Now that a Super Bowl was held in the Meadowlands of New Jersey without a hitch, some are asking: "Why not a Super Bowl in Philadelphia?"

Before this year's Super Bowl, worrywarts were panicking about a possible blizzard, sub-zero temperatures, or other conditions possible in the northern climate.Just weeks before the Super Bowl, a game was played in a foot of snow on Lincoln Financial Field. It went off without a problem.Also a few weeks ago, a football game was held on Lambeau Field in Green Bay with temperatures below zero during the event.Unless you mandate not only all Super Bowls, but all playoff games be played in indoor stadiums, there's always the risk of weather extremes.Less than a week ago, traffic was brought to a standstill in much of the south because of a rare snowstorm. This would have impacted games in Charlotte, Nashville, and even Dallas more than Philadelphia or any other northern city, since those southern cities aren't used to handling a snow event.And, by the way, we're not suggesting that playoffs be held only in domes. We like the playoff season the way it is, with the road to the Super Bowl having games played in the stadiums of the teams with the best records.In 1989, an earthquake interrupted the World Series in Oakland. There's always a chance an earthquake can occur on the West Coast. This doesn't mean playoff games should be barred here.The World Series is held in October and could potentially be played in a southern city susceptible to a hurricane.In no way should there be rules eliminating the South from having a World Series no more than forbidding Philadelphia from hosting a Super Bowl.Why not put the Super Bowl on a rotating basis of any team interested in hosting it? Why should any one team have more opportunities than others for the economic privileges hosting such a game brings?So now that the Super Bowl has been successfully held in a Northern City, maybe Philadelphia will eventually become a host.Of the 47 Super Bowls, all but three have been played south of the Mason-Dixon Line.In 1982, the game was played in the Pontiac (Mich.) Silver Dome.In 1992, the host was the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis. Incidentally, eight years later, the roof of the Metrodome collapsed indicating even an indoor stadium isn't completely safe from the elements.This year, of course, the Super Bowl was held in New Jersey.So hopefully, Philadelphia is on the radar for a future game.By RON GOWERrgower@tnonline.com