Ed Rendell On Postponed Eagles-Vikings Game: 'I Think It Is A Joke'

In a live interview with Fox 29 News on Sunday night in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell was furious with the NFL for postponing the Eagles-Vikings game.

"I think it is a joke," Rendell said, explaining that there was only five inches of snow on the ground when the game would have started. "I was looking forward to this. It would have been a real experience. This is what football is all about. We're becoming a nation of wussies."

The game was supposed to be played on Sunday night, but it was moved to Tuesday for safety concerns.

Later in the interview, Rendell began to argue with chief meteorologist John Bolaris about how much snow had fallen in Philadelphia.

Bolaris said that there was actually seven inches of snow on the ground at 7 p.m., but Rendell disagreed.

"No, that was at 8:30 according to FEMA," Rendell argued. "This is no way, shape or form a blizzard!"

Scroll down to watch the video.

WATCH:

Rendell Irate Eagles Game Was Postponed: MyFoxPHILLY.com

Comments

[Ivalutti]

02:02 PM on 12/29/2010

Gov. Ed: Wow did you waste time and energy. Next time strap yourself to the seat of the bulldozer with a couple of brews in your hands and a cooler for the road. Wear a warm coat and gloves and park yourself on a snowcovered seat, don't forget the wine.. you'll have plenty of time to make snowcones and cheer on the players. After screaming victory, have your cell phone ready to call the EMT's to pry your frozen remains off.

[Lou Smith]

09:06 AM on 12/29/2010

Welcome to Roger Ball 2010! You can't tackle anyone and you can't play in the snow! It's Big Boy Football, Goodell. You're killing the golden goose you were handed. Wake up NFL owners before it's too late. Fire Goodell NOW!!!!

[lcornell]

12:27 AM on 12/29/2010

I'm with Ed. If that game hadn't been postponed it would've been a packed house. I would've gone. Do we need the NFL to tell us about the weather? "It could be dangerous driving in traffic, in the snow. It could take a while to get out of the parking lot." We should probably just watch the game on the couch, and wear a helmet in case the roof colapses.

[missmaryc]

10:03 AM on 12/30/2010

Did you have tickets?

[Stephanie T]

11:53 PM on 12/28/2010

Hockey games were played on Long Island and in New Jersey on Sunday and New York/New Jersey took the brunt of the blizzard. The Rendell should have been more clear in his rant, the NFL has become a league of wussies! No hard hits anymore, no playing in the cold or snow, what's next two hand touch? UNBELIEVABLE!!!

[timbeaux]

05:18 PM on 12/28/2010

You mean he combs his hair that way when it's warm?

[Harrier]

04:53 PM on 12/28/2010

That fat old man sitting in his forced air heated home testing his feet near his fireplace cooking a fat burger while watching the game on TV. Put that whimp in the stands and watch that "man" beg to gone home and escape from frostbite. Tough guys...right. Who cares about safety and the fact on any give play, players who fall could get a concussion. Some needs to throw that guy hard on his back on that field head first and ask him how it feels and if he would like to have it done again for an 30 minutes

[TheRagingModerate]

05:30 PM on 12/28/2010

You don't know Rendell... he's a hard core fan who sat through countless Eagles games in frigid temps back in the Veterans Stadium days. He was famously present for the infamous game decades ago when the Eagles fans booed Santa Claus.

[Lee Gary Kushner]

07:37 PM on 12/28/2010

No, the other guy is right. You do not know Rendell, or anything about football, college or otherwise. Better to learn, than to take potshots at a great MAN.

[Broderick Crawford]

03:43 PM on 12/28/2010

We're becoming a nation of wussies and tinkerbells. Its not like it was when we were growing up, right Ed...

[Jaladeno]

08:17 PM on 12/28/2010

I used to walk five miles uphill through the snow to get to school every day, even on weekends, and then after a 18 hour school day I would walk five miles uphill through the searing heat just to get home so I could do my chores.

