Super Bowl in the Snow?

Is snow in the Super Bowl forecast?

It may be four years from now.

The NFL has picked the cold climate of New York/New Jersey to host 2014's big game. According to CBSSports.com senior writer Clark Judge, the newly minted Giants/Jets stadium was a virtual lock all along.

By Clark's estimation, it was a numbers game. The only other bidders - Tampa and South Florida - have hosted three of the last four Super Bowls. After Arizona withdrew its bid, New York (more specifically, East Rutherford, N.J.) was the only other city vying to host the game.

It was also a politics game. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and some high-profile team owners (namely Atlanta's Arthur Blank, Denver's Pat Bowlen and New England's Robert Kraft) all supported New York's bid.

Of course, a throng of players, reporters and sun-craving fans feel differently.

After all, the rationale goes, how can you possibly host football's biggest event in a north-of-the-Mason-Dixon-line city without a domed stadium?

The arguments against a cold-weather city hosting the Super Bowl are numerous and sometimes legit. It could snow. The players risk injury. It could be 15 degrees. The beach bonfires are used to keep homeless people warm.

But maybe it's time to trade the sunshine and palm trees for snowstorms and antifreeze. This is still football we're talking about - big men, muddy fields and misty bad breath are part of the deal. Refusing to play a football game outdoors in a city that has real weather? That would be as absurd as playing a baseball game inside. Ok, bad example.

Still, if nothing else, it's time for a change of venue. Nearly 60 percent of the 44 Super Bowls have been played in just three locations: South Florida (10 times), Southern California (seven times) and New Orleans (nine times). Last year notwithstanding, one could argue the Big Apple has more football tradition that the Big Easy. And part of that tradition has to do with frozen beer, icicled mustaches and snowball-impaired field goals.