LOS ANGELES – In a historic and controversial decision, the NFL postponed Sunday night’s game between the Minnesota Vikings and Philadelphia Eagles for 48 hours, reasoning it would be a logistical nightmare for 70,000 people to get to and from the event.
Although he understood and agreed with the rationale, Fred Gaudelli couldn’t hide his disappointment. Snow games are woven into the fabric of NFL lore.
“I live for a game like that, just let me put it that way,” Gaudelli said by phone Monday. “I live for a game in a driving blizzard. There were things we were going to throw out there last night that haven’t been seen on TV, and now we’re going to have to wait for the next blizzard.
“For me, it was Santa coming back and taking a present.”
No less an influential figure than Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell acted as if Santa came back and stole the whole tree. An unabashed Eagles fan who even does color commentary for games, Rendell called the NFL’s decision “a joke” and said “Vince Lombardi would be spinning in his grave” at the thought of postponing a game for snow.