[missmaryc]

02:52 PM on 12/28/2010

Just broke out the long johns and getting ready to head to the Linc!! :-) I, for one, am happy they postponed. But that's history now. Let's go Eagles!! Enjoy the game folks. :))

[TheRagingModerate]

05:43 PM on 12/28/2010

Oops! see my reply below (under ConservativeCapitalist's comment). Not sure how I posted my reply to the wrong comment.

[Jaladeno]

08:27 PM on 12/28/2010

It is interesting that the two of you who live there and had/have tickets for the game are glad it was postponed while the (whatever word means "chickenhawks" in footballese) are on here trying to get their macho on by calling anyone with any sense a "wuss."

[ConservativeCapitalist]

02:41 PM on 12/28/2010

And the people of Pennsylvania are mad at Rendall for being a bad governor..... So what's the point?

[TheRagingModerate]

05:37 PM on 12/28/2010

Me too! Bundling up BIG TIME right now. I was glad they postponed it too, not because I was afraid to sit in the cold and snow or because I was worried about the weather's effect on the players or the game. I was worried about being in the middle of 60K+ fans traveling to the stadium in icy conditions, and then the mass exodus of drivers after the game (and after many of them have had several drinks) in even icier and more dangerous conditions. The mass travel implications seem, to me, like a pretty good reason to postpone a football game during a blizzard. (And yes, Governor, I'm pretty sure a foot of snow in a 12 hour period is a blizzard!)

[missmaryc]

10:02 AM on 12/30/2010

My biggest concern was travelling home in a blizzard at midnight, with the prospect of them shutting the regional rail lines down. As it turned out, it was a crappy performance by the Eagles, but still a fun night out.

[LookingToHelp]

02:31 PM on 12/28/2010

Ed is aiming for his next job. NFL Commissioner.

[huffyISaHottie]

06:14 PM on 12/28/2010

would'nt mind seeing Ed as head of the DNC...Dean is a now show

[huffyISaHottie]

06:15 PM on 12/28/2010

now=no

[MuchMadness]

02:27 PM on 12/28/2010

Football games should be played in the daytime, not at night.

[RusStyles]

02:12 PM on 12/28/2010

Some people just don't know when to shift their lips in park. This was a duh decision. It would have been unnecessarily risky for fans, the players, refs and would not have been zero fun to watch. Signs of senility creeping in...

[Lee Gary Kushner]

07:43 PM on 12/28/2010

That's a decision for responsible adults, and always was, until the NFL decided to act like big brother. I've been watching NCAA and pro football since the 1960's, in Philly, and your concerns never applied. Football has ALWAYS been played in worse weather (witness Green Bay or the Bears), until as Rendell accurately stated, we became a bunch of wussies.

[Jaladeno]

08:20 PM on 12/28/2010

"Football has ALWAYS been played in worse weather"

okay... I guess that is why the NFL is no longer in LA. The weather was too nice.

[RusStyles]

08:27 PM on 12/28/2010

Fortunately, common-sense prevailed. And people that think like you and Ed were out of the decision-making mix.

[Supersteel]

02:08 PM on 12/28/2010

It was pretty shocking to see the game cancelled. Football has become very weak.
 
I would have liked to have seen everyone stay home but the players and coaches and let them play :)

[poaster]

01:54 PM on 12/28/2010

We are here now with Gov. Ed Rendell who said the city ignored his pleas for public safety and decided against his recommendation not to hold the Eagles Vikings game. "sir, with a reported 6 deaths due to the storm and relatives claiming they were stranded Eagles fans, that should not have been out in these conditions, what do have to say to that." I'd rather be reading about the postponement of a lameazz NFL game then reading about the deaths of our citizens"

Can't have it both ways Eddy.

[Lee Gary Kushner]

07:45 PM on 12/28/2010

Great scenario. Except it's your unprovable fantasy of what might have happened, which never has. It does not compute.

[Mag7]

01:47 PM on 12/28/2010

Like Rendell shovels his own driveway or gives the chauffeur the day off so he can He-Man his way through the drifts driving his own wussie butt around the state.