ARLINGTON, Texas — This is where it stops being funny. This is where the dominant story of the week — lousy weather that absolutely paralyzed the whole of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex — seems just quaint and quirky and not the aggravating misery it was for thousands of fans who migrated here for a week of Super Bowl fun.
This, in the lexicon of present slang, is an epic fail.
Seats that were sold in “temporary locations” at Cowboys Stadium yesterday — at $900 a pop — weren’t completed by the time many of those seats’ occupants arrived yesterday for the Steelers-Packers Super Bowl.
Think about that. The NFL has known that this Super Bowl would be played here for three years. The Cowboys have known. Jerry Jones has known.
And, not to bring up bad memories or anything, it’s been a good four months since there was even a flicker of belief that the Cowboys would have to worry about the dual chore of playing in the Super Bowl and hosting it.
How the hell does this happen?
“The safety of fans attending the Super Bowl was paramount in making the decision and the NFL, Dallas Cowboys and City of Arlington officials are in agreement with the resolution,” the NFL said in a statement just before kickoff.
“We regret the situation and inconvenience that it may have caused. We will conduct a full review of this matter”
They regret the situation?
This is an abomination. Consider that many of the fans came to the stadium yesterday from out of town. At best, you’re talking about $300 airfare and three nights in hotels — and it’s not like any of the hotels in North Texas were in the business of discounting beds this week.
And, oh yes: there were certainly a number of those fans who had to acquire the tickets to their invisible seats through scalpers and ticket brokers, who may well have charged them more than three times the face value.
So you go through all of that and wind up going through the angst of all this?
Are you kidding?
It doesn’t matter that the NFL was able to accommodate most of the affected fans, that after an enormous backlash they found places to squeeze them; this was the endgame to a week-long fiasco that should prevent Dallas from ever even getting a sniff of the Super Bowl again.
There is no way to spin this. There is no way to explain this. Think about it:
THE SUPER BOWL SHOWED UP YESTERDAY AND THEY WEREN’T READY FOR IT!
Ninety minutes before kickoff, the word began to spread about the invisible seats, and this was the letter they received in lieu of real Super Bowl souvenirs:
“Please be advised that due to unforeseen conditions, the installation of temporary seating for Super Bowl XLV was not fully completed and your assigned seat is unavailable for today’s game.”
Why? Because the Fire Department hadn’t approved the seats. It boils the blood. It numbs the brain. If the Super Bowl ever wanders anywhere near north Texas again, there ought to be an investigation.
Epic fail.