Last week, we had a fun “Question of the Week” from Mike Chamernik, and he’s back today with his latest QOTW.
Enjoy!
by Mike Chamernik
Sunday was January football exemplified, as both Philadelphia and Buffalo were hit with snow storms. While the Ravens-Bills game wasn’t too extreme, the Rams and the Eagles were really having trouble finding traction, catching passes and holding onto the ball.
We also had a flashback this week, as ESPN followed up with fans who attended the Wild Card game in Kansas City last year. Wind chills reached negative-27 degrees and some fans suffered frostbite.
What are some famous winter weather games in your team’s history? Have you ever attended an especially snowy or frigid game — if so, how was the experience? What was the worst winter weather you’ve ever played in?
Do you have any tips for watching or playing a game in the cold and snow? I play touch football every so often in the winter. I’m thinking to buy one of those fanny pack hand warmer things.
I wasn’t alive at the time, but the Giants’ most famous game had to be the “Sneakers” game (there were actually two sneaker games, with the Giants beating da Bears in both games!). My only personal experiences with ‘bad weather football’ happened when I was a kid, playing in friends’ backyards during or following most big snowfalls back in the day. We were young, so we just wore sweatshirts (multiple layers), gloves that were soaked from the get-go, and either snow pants or jeans. Sorry Mike — no tips here — but I will offer one piece of advice. For curling, I used to wear sticky, tacky football gloves (they proved too sticky, and now I’m back to batting gloves). But if you’re going to play receiver, I recommend a pair — you’ll catch like a pro.
Can’t wait to hear the readers’ responses! OK guys…fire away!
Have you ever attended an especially snowy or frigid game — if so, how was the experience?
Yes; miserable.
A serious snow (or rain) storm makes it difficult to see what’s happening on the field. And temperatures below 20 degrees (others may have different thresholds) are uncomfortable, even when you’re bundled up.
This. Snowy or rainy games are fun to watch on TV, but they suck being in attendance for, particularly cold and windy snow games (rainy games are slightly easier to attend when it’s warm, but still suck). I’ll take my warm living room and couch, thanks.
I probably wouldn’t do under 40. I get so cold very easily
To be fair, context enters into the decision. I’ll endure more for a playoff game than a meaningless Week 18 matchup.
Browns-Bills, December 16, 2007. Played in an absolute blizzard, Browns won 8-0. No idea why my dad and I went to that game, conditions were HORRID.
I’m different than most. I hate weather being a factor in a game. Maybe it has something to do with my favorite team growing up, the LA Rams, with Roman Gabriel and the Fearsome Foursone, losing two playoff games in frigid weather, one in Minnesota in 1969 and the other in Green Bay in 1967. And as a fan I am definitely a fair-weathered. I will never sit outside in rain, snow, or freezing weather.
However, as a kid growing up in Southern California, we loved playing neighborhood tackle football games when it rained, causing the grass field at the elementary school to turn to mud.
Steelers/Ravens, 2010 Divisional Playoffs, January 15, 2011, 4:35pm. No snow, but frigid and blustery. The Ravens took a 21-7 lead into halftime and the Steelers came back to win it. The stadium was shaking – one of my favorite live sports experiences.
I was luckily enough to be at the 2007 Cleveland Indians Snow-pening day game against the Mariners. I thought it was great how they used leaf blowers to get the snow off the field between innings. That was the closest I’ve ever been to seeing a no-hitter in person, even though it would have been a shortened game. As cool as an experience as it was, I much prefer my baseball when it’s 80 degrees and sunny.
Baseball in the cold and snow is so unpleasant
1995 Penn State hosted Michigan a few days after about 18 inches of snow dumped in most of Pennsylvania.
I went along with about 80000 others estimated, down from 97000 capcity. Fans were sitting on blocks of ice. Lots of ice balls were thrown and the Nittany Lions were nearly penalized late the game due to stuff being thrown. Everybody was getting hit, including a member of the color guard right in the face. Awful.
Late in the same, Penn State faked a field goal – Joe Nastasi – to *ice* the game.
Michigan would go onto beat Penn State for about 8 straight games after one.
I will never go to a snow game again, not worth it.
Also, I have been at two little league opening days with flurries in Northern Virginia, one for me, one for one of my sons.
From Rochester, NY so we get our fair share of winter. I don’t make it to Buffalo too often for games, but I was at the first Winter Classic between the Sabres and Penguins. It was super cold and snowing but also very cool. I also remember freezing my butt of at a Bills game or two, but no major blizzards.
