KC Warpaint 3,251 Posted January 17, 2019 Share Posted January 17, 2019 Sports How the Patriots and Chiefs Will Stay Warm During a Polar Vortex Game Tim Newcomb,Popular Mechanics Wed, Jan 16 12:00 PM EST Reactions Reblog on Tumblr Share Tweet Email From Popular Mechanics Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes II are in for a frosty battle when the New England Patriots visit the Kansas City Chiefs for the AFC Championship Game this Sunday. A polar vortex could send the mercury into the single digits or even negative degrees Fahrenheit by kickoff. (No frostbite for the Rams and Saints, who’ll play the other conference championship game indoors). Football and bad weather go hand in hand, of course, as NFL lore is replete with myths about “Bear weather” and “the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field.” However, the modern NFL uses a number of tricks to keep its players warm during even the most frigid football game day. Unfrozen Tundra The most important piece that will be heating up Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday will be invisible to the TV audience. In 2016, the Chiefs installed a $2.2. million under-field heating unit. Three-million-BTU boilers hidden underneath the stadium bleachers pump heat through 4-inch pipes tucked underneath the sandy underbelly of the playing surface to prevent the field from freezing. Despite its frozen reputation, Green Bay’s Lambeau Field actually was the first in the NFL to install such a hydronic heating system, burying pipes 6 inches to a foot under the turf and filling them with warmth to keep the soil and roots from freezing. A host of other stadiums, Arrowhead included, would follow in the years to come. Through years of trial and error, Lambeau groundskeeper Allen Johnson has learned that he likes his system humming along at 38 degrees - just above freezing, but still cold enough to let the grass begin to "harden off and get tougher." "You could remove the soil and see nothing but white tubing," Johnson says. "The main goal is to keep it thawed out. There is not a difference [in] softer soil between 40 and 50 degrees." If it gets too chilly in the days leading up to a Packers game, Johnson adds a tarp, props it up, and blows warm air under it, creating a blanket of warm air to keep the surface dry. "When it gets really bitter up here, you can't get the surface totally warm because you can't control the ambient air. There was a time in 2007 when I brought the heat system up and maxed it out to battle the bitter cold. It was working overtime that day." Every groundskeeper has a different strategy. The Baltimore Ravens crew warms it soil to nearly 50 degrees and Philadelphia once pushed its field to 60 degrees. The Chiefs will likely move toward 50 degrees, ensuring the field isn’t frozen (the grass tips may frost, however) and keeping the playing surface softer and safer. Heat Your Seat! The field isn’t the only surface that gets a toasty touch-up for an ice-cold game. The players’ backsides get a boost, too. The most popular heated bench in the NFL was originally built by Frank Floyd Jr.'s Reliable Construction Heaters of Cleveland, which in 2015 was purchased by Tioga Air Heaters. Floyd, who invented the heated bench, uses hollowed fiberglass and propane- or natural gas-powered blowers running at 170,000 Btus to keep the player posteriors toasty warm. The proprietary bench design includes trays that slide out, allowing the players to stand on them and have warm air blow up at them, creating the "Marilyn Monroe effect" when wearing a parka. The extra "hot hats" feature allows players to place helmets on posts on the back of the bench and keep the air-filled bladders inside the helmet soft. If players get enough of the heated benches, they can stand between kerosene-powered blowers pumping heat out at up to 600,000 Btus, one on either end of the sidelines, pointing inward. These blowers keep the sideline over 50 degrees between the two 30-yard lines, even when the temperature outside falls far below freezing. Dress in Layers But what happens when players venture onto the field and away from the comfort of the benches? That’s when you get a nice mix of old-school trickery and chemically enhanced help. Players will certainly layer their apparel more rigorously for cold contests, with fleece turtlenecks a popular option and plenty of sweat-wicking cold-weather gear to keep players dry. Long underwear also slides nicely under football pants. Then comes the gimmicks. Players still wanting to show off their bare arms may rub Vaseline on their arms to ward off the wind, while others will spray Right Guard to make sure the body doesn’t perspire-keeping skin dry and, therefore, warmer. Those chemically activated heat packs that warm when the oxygen in the air activates them can be found by the hundreds throughout a NFL sideline. Players will fill hand warmer muffs, put the packs inside helmets, stuff them in their uniform and even get them inside cleats and gloves. The 76,000-plus fans inside Arrowhead Stadium won’t have access to the same amenities as the players, but they may use some of the same strategies to get through a monumental game being played in miserable conditions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DefensiveMan 758 Posted January 17, 2019 Share Posted January 17, 2019 Will be there . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mloe68 1,521 Posted January 17, 2019 Share Posted January 17, 2019 I think its only going to be about 10 degrees colder than last week now. I really don't think it will be a big factor except if the ball is frozen or under inflated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChiefsFoolFan 149 Posted January 17, 2019 Share Posted January 17, 2019 It's looking like it is going to be in the low to mid 20's instead of the 5 degrees that was forecast just a few days ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomahawkChop 255 Posted January 17, 2019 Share Posted January 17, 2019 It will be a balmy 70 degrees on my couch. Go Chiefs! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldtimer 8,694 Posted January 17, 2019 Share Posted January 17, 2019 back in 96 at the Colts debacle an engineer I spoke with and said to get one of those "trays" that the concession stand gives out to carry multiple drinks in and put them under your feet. another barrier from the cold concrete...it worked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mloe68 1,521 Posted January 17, 2019 Share Posted January 17, 2019 21 minutes ago, oldtimer said: back in 96 at the Colts debacle an engineer I spoke with and said to get one of those "trays" that the concession stand gives out to carry multiple drinks in and put them under your feet. another barrier from the cold concrete...it worked. Good idea. Weve taken in parts of a cardboard box several times in the past and that helped too. I think its pretty easy to layer up and keep the rest of your body warm, but the feet can be a real problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balto 723 Posted January 18, 2019 Share Posted January 18, 2019 Huge tip to all that are going......bring a piece of cardboard to put under your feet. The concrete floor in stands gets super cold and by just putting feet on cardboard instead will help a ton to keep warmer. edit...looks like others have already suggested this lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mloe68 1,521 Posted January 18, 2019 Share Posted January 18, 2019 There’s also a very large sports bar open to the public that you can get to from the Chiefs side of Arrowhead. Better than trying to hang in the bathroom all of halftime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xen 1,010,220 Posted January 18, 2019 Share Posted January 18, 2019 70 degrees here in San Antonio today. I'll try and bring some of that with me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetlord 10,210 Posted January 19, 2019 Share Posted January 19, 2019 Near 70 here, too. I see no problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mex 65,594 Posted January 19, 2019 Share Posted January 19, 2019 11 hours ago, xen said: 70 degrees here in San Antonio today. I'll try and bring some of that with me. you're not in tulsa these days? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calichief 3,024 Posted January 19, 2019 Share Posted January 19, 2019 65 and sunny 😎 In California (east bay) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xen 1,010,220 Posted January 19, 2019 Share Posted January 19, 2019 4 hours ago, mex said: you're not in tulsa these days? Just at a convention. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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