Super Bowl 2014 Postponed? Game Date Could Change If Big Snowstorm Hits

The Seattle Seahawks and Denver Broncos are gearing up to play at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium for Super Bowl XLVIII on Feb. 2, but Mother Nature might have different plans in mind. Since the Northeast has been experiencing such extreme weather, the NFL might be forced to move the date of the big game.

Though the teams are expected to battle it out on the green that Sunday, the Super Bowl could take place on any day from Friday to Monday, Yahoo news reported. This would, however, only occur if a storm system of massive proportions were headed toward MetLife Stadium.

"We are embracing the weather," commissioner Roger Goodell said Monday, according to Yahoo. "Football is played in the elements." As of now, the temperature on Super Bowl Sunday in East Rutherford, N.J., is supposed to be a high of 40 degrees and there’s currently a 30-percent change of rain or snow. The kickoff is slated for 6:25 p.m. ET.

The NFL is hoping fans embrace the first cold-weathered Super Bowl, but viewers might not be too pleased if the date of the game has to be changed because of the weather. Those who attend the showdown in East Rutherford will get ear muffs, a hat, lip balm, mittens, a cup holder, a scarf, tissues, a radio to listen to the game, hand warmers, a seat cushion, a waist-wrap and quarterback-style hand pocket, the news site said.

The main problem is that those “comfort” items won’t do much if the weather doesn’t cooperate, especially if some of the 80,000 ticket holders who bought tickets were not able to make the game on any day other than Sunday. The news site didn’t say what would happen if fans weren’t able to attend the Super Bowl if a huge blizzard impacted the date.

Following the area’s recent Winter Storm Janus, more than 1,000 workers were hired to clear the arena. NFL officials are confident, meanwhile, that the game will be played on Feb. 2.

"I think that the various events that we have are going off without a hitch and in fact have already begun because staging this stadium is an event in and of itself," NFL vice president of operations Eric Grubman said, as quoted by Yahoo. "We don't have a crystal ball on weather, but we're confident we'll be able to have our events."

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