In a word, credit the weather.
And the more there is of it in February of 2014, the happier Jets owner Woody Johnson, and Giants co-owners Steve Tisch and John Mara say will be.
Because "that's the way football was meant to be played."
In their post game, excuse us, post selection news conference at the New Meadowlands Stadium the day after NFL owners picked East Rutherford for the 2014 SuperBowl, the owners showed the two videos played for their fellow owners at their meeting in Dallas.
"Football history is filled with games where the weather is the 12th man on the field," said the narration in the first video.
"The ghosts (of the NFL) will be there," said the closing video, all in allusion to the cold, muddy, snowy, sloppy, blood-stained, frozen-breath games that stand out in football lore.
"It's the unexpected events that make our life's experiences really great and that includes football," said Jets owner Johnson.
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And New York Governor David Patterson chimed in, "I have friends who are fans, they would risk mortar fire to get into the SuperBowl."
Getting there in order to get in will be the challenge of road crews both in New Jersey and New York(where most of the hotel rooms are).
But New Jersey Governor Chris Christie dismissed skeptics wondering if his state will be up to the task.
"We have winter here every year and we'll have it again in February of 2014," said Governor Christie. He then added "I'm not the least bit concerned about this."
The sales job on the other 30 NFL owners got a huge assist from John Mara of the Giants, whose family goes back to the origins of the league.
But Johnson of the Jets got the credit for kick-starting the idea as the two teams were first planning the new $1.6 billion stadium that will see its first football game this summer.
And even though they invoked the images of memorable cold weather games, the one bow to modernity that won't be lost is the use of artificial grass.
NBCNewYork asked Johnson if there was any chance of switching to real turf at the new stadium.
He responded that because the two teams share the stadium "We'd love to but we don't have any way to keep it fresh."
Follow Brian Thompson on Twitter @brian4NY
