Even despite a rather dull first half, not to mention a power outage early in the second half, the NFL and CBS will likely sit back and bask in the glow of another exciting Super Bowl finish.
Yes, the Baltimore Ravens and their defensive stand in the final two minutes of the game could go down as one for the ages, allowing them to leave New Orleans with a 34-31 win in Super Bowl XXXXVII. With that being said, it took just one power outage to leave the most profitable of America's four professional sports leagues with egg all over its face.
As the Louisiana Superdome went more than half dark early in the third quarter, CBS, the NFL, the players, and fans had to improvise, something the first two especially are not use to doing.
Meantime, the home of the San Diego Chargers some 1,600 miles to the west sat empty, that is on a day when temperatures climbed to around 70 degrees. A perfectly suitable stadium for an event as big as the Super Bowl (San Diego has hosted Super Bowls XXI, XXXII and XXXVII) was once again left behind.
For those not aware, the NFL has given San Diego the thumbs down of hosting another Super Bowl anytime soon, the last being back in 2003 when Tampa Bay destroyed Oakland. As the NFL and its deep pockets see it, San Diego's Qualcomm Stadium is a relic, one that was first opened for play back in 1967.
Back in 2003, then-NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue told the press and all who would listen "I'm surprised that we are here this week. If it weren't for [Chargers owner] Alex [Spanos] impressing upon the committee and upon the membership the importance of coming back here from his perspective, I don't think that San Diego would have been on the top of the list of most owners who were considering Super Bowl sites. So I don't think the outlook is promising. ... I think it's unlikely that there's going to be a Super Bowl in the immediate future in San Diego."
Not having undergone a major renovation since 1997 (just before Super Bowl XXXII, wherein Denver and John Elway beat Green Bay 31-24), Qualcomm Stadium is viewed as antiquated in NFL terms, a setting that can't make the league a ton of money because of the lack of luxury suites, not to mention room for extra seating.
Meantime, the Superdome, opened in 1975, continues to get the approval of the league to host the big game, even though it looks like something out of an Alien movie.
No offense New Orleans, but if it weren't for Bourbon Street and all the money that can be raked in during the two weeks leading up to the game, one doubts if the home of the Saints would be hosting Super Bowls in a stadium about as aesthetically pleasing as an Air Force hangar.
When the power went out during the NFL's biggest event of the year, no doubt some folks (wink wink) in San Diego were enjoying a chuckle or two.
Yes, the home of the Chargers may not be the big cash cow that the NFL would like it to be, but it would have done just fine on this early February Sunday.
And if the NFL was wondering, the power works there too.
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