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Point-counterpoint: New Super Bowl venue

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Also by Mike Ackerstein and Tyler Mason:

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PCP: Favre's next career move (March 5, 2008)
PCP: Best Sports Movie Ever (February 20, 2008)
PCP: Does Sun shine on Shaq? (February 13, 2008)

by Mike Ackerstein and Tyler Mason

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Ackerstein:

With football holding firm as the last major sport still dominated by Americans, it only makes sense that the Super Bowl be played right in the heartland of the United States, Nebraska’s Memorial Stadium.

Holding the most-watched sporting event of the year in a city not traditionally viewed as glamorous may seem out of line with the recent norm, but it is just what the NFL needs to restore the true meaning of the Super Bowl: football.

Playing the game in Nebraska is the remedy the event needs to get back to its roots now that it has become just as much of a party as it has a football game.

When recent hosts like Miami, Phoenix and Houston hold the game, there are plenty of glitzy places for the stars to hold parties, taking attention away from the game itself.

Sure Maxim, Victoria’s Secret and Playboy can still host their star-studded Super Bowl parties in Nebraska, but good luck finding hip hangouts loaded with paparazzi in Lincoln, and just try convincing Paris Hilton and John Mayer to make the trip out to a state that has about as many hot nightclubs as it does beaches.

Unlike other sites, in Nebraska it is Tom, and not Ozzy, Kelly or Jack, who’s the most likely Osborne to have his picture taken.

With fewer people coming to the Super Bowl for the parties, more tickets become available for real fans, bringing the sport’s most important game back to the people who matter most.

Plus, playing the game in a state without a professional team eliminates the possibility that a team has a home-field advantage in the big game, although only having it in Detroit, Miami and Phoenix practically guarantees that as well.

Less glitz and more hits. Nebraska for the win.

Mason:

Nebraska? Are you kidding me? Who on earth would want to travel to Lincoln for the Super Bowl?

I’ve got to rack my brain to think of things to do in Nebraska. Right now, all I can think to do there is husk corn. Good luck getting the media, fans, Playboy and Victoria’s Secret models there for a week-long excursion, especially in early February. (It could be as cold as 26 degrees on Super Bowl Sunday in Lincoln this weekend.)

So if not Nebraska, then where should the next big game be played? Simple: Hawaii.

But wait, isn’t the Pro Bowl already played there? Yes, which is why I say we do away with the Pro Bowl and just have Honolulu host the Super Bowl instead. Football’s version of an all-star game is one of the least entertaining to watch anyway.

And what’s wrong with the fact that the Super Bowl has turned into a media frenzy and party central? That’s half the fun of the weeklong preparation for the game.

Just picture pregame tailgates with pigs roasting on spits, hula dancers shaking their grass skirts and plenty of poi and tropical drinks to go around. Plus, you can’t beat the Hawaiian weather, no matter what time of year it is.

And Mike wants a state without a professional team, he says. What a coincidence, because Hawaii has zero pro sports franchises.

As far as travel is concerned, I realize Honolulu is a bit farther than Lincoln to travel to for most people. But if you’re going to spend an exorbitant amount of money to go to the game, you might as well make it worth your while and travel somewhere enjoyable.

Super Bowl XLIII in Hawaii. Aloha.

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Anonymous (January 30, 2008 @ 12:36am):

If you're saying that the Super Bowl should go back to its roots, then they might as well play rugby!

Anonymous (January 30, 2008 @ 3:10pm):

Lincoln this time of year fluctuates heavily in temperature. Just two days ago it was 60 and now it's 13. So no team will get an inherent advantage based on weather, either.

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