Ever since the inception of the Super Bowl, the National Football League has decided to use a host city as the game’s location instead of the home team’s stadium. With over 55 years of doing so, a question has popped up: should the Super Bowl happen in the home team’s stadium instead of in a host city?
Trying to figure out which two teams will make the Super Bowl can feel like you are playing some of the best online casino games. Since it is so difficult to predict sometimes, it would make the anticipation of where the game is being played a mystery all season. Some would like it, and some would not.
Without further ado, let’s answer this big question that can change the course of sports history.
The Argument for Keeping a Host City
The National Football League had an incredible vision to see that their championship game was going to be the biggest sporting event on American soil every year. With the game being at the beginning of February, choosing a location that will not make the fans annoyed with the weather definitely helps out the fanatics as well as the players.
NCAA College Football has a similar structure to what the NFL does with their championship, as the entire bowl game schedule is played in neutral locations, so this is by no means a foreign concept. Besides, with the grandness of the Super Bowl, people want to plan their trips to the game.
Having the venue picked out makes it a lot better for things to just fall into place as local businesses can expect a boom in that period, and fans can purchase tickets and travel to some of the most beautiful places in the United States.
Die-hard fans would love to see their team make the Super Bowl, but that typically means they can travel to the game, and the extra buffer week between the conference championships and the Super Bowl makes that easier. It’s a fair fight for both teams in a neutral place to see which team is the best for that season.
Argument Against a Host City
Imagine having the most important game played on a neutral site as a fan. That seems to be a little difficult as one of the best teams in all of football will have to play in a neutral site game compared to having it in their stadium as the best record in football.
This is a little tough for people to understand as the rest of the postseason is played in the better seed’s stadium, and then the most important game is located inside a stadium chosen years before the event itself takes place.
Football is the only sport with a neutral site championship game in all American professional sports. Baseball, football, and hockey all played in the buildings of the teams competing in the championship.
Having a home team stadium makes it feel more like a football game and less like a pageant for the wealthy to flaunt around going to the big game. Instead, it will feel like an epic playoff battle instead of having a crowd of people that are not there to watch a football game and instead of a variety show with concerts and spectacles surrounding the 60 minutes of gameplay.
Final Verdict
Looking at the arguments for and against keeping the current way of how the NFL does the Super Bowl, it only makes sense to keep it this way. The league has made this game the hottest in the sports world and one of the most viewed things on television throughout the entire year.
Having the ability to keep the league’s biggest game in some of the top markets makes it a lot better for the league to raise ticket prices and create a buzz throughout the few weeks between the conference championship games and the Super Bowl. The NFL definitely had the foresight here and should continue to reap the benefits from this.
