NFL Commish Goodell Hasn't Checked Forecast For Super Bowl XLVIII
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- It's currently cold, slippery and some would say downright miserable in the Tri-State area.
But if it were Super Sunday, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell would be outside in the elements with everyone else lucky enough to snag a ticket to the big game.
"I'm sitting in the stands," Goodell told the New York Daily News. "We're playing in New York, New Jersey, yes, I am going to be in the stands. I'm sitting outside. This is part of the experience. I will be sitting outside."
NFL Commish Goodell Hasn't Checked Forecast For Super Bowl XLVIII
Goodell admitted he hasn't checked the forecast for Super Bowl XLVIII, scheduled for Feb. 2 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.
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"One is, I'm not sure how reliable forecasts are this far out," Goodell said. "And two is, we have a whole group of people that are getting the best information, have the right team together, to make sure we have appropriate information at the right time. There's nothing I can do about that. Our team has been working to be prepared for all alternatives and I'm confident they will be."
The Feb. 2 average for East Rutherford sits at a high of 39 degrees with a low of 20, according to Weather.com. And if the Farmer's Almanac is any indication, the Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks should prepare for some winter weather.
Super Bowl organizers have said the game could be moved to Saturday or even Monday or Tuesday if a major storm slams the area.
"I can't control weather. We don't control weather," Goodell said. "We made the decision that football is played in the elements and so we recognize that and we made a decision to do that. Championship games are often played in inclement weather. We had several games that were played in inclement weather, including playoff games this year. That's football."
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Goodell sounded perplexed about some of the push-back he's received since announcing New York and New Jersey would host the first-ever outdoor, cold-weather Super Bowl -- especially considering how popular hockey's Winter Classic has become.
"Isn't it ironic the NHL is being lauded for taking an indoor sport outdoors and we're taking an outdoor sport outdoors," he said. "I'm having difficulty understanding why that's so hard for people."
As WCBS 880's Peter Haskell reported, dozens of workers with shovels were clearing the seats at MetLife Stadium on Wednesday.
"The snow, first of all, has to be brought down from the upper areas to the field or the upper areas out into the concourse," said Eric Grubman, the NFL's executive vice president of business operations.
Grubman added that the timing of this week's storm was actually pretty good.
"The stadium operations staff is running this as a dress rehearsal," he said.
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