That was THE winter classic game
Not that it’s a legendary game, but I was at Game 3 of the 2009 NLDS between the Rockies and Phillies at Coors Field. It was tied for the coldest first pitch in MLB history. It was 35 degrees, then down to mid 20s later in the game. Rather than fans showing up at a leisurely pace before the game, everyone was still huddled in the surrounding bars just a few minutes before the game started. They ended up opening the floodgates and there was such a crush of fans that a lot of tickets never even got scanned on the way in. Hopefully some folks got in for free! link
I was there too! Didn’t even think to mention it until I read your post. I guess I was focused on football and totally spaced that one.
That was back when New Era made cold-weather baseball hats with the felt earflaps
I think my wife and I were at that game too – VERY COLD!!!!
December 30, 2000, the Cincinnati Bengals played the Pittsburgh Steelers at Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio. The temperature during the game was around 24 degrees Fahrenheit. We had gone to Cincinnati for Christmas. Decided to go to the game last minute. We were sitting up high, where we were hit with wind Have some great pictures of mine, my brother and sisters’ kids all bundled up. Fortunately, it wasn’t snowing….just cold.
The coldest I have ever been was in 1987 at The Game. Subzero windchill in the Yale Bowl. Thankfully, my dad got us tickets to a tailgate at Coxe Cage that included half-time. Wouldn’t have made it otherwise.
The concession stands covered in Ketchup, Mustard and relish packets that exploded.
Lastly, Harvard’s cheating was even more rampant than…
Raiders at Browns playoff game, Jan. 4, 1981, in what is known around here as Red Right 88.
Game time temp was 4 degrees. My feet were already starting to get uncomfortable on the car ride downtown. But we were otherwise bundled up well, and from our seats in the upper deck behind home plate at old Municipal Stadium, I don’t remember feeling the wind much. (The cold isn’t the worst thing a lot of times, it’s the wind that really gets you.)
Anyway, we lost 14-12 in the last minute when league MVP Brian Sipe tossed an INT in the end zone from the 13-yard line. And at that awful moment, I’ll bet no one there ever felt colder.
(I was also at an Indians game in April 1990 that was called after a couple innings when it started snowing, but that was no big deal.)
Totally agree about the wind. Yesterday it was 0 degrees in Chicago but it was sunny and not windy, so it felt like spring (slight exaggeration)
I went to the 2016 MLS Cup final in Toronto, when TFC hosted Seattle. It was on December 10, and at kickoff the temperature was around −5 °C (23 °F), −12 °C (10 °F) with windchill.
The game ended 0-0 – great advertisement for the beautiful game! – and went to penalties. We were seated in the south end, where the “ultras” are, but we missed the last penalty kick because some moron was waving a massive flag behind the goal, effectively blocking the view of the entire section.
As for playing, I haven’t really experienced awful conditions since indoor soccer is huge in Canada and the season generally lasts from October to early May. But I used to love organizing games of winter football or shinny with my friends!
Craziest game I ever attended was the 1996 Grey Cup in Hamilton. It wasn’t that cold (only -10c) but there was a crazy amount of snow and it just kept coming during the game.
Toronto beat Edmonton 43-37 which is bonkers for that weather. The quality of play was shockingly high.
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Sorry, that was meant to be a top level comment and not a reply to you.
The Eddie Brown catch lives on as a famous play in Grey Cup history. Doug Flutie displaying glass cutter gloves from the local hardware store aren’t just good for receivers.
I was at the Eagles/Lions snow game in 2013 that was referenced quite a bit last weekend.
It was pretty wild, snow was forecasted for later in the day, and much lighter. I can remember working the grill while tailgating before the game when it started coming down, light at first then pretty significant. By gametime it was a full on snow storm. My seats are in the lower level corner of the endzone, I can remember conditions were such for a while you could hardly see to the opposite endzone. At one point the Lions’ coached challenged a play, we all were laughing because the visibility was so bad there was no way the cameras could show enough detail either way.
It got so heavy at one point I can remember brushing snow accumulating off my shoulders. The big plays from McCoy were obviously the memorable highlights. It seemed like the snow was so deep on the field that the game felt like a bunch of kids just having fun playing out the yard. I’ve been to conference championship games and World Series, but this was the most memorable game I’ve been to without a doubt.
