Never Have the Super Bowl in a COLD city!
Let’s start with THE SUPER BOWL SHOULD NEVER BE ALLOWED IN A COLD FREEZING CITY LIKE MINNEAPOLIS AGAIN EVER.
Dear Roger Goodall. This is an open letter to ask you to resign on behalf of crimes against fan experience and negligence detrimental for the well being of the FANs.
When the Eagles last played the Patriots '05 in sunny Jacksonville the city was packed. I flew in from Europe and was a part of the hundreds of thousands fans that descended on the city that nearly exploded as it couldn't handle the influx of fans. The fan experience was incredible and was a result of a few factors.
1. The eagles hadn’t been to a SB since '80 so there was a pent up demand;
2. The Patriots were in their third year so many fans stayed home resulting in an uneven ratio of 70/30, by my estimate;
3. IT WAS A WARM SOUTHERN CITY!
Thousands of fans drove down to Florida; it was as if everyone was going on spring break; they all flocked down like geese flying south. GEESE DO NOT FLY TO MINNESOTA IN THE WINTER.
Very few people UNLESS THEY HAVE TICKETS will be going to Minneapolis. Why... to celebrate in a snow bank or even worse in a Mall. Press Row was in a Mall...
The tickets going for $5K+ have already priced out the avg fan. I don’t consider myself an avg fan, but $5k a ticket is too steep for me, only because it’s in freaking Minnesota. There is one exception to the cold weather city and that is NYC. I dont say this because I have an apt in Manhattan I say this because it’s still a destination city. Heck, 2 million people (all non NY’ers pack Times Square to watch a silly ball drop.) There is an attraction to NYC and an energy that can make any night feel warm. No one I repeat no one is going to stand outside and watch a ball drop in Minnesota...why...because we aren’t stupid.
I don't know anyone who is going to Minnesota who does not have a ticket. They are all opting to watch the game from Philly. This is a shame, as the beauty of the SB is all that goes on in and around the game itself the whole week leading up to it. Its a spectacle of events and shows that all lend themselves to being outside, not in a parka.
In '05 I knew about 30 people who bought tickets to the game; this year only 2 and the only reason. ITS IN MINNESOTA. Yes you can say we aren't great fans; if we were diehards we would go regardless, I beg to differ as shelling out $5K is one thing, but have the surroundings in a warm environment adds to the event itself and its a week long event not just 1 game.
Our Philly local sports talk radio station team only flew out one team and they even apologized and are flying back before the game. Think about that; they are already in Minneapolis and they don’t even want to stay. In Jacksonville ALL of the radio shows on both competing stations went down and were all joyfully broadcasting live outside among the crowds of fans. This created a phenomenal Fan Experience, not only for the lucky fans who could afford a SB ticket, but for the masses of fans that support the NFL each Sunday as if it were a religion. For the Fans Roger keep it warm!