This weekend, New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced the NFL Playoff game between the Buffalo Bills and the Pittsburgh Steelers would be moved from 1 p.m. on Saturday to 4:30 p.m. on Monday due to extreme winter weather en route to western New York Saturday afternoon.

Breaking: New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced that the Steelers-Bills game will be postponed until 4:30 ET Monday. pic.twitter.com/DRygsfUsKH

— ESPN (@espn) January 13, 2024

As a pure football fan, canceling a game due to weather is bogus. No matter the conditions, the teams should play. To make matters more atrocious, the NFL nearly moved the game to Atlanta so the teams could play indoors and avoid the weather.

Friend back in Buffalo just sent me this. NFL almost moved Steelers-Bills…to Atlanta. Wow. Via Buffalo News. pic.twitter.com/FtIpL1lk8X

— Andrew Fillipponi (@ThePoniExpress) January 13, 2024

Not only is that one of the dumbest things I’ve heard, but that would’ve been a huge “screw you” from the NFL to fans of the Bills and the Steelers to require travel to Atlanta on short notice to watch a playoff game. Meanwhile, there’s a much better alternative that could’ve been used for a backup venue: Beaver Stadium.

Now, yes, we’ve beaten this drum in the past regarding the AFC Championship and the Super Bowl. But when you think about it, it’s kind of a happy medium for both teams if a change of venue is necessary.

Buffalo is about a four-hour drive from Penn State, and Pittsburgh is three hours from Happy Valley. If the NFL booked Beaver Stadium for the game, it would serve as the most neutral alternate venue in the region, located centrally for both teams.

It would also be one of the largest NFL crowds in the history of the sport in Beaver Stadium’s 107,000-seat stadium.

On top of that, the tailgate lots would be a fantastic venue for raucous Bills and Steelers fans to enjoy before the game. The lots provide plenty of room for fans to tailgate and have a good time. Also, I don’t know about some students, but I would love to have an excuse to tailgate for a football game. It’s been too long.

Now, everyone will complain about the seats and how they’re old-school bleachers and nobody wants to sit in them. Well, guess what? Who cares? It’s a playoff game. If you’re sitting down, you should just stay at home and watch the game on your couch. Let the real football fans enjoy the game.

If the NFL had to move the game to Atlanta, it would’ve had only a few days to set everything up. It’s probably not impossible that the same thing could’ve been done at Beaver Stadium.

If the league had to move the game from Orchard Park, Beaver Stadium is undoubtedly the best option. It provides a venue where both teams are a reasonable distance away so that fans don’t have to spend a fortune on travel, and it keeps the game in the cold, where football should be played.