Quintessential snow game
I was at the Giants- Cardinals game in 1978, which was best known for the plane banner game, but it was brutal cold and I remember my mom bundling me up.
Giants-Jets, 1988. It was a Jets home game, which is how my dad and I were able to get tickets (this was the era when there was a 20-year waiting list for Giants season tickets). Brutally cold; it was maybe 15 degrees F with a negative wind chill. My legs went numb by halftime. To top it off, the Jets won on a last-minute Ken O’Brien-to-Al Toon TD pass, which ended up knocking the 10-6 Giants out of the playoffs.
Reposted from another QoTW reply…detailing a locally-infamous football contest:
Father Judge v. Abraham Lincoln Turkey Bowl, Phila., PA – 1989.
The Crusaders traditionally get the best of the Railsplitters (great nickname!) on Thanksgiving…not that year.
With snow falling on the field and stands/SRO hill throughout the game (if memory serves), Lincoln topped Judge – and only needed 1 TD to do it. Fights broke out between fans and (IIRC) players. Not a fine moment.
Subsequent games went on for decades, generally incident – free, but in ‘24 the neighborhood rivalry was cancelled (citing non-wintery weather related safety concerns and playoff conflicts) and will no longer be on the schedule. So it goes.
I was at the December 10, 1972 Green Bay Packers (8-4) at Minnesota Vikings (7-5) game at Metropolitan Stadium. Playing for the Central Division title as this was when the regular season was 14 games. Vikings led 7-0 at half time but the Packers scored 23 unanswered in the 2nd half behind the punishing runs of John Brockington and MacArthur Lane. It was -2 degrees with -19 wind chill, which was the coldest home game in Vikings’ history until the semi-famous Bud Grant polo shirt playoff game against Seattle in 2016 which was -6 degrees with a -25 wind chill.
Bud Grant, what a legend
Thanks to Bud’s influence, I never wore gloves when playing football. I kept the rest of me plenty warm though.
For the feet, I recommend a pair of socks, a pair of bread bags, then another pair of socks. Just don’t use Wonder bread bags. I did that once and the colorful polka dots bled onto my socks.
“I never wore gloves when playing football.”
Yikes!
I don’t know if I’m just getting older or wiser (more likely the former), but the cold has been affecting me much more the past couple years than earlier in my life, so I’m much more apt to “overdress” for the cold than in my salad days. It just goes right through me nowadays. I can’t believe I used to ski in -0° temps (a couple times with wind chills in the -20 to -30° range) but now I’m not even going outside, unless absolutely necessary, if it gets down to 10° (coincidentally the temp. I woke up to this morning…getting my morning joe was not fun).
But my extremeties, especially my hands, I will definitely cover up even when it’s well above freezing if I’m going to be outside for a prolonged period of time, and I’ll even wear gloves in the lower 40°s. But even back when I actually somewhat enjoyed colder weather, I always kept hands, feet and head fully covered with gloves, a couple pairs of socks and a thick wool hat. Playing tackle (or even 2-hand touch) in cold weather meant gloves, always, even if they weren’t particularly good for catching a football.
I wouldn’t wear gloves for snowball fights either. Made it easier to pack the snow quickly so I could fire off more than anyone else.
Now? I still make a snowball with bare hands, but then I put my mittens back on. My hands get very cold now. And this year I started feeling cold all over, even sometimes in my house. I still love it though…I’d rather put on another layer than be all hot and sweaty in the Summer.
“I wouldn’t wear gloves for snowball fights either.”
That’s another story … unless one is presented with fluffy powdery snow (which is not good for snowball making), inevitably wearing gloves to make snowballs would result in soaking wet gloves — which was worse than *no* gloves IMO. So, for snowball fights in packable snow, I actually removed both gloves, since my hands would be just as cold and wet even if I wore them, and once the fight was over I’d then put back on the dry gloves.
But for anything that doesn’t involve the gloves getting wet, I’d always wear gloves. Then and especially now.
Memorable snow game: Man City vs West Ham, November 28, 2021. City won 2-1 in a game that proved crucial to City’s eventual hair’s-width championship.
I’ve only attended soccer games in severe cold or snow; in April 2019, my local Forward Madison FC played its first-ever home game during a late-season blizzard. The game has gone down team lore as the “Snowpener.” And the team’s “Full Mingo” tagline stems from a social media campaign in which a pink plastic flamingo was placed on the field and the snowfall was measured by how much of the flamingo was covered. By the end of the storm, the whole flamingo was buried, hence the “full mingo” was covered.
