I know that’s why I’m nervous
I wonder if the blizzard’s gonna do anything bad to the NFC Championship? Charlotte’s supposed to get 3/4" of ice before it’s all over.
“The Frozen Tundra of Bank of America Stadium” just doesn’t have the correct ring. :mad:
OTOH, if you had to pick two teams climatological worst-suited to another ice bowl, you’d have to try hard to outdo this matchup.
I’m not sure I buy the whole “cold weather”/“warm weather” team thing. Players come from all over the place (so you’ve got people who grew up in warm climes playing in cold weather cities and vice versa). Players change teams (the guy playing in Arizona may have played in Green Bay last year, and the guy in New England may have come from Miami). Most games are played in the fall, so there aren’t really all that many cold weather games anyway. Teams travel, so the warm weather teams aren’t always playing in the warm weather, so they’re likely getting cold weather experience anyway. I suppose there’s an argument that cold weather teams get to practice in the cold more, but I imagine the warm weather teams have tricks to get around that anyway.
I’d be interested if there’s ever really been a study as to whether weather really makes a difference.
Warning: I have not peer-reviewed his results.
Thanks. That lends some credence to the cold-weather effect, but I’d still be interested in something a little more in depth that actually accounts for other possible variables.
Patriots, Cardinals will advance. The AFC will be New England Patriots’ again.
Playing outdoors at home is a huge advantage when it is below freezing. Look at green bay. The minnesota vikings biggest downfall was the metrodome.
A Patriots 52-7 beatdown of the Broncos wouldn’t surprise me. This is going to be lopsided and the Pats may want to run up the score.
I am not impressed with the methodology.
The broncos will easily beat the Patriots. The broncos have way more talent. The Patriots have tom brady and gronkowski.
Hopefully a Denver will force Peyton Manning to retire
Can’t tell if you’re serious or not.
Not serious. My attempt at sarcasm. I do think denver will win the game though.
You do know where the Patriots play, don’t you?
And a follow-on - the cold and ice are going to be even worse in Carolina. How much home-field effect will the Panthers benefit from? Oh, right, they’re playing Arizona. In another Ice Bowl. So who the hell knows.
I expect the Pats to win, but the offense is just too limited with their shaky OL and RB’s. You don’t get 52 points with just a short passing game, even with Gronk and Edelman.
Even if they could, they have too much respect for Peyton to make him end his career that way. This could well be his last game, even if there is little mention of it from anyone.
I would love to see Peyton go out the same way Marino did.
I wish they had one game on saturday and one game on sunday for the championship games.
Weather for Sunday in Charlotte is predicted to be sunny with a high in the upper 40s.
Yes, but the game starts at 18:40 and ends 3 hours later. It will steadily approach freezing, and it always feels colder than it is when there is snow lying about.
Yes but hardly an Ice Bowl.
It will feel like one to the players.
I’ll still pick the Southern team over the Desert team, because Newton can tuck it away and run even with numb fingers, while Palmer can’t.