This previous post expressed skepticism that the city of Jacksonville would be able to handle the logistical nightmare of Super Bowl XXXIX. In this article, ESPN’s Bill Simmons — who believes that the Super Bowl should be played only in Las Vegas (in a to be-built stadium), Miami, New Orleans, and San Diego — says that the disaster developing in Jacksonville is making Houston’s performance hosting Super Bowl XXXVIII last year look good in comparison:

If anything, the past two days made me appreciate Houston’s performance last year, a city that faced the same logistical problems and conquered many of them. I don’t think Houston should have hosted a Super Bowl either, and those last two days were a certifiable train wreck. But at least they had enough hotels. At least there were a decent number of cabs. At least there was a recognizable downtown area. At least they had the Light Rail, with the bonus that you might get to see some drunken pedestrian bouncing off it. Houston was 10 times more prepared than Jacksonville is right now.

Thanks for the compliment, Bill. I think. ;^)