November 22, 2003 Heritage Classic at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, Oilers vs. Canadiens.
Arrived around lunchtime (it was a beautiful, sunny winter day, despite temperatures below -25ºC). Seat was fairly high up on the (east) uncovered side. Was dressed almost perfectly, in the gear I normally wear for winter cycling. Nearly made one critical error with footwear, though, but was able to correct by wrapping a fleece blanket around my feet (the cold passed thru every bit of the stadium’s concrete alarmingly fast).
I will never forget the frosty sheen of the ice surface, how loud and enthusiastic the fans were (57,000+), the roar of the Snowbirds as they flew over the stadium, and Jose Theodore wearing a toque over his goalie mask. Alumni game with Wayne, Guy and the boys was fantastic and surprisingly competitive. In the nightcap, the good guys lost 4-3 to the Habs, but man, what a spectacle.
Trundled back home via transit and slid into the most satisfying warm bath I’ve ever had.
One of the more unusual events that day. Mark Messier playing in the “oldtimers” game in an Oilers uniform. He was still an active player with the New York Rangers at the time. Had to wear the helmet. Maybe a sign Messier’s best days as an active player were behind him.
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The only snow game I’ve ever attended was a college baseball game. The game was at Clemson, and I can’t even remember who the opponent was. Snow started falling in about the third inning. The game was finally called after 7 innings when the snow began to accumulate on the field. It was a pretty miserable experience.
The 1981 AFC Championship Game (Affectionately known as the Freezer Bowl), my Chargers stood no chance after the humid conditions the week before in Miami going into -9 temperature, 27 MPH winds, and a wind chill of -59.
I had no idea Cincinnati could get that cold
January 2, 2011 – Packers vs Bears at Lambeau Field. Game was originally scheduled for noon, got flexed to 3:30 kickoff. High temp for the day was 15 degrees, was maybe 10 degrees at kickoff. (Yes, that pales in comparison to the Ice Bowl) Packers win to make the playoffs and start the run to Super Bowl LV! My son’s first Packer game (at age 10). On the way to the game, I told him that since it was a Bears-Packers game, we were probably going to hear some language that he shouldn’t repeat. He thought for a moment and then asked “Can I boo when the Bears come out?” I told him I thought that was required.
Bears at Packers in the cold, just feels right
Absolute blizzard in Lubbock at a Texas Tech game with dad in the 80s. Wonderful! I am sure I was cold as hell and don’t remember many details – but it is one of my fondest memories.
I wonder if you’re referring to Tech-Houston on Nov. 19, 1988? If so, I was there freezing along with you. After growing up mostly in Houston, I had no idea how to dress for cold/snow and showed up at that game with no gloves while wearing jeans and sneakers that were soaked almost immediately. I was back in my dorm room before halftime.
Great answers, everyone!
I’m really not good in cold weather, so I’d be tempted to pull a Jordan Phillips and wear a coat under my uni link
I was at the GB-SF playoff game in January, 2022 at Lambeau – that’s the coldest I’ve been. Seats from work way up high, so no protection from the wind. My dad and I simply brought sleeping bags and climbed inside. Got some of three hot chocolate at halftime but otherwise didn’t move.
In the run up to the Favre SB win, GB hosted SF in 35 degree miserable rain. We were prepared for it but many were not.
It was also cold the NFC title game with Carolina the next week, but we were so pumped up for that game, we didn’t feel anything.
The Jan 22 game was so snowy and sloppy
Attended the Iowa / Northwestern game at Ryan Field on 11/11/95: link
Game time temp was 24 with a wind chill of 10. No snow fell during the game, but it did snow the night before, and there were patches of ice on the aluminum benches in the west grandstand, making sitting an adventure. My buddy and I created makeshift seat cushions from the paper towels in the men’s bathroom, using about 15 – 20 feet worth of toweling folded over multiple times to provide just enough of a barrier between posterior and frozen metal so as not to have an incident similar to the tongue-on-flagpole scene from “A Christmas Story”. Good times.
Oh, and we left at halftime, courtesy of the constant reminders from our Better Halves that they were freezing and needed a drink ;-)
I was at the 2013 Army-Navy game, which Philly residents may recall came with something like 48 hours of extremely wet snow. My dad and I took the train and then the subway to the stadium, and when we got back, I remember we had to chisel the ice off of the car door handles, in order to get home from the station. Still an incredible time, I think I wore my Navy t-shirt for a month straight after that.
