By Dylan Becker
With the change of the season from Summer to Fall, it’s inevitably going to get colder. Another thing that’s inevitable is people going to football games. One thing I notice a lot during the games later in the season is some people leaving because it’s too cold. It’s completely understandable if the temperature gets below your comfort level, but here’s some mostly common sense but still helpful tips to prevent that from happening.
LAYERS
Mammals are able to survive hibernation during the winter because they eat a bunch of food before their long nap, building up extra layers of insulation. With humans not being creatures that hibernate during the winter, the alternative is to simply layer up. My go-to cold weather game day outfit consists of a long sleeve shirt, a sweatshirt, a hat, gloves, and, of course, my Peyton Manning jersey. If it gets too hot, you can always take layers off.
WARM FOOD
As much as layers help, it sometimes hurts to breathe if it’s cold enough. A nice temporary fix is to drink or eat warm. Basically every sports venue that might play when it gets cold has some form of soup or chili and hot chocolate or coffee. Take advantage of those options. Tailgates are another time to capitalize on eating hot food. Find a nice crockpot recipe online or dig out the old family recipe that everyone has.
ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS
Sometimes, the weather is too cold to go to a game. That’s fine. There are plenty of other options to experience game day. The simplest is, obviously, staying home. It’s your space, your couch, your food, your TV, and the heat is on. It’s what you know and it’s comfortable. However, supporting local businesses is always nice. I go to every home game I can because I go prepared, but I’ve spent plenty of time at Fieldhouse Social watching away games. Ideally, you’re there supporting the event featured on the giant TV, but they typically have the other stuff going on the other TVs.
Everyone gets cold. It’s a natural thing. As we get closer to the home closer against Missouri, the temperature will drop. If you plan on staying the whole game for every home game, come prepared. Game day is a lot more fun when you can be comfortable.
Photo by Dylan Becker
About the Author
Hailing from Kent Island, MD, just an hour from Baltimore and DC, Dylan played hockey his entire life and has been a Capitals fan since day one. After 16 years of on ice action, he decided to hang up his skates in 2019, leave Maryland for Tennessee, and switch his focus to radio, talking about hockey whenever the opportunity arose on WUTK. In the Fall of 2020, Rock Solid Sports reached out to Dylan for his hockey expertise, to which he accepted and has been providing the Knoxville area with in depth knowledge of the NHL and reporting on the Ice Bears since. Dylan is also a fan of the Baltimore Ravens, Baltimore Orioles, and Washington Nationals.