First look at San Fran

San Francisco is a great Super Bowl city. But not the best.

February 4, 2016 at 12:07AM

San Francisco -

Just arrived to cover Super Bowl 50. San Francisco is one of my favorite cities. I love the food, the hills, the waterfront, the weather, the walkability, Coit Tower - everything but the traffic.

But it doesn't replace New Orleans. Not for me, not as the ideal Super Bowl host city.

San Francisco is hosting many of the Super Bowl events, and Santa Clara is hosting the game. That's not a bad way to do this. Fans can choose to enjoy the city or stay close to their teams.

But almost every Super Bowl site makes me yearn for New Orleans, with its wealth of restaurants and nightspots and its spirit of hospitality.

New Orleans is an event city. It is built for Super Bowls, concerts, Final Fours. All it lacks is a state-of-the-art stadium. (Remember the blackout during the Ravens-49ers game?)

So I'll make the 9,000th suggestion that the NFL will ignore: Spend a small portion of the league's billions, fix up the Superdome and play the Super Bowl there every year. You'll be guaranteed warm weather, great parties, walking access to everything that matters and Bourbon Street as a lure for the mindless tourist, which leaves the rest of the city for those of us who love the backstreets and Garden District.

I love San Francisco, but it's better for a romantic or foodie getaway than the big game.

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The You Betcha Basketball Show with Jon Krawczynski and MalePatternPurple with Viking Update's Tim Yotter are up at MalePatternPodcasts.com. Next: Roy Smalley's Chin Music and SouhanUncensored from the Super Bowl.

@Souhanstrib

about the writer

about the writer

Jim Souhan

Columnist

Jim Souhan is a sports columnist for the Minnesota Star Tribune. He has worked at the paper since 1990, previously covering the Twins and Vikings.

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