverse weather conditions and we have every confidence that we will be prepared.”