Bills vs. Steelers Postponement Only Strengthens Case For Outdoor Stadiums
If the growing number of fans who wish to protect NFL fields and seating areas from any form of precipitation or temperature drop is any indication, the upcoming reboot of the Arena Football League is about to earn record ratings and attendance.
Some have advocated for frozen rain delays as the NFL's latest Super Wild Card Weekend gets underway. While Saturday's icy get-together between the Kansas City Chiefs and Miami Dolphins will proceed as planned, the New York State government and the NFL moved Sunday's showdown between the Buffalo Bills and Pittsburgh Steelers to Monday afternoon (4:30 p.m. ET, CBS).
Criticism and support of the decision have fallen victim to flawed arguments, but, ironically, one can't exist without the other.
To get the immediate issue out of the way: yes, it was necessary to postpone Sunday's game. It figures to be a busy weekend for local first responders and the last thing they need is to be sidelined by the needs of the overzealous who ruin playoff partaking for everyone. That goes double for Bills fans who often have ... let's call it unique ... ways of showing their support, evidenced by the rising sales in folding tables and lighter fluid.
Rich Barnes, USA TODAY SPORTS
"As most know, there are hundreds of deputies, from not only the sheriff's office, but others that assist on game day. They need to be assisting in the middle of a snowstorm, helping those in need, not directing traffic at a football stadium," Erie County executive Mark Poloncarz said in a report from Alaina Getzenberg of ESPN. "None of us want to see that many vehicles on the road tomorrow morning trying to get to a football stadium knowing that the conditions are going to be as bad as they are."
A Divisional round participant will thus be decided on Monday but debate surrounding the literal atmosphere is set to prevail and continue long after Highmark Stadium's clock hits triple zeroes. The Bills' Orchard Park successor is set to sit at the center of it.
Due to open in time for the 2026 season, New Highmark Stadium will not feature any sort of roof. It will be the first perpetually open stadium since the San Francisco 49ers' Levi's Stadium debuted in Santa Clara nearly a decade ago.
Every new hub built since has brandished an expensive umbrella: of the four that have opened since 2014, only one (Atlanta) can open up and most of its major games have been played under cover. Calls for Buffalo to follow suit will likely follow in the wake of Saturday's news and with the Chiefs and Dolphins set to duel for a Divisional slot in Arctic conditions at Arrowhead Stadium.
But you won't be getting rid of the Bills' finest homefield advantage that easily, especially considering the one thing indoor advocates don't want to acknowledge: the coziest, most isolated dome in the world wouldn't have been to host the Bills and Steelers on Sunday. A roof protects that destination ... but not the journey.
To that end, the idea of putting every NFL game inside is part of a (for lack of a better term as there are far more pressing issues to attend to in modern civilization) disturbing trend in sports where nearly every form of adversity is being taken care of through bureaucratic means.
MLB batters have trouble beating the shift? Ban it and put the pitchers on a clock. Hack-a-Shaq surviving its namesake's NBA retirement? Don't tell shooters to improve at the foul line, adjust the rules instead. The NFL might not be immune from the concept in due time. Rather than find a way to stop the Philadelphia Eagles' trademark "Tush Push," some prime decision-makers would rather see it outlawed.
So why should weather be eliminated from the NFL conversation?
A case, of course, could be made through widespread player conversations but there's nothing to indicate any such movement is on the cusp of pressing forward. But teams have found ways to combat the elements no matter how unconventional or silly they may seem. Who, for example, could forget Buffalo specialists instantly thawing the field for Tyler Bass' game-winning field goal in a 2022 win over Miami?
It even works in the heat: the aforementioned Eagles began flipping their franchise narrative at the turn of century, opening the new millennium with a 41-14 demolition of the Dallas Cowboys fueled not by Gatorade but rather pickle juice, which prevented cramping when temperatures reached as high as 109 degrees at Texas Stadium.
When it comes to the field of play, there's no use in blocking out the elements in your supposed favor ... didn't Mr. Burns teach you anything?
