What’s the only thing America loves more than watching football on TV? Watching football in the snow.

There is an undeniable magnetic appeal to viewing the NFL in the snow. Seeing these incredible athletes battle in our most popular sport while white flakes fall all around them looks beautiful. It doesn’t matter the opponents. It doesn’t matter the score. It doesn’t matter the stake. We’ll tune in to see football in the snow because it’s visually striking and fun.

Thursday Night Football’s matchup between the Pittsburgh Steelers (8-3) and the Cleveland Browns (3-8) wasn’t necessarily on the radar as appointment television. One team appears playoff-bound. The other seems to be playing out the string with a backup quarterback. However, everything changed once the snow started falling. This contest quickly went from a maybe to a must-see. You texted your friends. You shared images on social media. The fact that it was a competitive upset thriller was a delightful bonus.

“This one’s too much fun!”

Not something we’re used to hearing from Al Michaels in recent years. pic.twitter.com/8gHGnR1pR1

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) November 22, 2024

The wondrous power of sports is how it brings a community together. Snow games have a unique hold on us that hammers that point through unlike anything else. Your typical fan might not remember any other games from the lowly Browns this season. They’ll remember this one.

Cherish these weather-related moments. With climate change and the distinct possibility of more domed stadiums, there could be fewer NFL snow games in the future. The Tennessee Titans have already broken ground on a domed stadium in Nashville. The Chicago Bears, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Washington Commanders, and the Browns have all discussed the possibility of doing the same.

The Browns have already unveiled plans for a $2.4 billion domed stadium in Brook Park, 13 miles from downtown. From a purist point of view and a watching-from-the-comfort-of-your-couch point of view, this is offensive. There’s a decent chance of a snow game in Cleveland every year. Why deny us the magic of watching lumbering Jameis Winston scoot in the snow?

Here’s your NFL Films moment, @Jaboowins 😏🎥#HardKnocks | @Browns pic.twitter.com/wUNjWTCKxr

— NFL Films (@NFLFilms) November 22, 2024

And yet, the Browns seem hellbent on doing what Northern teams like the Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions have done long ago: trade in their former outside home-field advantage for the warm indoors. Thankfully, the Buffalo Bills will continue to have a cold-weather residence. New Highmark Stadium, scheduled to open in 2026, will not have a dome.

As much as fans like to complain, you can’t fault owners for wanting stadiums with a room. The NFL is a business. The best way to keep that business flourishing is to ensure that games are played on time and in optimal conditions. Domed stadiums reduce the likelihood of postponements due to weather. Remember when the Pittsburgh Steelers-Buffalo Bills playoff game last season was played on a Monday due to a winter storm? Remember in 2022 when a Browns vs the Bills regular-season meeting was relocated to the Detriot’s Ford Field?

The NFL never wants to change dates or venues because it affects the individual teams, the league, its customers, and its broadcasting partners. Domed stadiums help ensure that weather has less of an impact on the integrity of the schedule. Also, fans are more likely to show up if they know that the weather won’t be an issue. For these reasons, domed stadiums make sense, especially with climate change playing a factor. Severe weather is becoming more common.

However, it’s also clear that you lose an appealing aspect of the game when the sport is played in antiseptic conditions. The league’s history is built on games played in snowy or extreme weather. The NFL has a webpage dedicated to the Top 10 weather games.

You can’t stop progress, and domed stadiums are a part of that evolution. However, the future will be less fun with fewer NFL snow games on TV.