Every football team fights it out in rain, sleet or snow, but when the Super Bowl comes around, the elements are suddenly a bad thing.

This year, Super Bowl XLVIII will be played at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, with most of the festivities surrounding the game in New York. The most controversial aspect of the game’s location: There’s no dome.

The Super Bowl has never been played outdoors in a cold-weather city; it’s been played in a dome or in warmer climates. There’s no other football game that’s required to shield its participants from the elements.

There are plenty of arguments against playing the Super Bowl outdoors, but none of them make much sense. The biggest argument is the Super Bowl is a game unto itself.

It’s true: There is nothing bigger than the Super Bowl. That doesn’t mean the game should be exempt from the challenges players face every game day. Each Sunday — especially during the winter — brings with it the chance for a random element to make the game into something else entirely.

The Super Bowl doesn’t have to be exempt from the things players worked through to get there. The Seahawks and the Broncos have had to fight through just about every obstacle imaginable to face their counterpart. It wouldn’t be that big of a deal for them to have just one more.

Officially, the Super Bowl has to be played in a dome or in a city that averages 50 degrees in February. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has made this Super Bowl exempt from that rule. What’s wrong with getting rid of the rule altogether?

Limiting the Super Bowl to warm cities and domes keeps it out of some of the league’s most storied locations. A Super Bowl in Chicago should be a given, especially if one was just held in Indianapolis.

A Super Bowl at Lambeau Field would be another situation. It’s a shame the greatest stadium in the NFL will never see a Super Bowl.

Just about everyone cites the “Ice Bowl” as one of the most memorable games in history. The 1967 NFC Championship game featured -15 degree temperatures and a -36 degree wind chill.

One of this year’s most exciting games was a snow-covered affair between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Detroit Lions. Imagine a snowy Super Bowl.

Super Bowl XLVIII could be the greatest ever, especially if it turns into the wintery affair the NFL dreads. Either way, it should be a good game.