It’s not really much of a secret that New York and Boston don’t get along. From Patriots – Giants to Red Sox – Yankees, there is plenty of animosity to go around when both of these cities are involved in anything at all let alone sports.
Well the geographic rivalry is set to take a new twist Sunday. A few weeks back we discussed the economic impact of the upcoming Super Bowl and what it meant to the New York/New Jersey areas (see link below).
www.thephillygodfather.com/articles-web-app/an-nyc-super-bowl-and-its-likely-economic-impact
The overriding emphasis of this report was to make it clear that the idea of having an event like the Super Bowl in New York didn’t make a ton of sense. Economically speaking, from hotel vacancies to stadium security and logistics, this event could become more of a mess than many involved would prefer.
Now, with the big game just two weeks away, the conference finals are set to begin at 3 P.M Sunday. Championship weekend is perhaps the best day in the entire NFL season, and the two games this time around not only feature incredible match-ups, but also play into an intriguing sub-plot as it relates to whomever winds up coming to New York.
While the demographics in cities like Denver, Seattle and San Francisco clearly indicate that plenty of fans in those locations have the finances to make a trip to New York possible, I wouldn’t expect the turnout to be all that impressive.
Teams such as Philly, Buffalo and Pittsburgh have fan bases that would be willing to travel to Iraq to see a first round playoff game let alone the Super Bowl. While I certainly love the West Coast, it’s pretty evident that supporters of those squads will probably pass on shelling out big cash to spend 4-7 days in New York during the dead of winter, After all, why go to all the work when you can spend the weekend in Palm Springs watching the game pool side?
But, for New England, things are a bit different. Yes, they are geographically positioned in a location that makes their involvement far more likely should they win in Denver. But, at the same time, this venture into the NFL’s biggest game would be quite the trip given the route which would take them there.
It’s been well documented what the Patriots have dealt with this season. I’m from Pittsburgh and I’m not a fan of this organization. Growing up, I watched them walk into Heinz Field countless times only to steal playoff games that “my” team and coach needed badly.
Still, you have to respect what they have done and, in particular, what Tom Brady has been able to do with this ragtag bunch. He’s lost a plethora of blue-chip talent, but is somehow just 60 minutes from what would be his 6th AFC championship.
I already consider Brady the best quarterback ever, but should he win tomorrow, fans everywhere might be completely forced to acknowledge it. More importantly for the purposes of the topic we are discussing here, fans in Boston might well lose their mind.
Given what Denver has accomplished this season and in consideration of their being at home in this game, a New England win might just send the entire state of Massachusetts into the Meadowlands for the weekend of February 2nd. People, and in particular sports fans, love the “against all odds” stories, and that is certainly the case here.
For New Yorkers, deep down, they don’t want the Patriots coming within any sort of radius to their stadium for this one. Watching Brady and Co. go for a 4th league championship would be the definition of bittersweet, however.
The fact is, the NY/NJ region seems to need their money right now. They can’t bank on the financial outcome of this event being as profitable as they would like should New England be left out, and that will undoubtedly be on the minds of many tomorrow.
I’m already on record as saying I think New England likely goes down on Sunday. They just don’t seem to have enough to make a road win in Denver possible at this time.
We have already seen that the betting public likes New England in this game. But, given the popularity of Peyton Manning and the fact that he hasn’t been in a Super Bowl in close to seven years, I’d expect far more national NFL fans to side with the Broncos.
Those trends might not apply to the New York region, however. And that is just one of many subplots that make Sunday a day worth remembering.
