Gov. Rendell has Redeemed the State of Pennsylvania -- almost

Ed Rendell would have been proud of the Philadelphia Eagles and Chicago
Cardinals, who played the 1948 NFL Championship Game in a blizzard.

As you all have probably heard by now, PA Governor Ed Rendell was extremely critical of the NFL's decision to move Sunday Night's Eagles-Vikings game to tonight due to inclement weather. The Democrat wasn't exactly soft-spoken in his criticisms, either. After calling the postponement "a joke" and declaring that "Vince Lombardi would be spinning in his grave" Rendell continued with this:

"My biggest beef is that this is part of what's happened in this country ... We've become a nation of wusses. The Chinese are kicking our butt in everything. If this was in China do you think the Chinese would have called off the game? People would have been marching down to the stadium, they would have walked and they would have been doing calculus on the way down."

Preach, thoroughbred, preach! I couldn't agree with Gov. Rendell more, quite honestly. On the same night that the Eagles were to host the Vikings, the New Jersey Devils hosted the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ. Simultaneously, the New York Islanders hosted the Montreal Canadiens in Nassau County on Long Island. The New York metro area got 2 feet of snow, in comparison Philadelphia got roughly a foot, and it was only about five inches at the scheduled game time of 8:20 PM.

Now I won't even get into the argument of "football is an outdoor sport, hockey is an indoor sport" because that is utter bullshit and everyone knows it. Just this year, the Patriots and Bears duked it out amidst a blizzard, however in hind sight the Bears probably wish they would have postponed or even canceled that one. I also won't turn this into a New York vs. Philadelphia debate, because as we all know New York wins that one 95 times out of 100 (with the 5 NY losses being the Giants vs. the Eagles). I will, however, investigate who is to blame for this embarrassment.

1. The City of Philadelphia -- It's the year 2010. We have snow plows, trucks full of salt and ash, and Doppler Radar that tell you when, where and how much snow is coming. You really can't clear the roads? Get it together man.
2. NBC -- If it wasn't for NBC, the game would have been played at 1:00 PM. Given that there were only five inches on the ground at 8:20, I think the conditions would have been just fine at 1:00, but that would cause NBC to lose a prime-time game. Can't do that, no, instead we'll just make history by having the first Tuesday NFL game since Bill Dudley was the MVP. (Never heard of him? Google him)
3. The Eagles -- Obviously, the Eagles have to have had some say in this. There is no way Roger Goodell wanted to move the game, and there is no way the Vikings wanted to stay in the miserable city of Philadelphia two extra days. Why would the Eagles want the game moved? Let's think about it. The Eagles game is built on speed. Mike Vick and DeSean Jackson just don't seem as intimidating when there are 50 MPH winds and nobody on the field can hold their footing. Also, you try tackling Adrian Peterson in a blizzard. That's hard enough when it's not snowing. Furthermore, think of the money the Eagles would have lost by having the game in a blizzard. Obviously Philly fans (since they're all, in the words of Gov. Rendell, wussies) aren't going to come out in strong numbers in a blizzard. That means the team will lose money on parking, concession sales, etc.
4. Brett Favre -- Ah, but it wouldn't be the NFL in 2010 without a Brett Favre subplot. As you probably know if you're reading this, because quite frankly I only think about 5 people at the most are reading this, Brett Favre was not cleared to play before Sunday night after suffering a concussion last Monday Night verse the Bears. Moving the game back two days gives the almighty Favre two extra days to stop seeing stars and possibly pass a concussion test. If anyone else follows Adam Schefter on twitter, you know this theory is now shot (or if it's true, it backfired) because Favre is inactive tonight. Still, on some level one has to feel the great gunslinger had his hand in all this somehow.
   

I'm sure the Chinese could conjure up some mathematical equation to figure out which of my theories is most accurate, but I'll just be content doing the American thing: crack open a few cold ones and put my money on Philly, even with the -15 spread. There's one thing I've learned in college, never bet against Andy Reid when he has extra time to prepare. Unless, of course, he's going against Belichick. But I learned that one in high school.