As for the worst weather I’ve ever played in: in college I played in a 2-day ultimate frisbee tournament in Virginia Beach that was precisely 34 degrees and pouring rain the entire first day. At a certain point you just started losing layers because everything was soaked and your waterlogged jacket was just slowing you down. Sunday was 40 degrees and only a light rain and it felt like heaven.
Does a frisbee still fly OK in the rain?
I was in the marching band at Wisconsin. Preparing for the 1999 Rose Bowl, it was 5° at our last practice before Christmas break. My trumpet froze up – valves were in various states of being pressed down when it happened. Thawing the horn with my breath was impossible, so I just marched the rest of the practice playing one pitch (it could hardly be called a note given the condition the instrument was in).
Ironically, about two weeks earlier, we have unseasonably warm weather, with temperatures nearing 70° in Madison in mid-December.
Mmm yes, it was a nice 40-something degrees here in Chicago this weekend. It’s currently below zero
1984 Monday Night Football
Green Bay Packers @ Denver Broncos
known around here as the Snow Bowl
only game I’ve ever left at halftime (not my choice – wasn’t the driver) because of the almost 1′ of snow that fell that night . . . snowiest game I’ve ever attended
Although if there was a game I remember was the Leon Lett game (Cowboys v Dolphins Thanksgiving 11/25/93). I also remember the Rams v Vikings mud bowl game in 1977. Generally I remember many cold games played in Minnesota during the Fran Tarkenton era.
If I was God, football and baseball (no matter pro or college) would always be outside and on grass.
I was a season ticket holder for the NY/NJ Hitmen of XFL version 1. The only way to get through 5 games in Giants Stadium in February and March was the 32 oz hot chocolate.
“What was the worst winter weather you’ve ever played in?”
Too numerous to count in the frigid cold as a youngster. And not outside. Many hockey rinks in small town Saskatchewan in the 1980s were barely heated. Literally hockey barns in some of the really small towns. Takes a long time and painful to feel the toes again as they thaw.
For the Cowboys, it’s the 1967 NFL Championship Game vs. the Packers (the Ice Bowl), and the Thanksgiving 1993 game vs. the Dolphins (the Leon Lett Game).
A relative had Cowboys season tickets and offered me 2 as a gift and gave me a list of the games I could choose. This was 1993 and I worked in retail so the only day I knew I’d be off was Thanksgiving against the Dolphins. We’ve all seen the Leon Lett play. Sigh. It took 6 hours to get home. Normally would have taken an hour.
But it wasn’t a total loss. My girlfriend had to stop on the way home for maxi pads and the pharmacy that was open had a football helmet vending machine and all I needed was Minnesota. Which I got that day so. My collection was completed. Until they added Carolina and Jacksonville.
I guess one famous snow day in Toronto Blue Jays history was their first game ever – April 7, 1977
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At least their first home game didn’t get repeatedly snowed out like the Calgary Cannons did in 1985
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March 22, 2013 I saw the US national team beat Costa Rica in the snow at Dick’s Sporting Goods park in Denver to send them on to World Cup 2014. The game was later christened “Snow Clasico.” It was a wild match witha rowdy crowd of 19,000 braving a blizzard that turned the normally green field completely white. Crews had to shovel the sidelines and goalkeeping area multiple times, visibility was awful, players were slipping everywhere, the ball moved like a soggy pumpkin, and it was unforgettable! Costa Rica played amazing despite being a tropical nation, but the US prevailed 1-0. When Clint Dempsey scored giant plumes of snow erupted from the entire crowd. I’ll never forget it.
The craziest sports weather I have ever seen wasn’t a major event but rather a youth tournament. My son was playing in a lacrosse tournament in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. We got all 4 seasons in the same game. Rain and wind when the game started, changed to a gentle snow in the first quarter – had a good inch on the field by halftime, sun came out during the half and it warmed up enough to take our coats off, then was raining again by the end of the game.
It wasn’t particularly cold, and I was watching on TV, but it was winter weather — the “Fog Bowl” between the Eagles and Bears, December 31, 1988. As an Eagles fan it was heartbreaking — that team had a lot of potential, made some first-half mistakes that put them in the hole, and then everything broke down when the impenetrable fog rolled in at the half. Without the fog, if the Eagles had been able to come back and win the game, it might have rewritten the book on the entire Buddy Ryan/ Randall Cunningham era.