Ronda Rousey doesn’t freeze up on ‘SNL’ during NY blizzard

NEW YORK — Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.

It's the unofficial creed of the United States Postal Service, inscribed on the James Farley Post Office Building across from Madison Square Garden.

That building, like the rest of the city, was covered in snow by the second biggest winter storm, by accumulation, in the recorded history of the city on Saturday.

There were no mail trucks, or any other vehicles for that matter, on the streets of Manhattan after 2:30 p.m. on Saturday. Mayor Bill de Blasio had ordered a travel ban, even threatening arrest for anyone caught driving the streets.

Restaurants, bars, even Starbucks, were all closed. Broadway shows were canceled. One of the busiest cities in the world was a total ghost town.

Except for "Saturday Night Live."

"Weekend Update" co-anchor Michael Che even joked about it during the show.

"As a result of the massive blizzard that has hit the East Coast, officials have banned cars from the road, shut down half the subway lines and advised everyone to remain at home," Che said. "The one guy ignoring these warnings? My boss. Yay."

So the show went on as scheduled as the only game in town.

With transportation options limited to the subway or cross-country skis and Rockefeller Center only about 16 blocks away, walking seemed like the best option to get to Studio 8H in order to witness a historic moment for the Ultimate Fighting Championship as former women's bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey became the first mixed martial artist (and third female athlete) to host the show.

The journey to the studio proved almost as entertaining as the show, though it probably would have been more enjoyable if someone had packed more intelligently by bringing things like boots or gloves or, you know, a coat when traveling to New York from Las Vegas.

But hindsight is 20/20.

With no cars and very few businesses open, bundled-up tourists were left to wander up and down the streets of Manhattan looking like zombies in some sort of bad post-apocalyptic movie. There were no less than six slip-and-falls on the ice in plain sight during the trek up 8th Avenue alone, and those are always funny.

But nothing can top stereotypical "New York" guy who wasn't going to let the travel ban keep him home. He was doing just fine on the main drag but got completely stuck when he tried to head west on 44th Street. Several pedestrians tried to help him get the car dislodged, but to no avail as the wheels just kept spinning and going nowhere, much like the Yankees the last few seasons.

Sorry, local humor.

He eventually had to abandon his car for the night. Nobody felt sorry for him.

Eventually, the world famous NBC studios were in sight. Once inside, an army of NBC pages sends audience members to one of about seven different lines, depending on which list you're on or what tickets you have.

Seriously, there's got to be a hundred pages working on the show. How did they all get there? There's no way they can all afford to live in midtown. They must have really good skis.

One audience is seated for the dress rehearsal. Once it's over, they are quickly ushered out and the audience for the live show is seated.

Then the army, sorry, a crew of pages, is dispatched to make sure nobody uses their phone for any reason. One lady is admonished for texting. Another takes a picture and is asked to delete it.

Seriously, the vigilance of the NBC pages on cellphone duty is something to behold. Rumor is someone did sneak a photo during the closing credits sequence, but that's between the writer of this story and his Twitter followers.

The most noticeable thing once you're seated is the size of the set. "SNL" is an institution, now in its 41st season, but the show is still done on the original stage.

Sets are swapped in and out with amazing speed and precision during the show. The cold open, which on Saturday featured Tina Fey reprising her Sarah Palin impression and Darrell Hammond portraying Donald Trump, was shot on the main stage. As the opening credits are played, the set was hastily removed in time for Rousey to emerge to do the monologue.

It was the highlight of the night for the former champion. She perfectly delivered an intentionally bad joke and even took a quick moment to congratulate Holly Holm for beating her back in November. Rousey was actually pretty good throughout the show when she was allowed to perform. That wasn't very often.

Rousey, who is now a legitimate actress with several movies lined up in the next year, was often reduced to supporting roles in sketches or even given just a line or two. She had her most extensive screen time late in the episode as an office worker inviting two odd co-workers to a party, and Rousey delivered in the sketch.

The episode certainly won't go down as a classic. As for Rousey, she gave an adequate performance with the material provided and didn't have any major gaffes. That's about all that can be asked of an "SNL" host.

The night was about Rousey once again stepping into the spotlight, and from that perspective it was a success. It was also a big moment for the sport.

Is there another fighter on the roster who will ever got the chance to host the show? Maybe not. Conor McGregor, perhaps.

But Rousey provided a big moment for both herself and the UFC.

Then it was time to journey back to the hotel. By 1:30 a.m., things had become even more bizarre in a largely abandoned Times Square. With no cars, it was like New Year's Eve without the crowds.

But there was alcohol. A group of tourists offered a chug from their bottle of vodka in exchange for taking their picture making snow angels.

Not long after, two intoxicated homeless men argued in the one open pizza shop about whether accepting government assistance was ethical.

It was actually a fairly in-depth philosophical argument for 3 in the morning. And hilarious.

Maybe that should have been a sketch on "Saturday Night Live."

It would have been funnier than the one about mediocre superheroes, whatever that was.

There's an old joke that goes, "How do you get to Carnegie Hall?" The punch line is, "Practice, practice, practice."

Saturday's journey to Rockefeller Center felt just as tedious.

— Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509. Follow him on Twitter: @adamhilllvrj