Watching the NFL playoff games during Wild Card weekend taking place during a polar vortex that has covered most of the North American continent has reminded me of two of the coldest football games I’ve ever seen live. Both were -20 or lower at kickoff, and got cooler from there, and both took place during November in Canada (not January, like right now)
The first was a game for the CFL Western Semi-Final at McMahon stadium in Calgary in 2012. -24 Celsius at Kickoff. Brrr. We had season tickets, and dressed warm, and cheered our hardest, but the home team still lost.
The second was at the same stadium, for the local University team, a few years later. This was a much smaller crowd, with only about 1000 people in attendance. (The university games usually got 2-3000 during warmer days).
And I think this was the end of my cold-weather sports watching. It can be a lot of fun, but it takes me a long time to thaw out after.
Brrrr!
Much prefer to watch at home with a warm beverage and some nachos where the cheese isn’t frozen. My cheers are just as loud too.