Earlier this week, Hurricane Sandy hit the upper East Coast leaving millions temporarily without power, homes or viable transportation. Near all off the natural destruction is the New York Giants’ Metlife Stadium in Rutherford, New Jersey — where this weekend’s Steelers-Giants game is supposed to take place.
As of right now, the NFL does not intend to reschedule the game, which would have the Steelers traveling on game day as reported by Jamison Hensley.
The Pittsburgh Steelers will fly to New Jersey only hours before playing the Giants on Sunday because of a travel disruption caused by Hurricane Sandy.
The Steelers’ hotel in Jersey City still doesn’t have power since the superstorm hit the East Coast, and the team can’t find another hotel to accommodate the organization in the area.
The Governor of New Jersey said he was pleased that the game was going to continue as scheduled and wanted to use it as a platform to raise awareness and raise funds through the American Red Cross to help those affected by the hurricane.
However, there are still concerns about the game being played in NJ. For one, it puts the Steelers at a competitive disadvantage. The NFL has a policy that requires teams to travel at least one day before a game to ensure that the players are well rested and into their normal routines on game day.
The Steelers will arrive in New Jersey that morning and have a meal at the hotel and immediately take a bus to the stadium for a 4:25 p.m. kickoff.
Another issue is the attendance for the game. There are people in New York and New Jersey who have paid good money for their tickets to this game who may not be able to attend do to varying circumstances. There are still millions without power and transportation. Public transportation systems are still a mess and gas stations are still down.
Dan Patrick suggested moving the game to Monday Night on his radio show, but it’s unlikely that CBS would want to part ways with their only game scheduled in the 2nd of a double-header slot — especially not one featuring two of the NFL’s premier franchises. Mike Florio of NBC Sports had another suggestion.
The best solution could have been moving the game to Pittsburgh. Heinz Field would sell out instantly for the Giants “home” game, and folks in New York wouldn’t have to make the difficult choice between not getting value for the money spent on tickets and further inconveniencing themselves by trying to get to the game.
Sure, it would be unfair to the Giants to lose a home game. But the Giants picked up an extra home game in 2005, when the Saints couldn’t host New York after Hurricane Katrina.
Clearly, there’s no correct answer for this one and there definitely isn’t an easy way to remedy this problem. Things could turn out just fine and the NFL could play a part in earning some extra funds for the victims of Hurricane Sandy. We’ll just have to wait it out and see how things transpire.
