Thank you, Detroit! We love you!

Super Bowl XL - not such a hot ticket.

With the NFL's first cold-weather Super Bowl in 14 years, and only the third one in the event's 40-year run, just three weeks away, many of the firms that arrange Super Bowl hospitality trips report that clients are not as eager to go this year.

The tepid response is largely due to the expected cold weather, with the average high termperature in February in Detroit at 36 degrees. That combined with the city's lackluster reputation, have led some clients to depart for other locales such as Vegas and the Caribbean for viewing parties, or simply taking a pass and booking early for the 2007 game in south Florida.

That's a quote from the subscription-only Sports Business Journal. Here's a radical suggestion: Release more tickets to the fans in Pittsburgh (where the weather is hardly likely to be much better) and Seattle (looking for its first major sports title since 1979). Maybe they won't spend as lavishly as those corporate fat cat pseudo-fans, but I bet they'll enjoy the experience a hell of a lot more.

And on a special note to Bill "The Sports Wimp" Simmons: The average temperature in Houston in February is a balmy 54 degrees. Be sure to bring your longjohns to the Motor City, bubbelah.

Hat tip to Tom for the link.

Posted by Charles Kuffner on January 23, 2006 to Other sports | TrackBack