By Ron Matejko
MVP Today

It turns out that even a beautiful, sunny 68-degree day still isn’t balmy enough to warrant having the roof open during an Arizona Cardinals game, which begs the question, “Why would any stadium have a retractable roof when they are never open during events anyway?”

During Sunday’s home game against the Packers, FOX analyst Tim Ryan said he asked Cardinals President Michael Bidwill why the roof at University of Phoenix Stadium was closed. Bidwill said he did it to keep the fans in the northwest corner of the stadium comfortable as temperatures are 15 degrees higher there when the roof is open.

Bidwill was right in keeping the roof closed. Sports franchises need to keep their paying customers happy. But since it was 68 degrees at the time, that means it felt like it was 83 degrees in the NW corner. If 83 degrees is unbearable for those fans, they need to find another part of the country to live.

It’s like when you are driving in your vehicle with the family and one person is either hot and wants a window open or is cold and wants the heat on. Unless everyone is in agreement, what happens? Nothing. Majority rules. Suck it up. People love to complain for the sake of complaining. Ask anyone who works in retail or service industries.

And when did comfort become such an important factor when attending a live sporting event? Have you ever sat within the first 20 rows at a hockey game? It’s cold. The crew at Jobing.com Arena aren’t going to crank the heat because you forgot to wear a sweatshirt. Fans at most football stadiums around the country accept the weather maladies that go with watching their team in person. In Phoenix? It becomes a battle of the thermostat.

Unfortunately, it usually only takes a couple of whiny fans who complain about being uncomfortable to ruin the natural atmosphere of an outside game for the other 65,000 fans. This happens at Diamondbacks games all the time to the point where the roof at Chase Field is rarely open and anyone who watches games there will tell you that the difference in watching a baseball game with the roof open is huge.

There are financial advantages to building a stadium with a retractable roof and if that is the major reason why a team includes one on a new facility, so be it. But when the teams promote that feature as a way to enjoy a game with the roof open, and then the roof is never open, that feature seems useless.

For those teams who are out there, planning on building a new stadium, don’t bother with a retractable roof. Just go with the dome.

And for any fan base that has a team that is building a new stadium, be forewarned. The roof will rarely be open.

Many people ask, “What is the big deal?” It’s the point that a minority of whiny people are dictating the circumstancs under which the majority of fans will watch a game, and that is annoying.