A Super Bowl in Seattle? Maybe someday, but don't get too excited yet

By now you've probably seen or heard this story from Q13 FOX saying that the Seahawks have interest in hosting a Super Bowl.

According to the story, the Seahawks have submitted the initial paperwork to the league expressing their interest. So what does that mean? Well, it means the Seahawks would like a Super Bowl if the league lets them, but that doesn't mean the interest is mutual. For this to go any further, the league's Super Bowl Advisory Committee would have to invite Seattle to submit an official bid.

Now don't get me wrong, I would love to see our corner of the country get a Super Bowl. CenturyLink Field is a tremendous venue and home to one of the league's most passionate fan bases, Seattle is a first-class city in so many ways, and I truly believe a Super Bowl in Seattle would be a great success barring a crazy region-crippling snow/ice storm like we had a few weeks ago. But just because Seattle could throw a heck of a party doesn't mean the league will decide to award Seattle a Super Bowl any time soon.

Sure New York/New Jersey is not a traditional warm-weather Super Bowl city, but they will host the big game in 2014, and Indianapolis just hosted what by all accounts was a tremendous Super Bowl week. But those areas differ from Seattle in a couple of ways. First, New York is New York, the largest city in the country, the home of the NFL offices, etc., so using the "New York got one and they have cold winters, so we should too" argument, right or wrong, just isn't realistic.

But more importantly, Seattle has something else going against it: it's stadium.

CenturyLink Field has all the modern amenities the league would like in a Super Bowl venue. It could easily be expanded to hold 70,000-plus fans, a requirement for hosting the game. No, there is nothing wrong with CenturyLink Field, and that's exactly the problem.

You know the biggest reason why New York got a Super Bowl? Because it built a new, state-of-the-art stadium. Why did the Colts get to host the game in a city not know as a Super Bowl city like Miami or New Orleans? Because they built a new stadium. Where was the Super Bowl last year? In Dallas' brand new over-the-top monument to excess. Whether it's fair or not, the NFL realized that when an owner wants a city to help build a shiny new stadium, a Super Bowl is a heck of an incentive to dangle out there. And guess what? Seattle doesn't need a new football stadium anytime soon. But there are other teams around the league that do want new stadiums, Los Angeles will have to build one if it wants the NFL back, and the 49ers are about to start building one soon.

Now none of this means Seattle can't get a Super Bowl. The league doesn't use the Super Bowl as a reward for building a new stadium every year (New Orleans will host in the Super Dome next year), and Seattle is certainly a viable option. And yes, the Q13 report is a good sign that the process has at least started. But for now, don't get your hopes up too much just yet.