As workers start on preparing Metlife stadium for the upcoming game, they now have logos to work with as the Seattle Seahawks and Denver Broncos have earned the right to represent their conferences in the 48th playing of the NFL Superbowl.
While players following both games where photographed with Daily News covers that read “Start spreading the news! NEW YORK HERE WE COME!”, the paper flames up an old lingering issue. Metlife stadium in the Meadowlands Sports Complex is not in New York; the Superbowl is NOT in New York. The stadium has been located in East Rutherford New Jersey since 2010 and was predated by Giants stadium near the same location in 1976.
So the New York Giants and New York Jets play in New Jersey; why keep the New York name attached to the franchises then? Marketing plays a big role in the ultimately false name. While a good majority of fans are from the Garden State, New Jersey just doesn’t seem to roll off the tongue as well as New York. The market for New York just carries a heavier economic benefit than to change it to New Jersey. In an interview last September with NFL Network’s Melissa Stark, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie reiterated the issue saying “…they practice in New Jersey, they play in New Jersey; most of their players live in New Jersey. There’s nothing left from New York about the Giants or the Jets, except for the name. It’s kinda odd that they’re called what they’re called. But, you know as long as everyone understands that they are New Jersey’s teams and that the Super Bowl this year is in New Jersey, not New York, then I’m fine.” But the harsh reality is, when a “New Jersey” team wins the Super Bowl, the ticker-tape parade is held in lower Manhattan; not New Jersey.
This 38 year controversy culminates in 2 weeks with the first Superbowl played at a New Jersey venue. Typically, the Superbowl is played in warmer regions, and never has their been snow during a Superbowl. The New Jersey based stadium has a chance to host history with weather predictions coming in around freezing temperatures and chances of snow. Rain, snow or shine there’s bound to be a great game at hand in the most watched sporting event in the U.S. So tune in to see the Denver Broncos take on a young Seattle team at Super Bowl XLVIII in New Jersey.