Chiefs Football, frostbite and a 'borderline inhumane' NFL playoff night - Page 7

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IN THE GRIPS of a polar vortex in Kansas City last winter, Matthew Maddux received an offer the lifelong Chiefs fan couldn't refuse: one free ticket to join his buddy for the wild-card game against the Miami Dolphins. The forecast called for dangerously cold weather, so Maddux did everything he could to prepare. He put on ski gear, layers of sweatshirts, boots, a scarf, hat and a pair of thick gloves. He even bought electric hand warmers online. Maddux sat in the upper bowl, vacillating between elation and misery.

Wind chills reached minus 27, and the air temperature dipped to 4 below zero as the Kansas City Chiefs won 26-7. On the ride home, Maddux noticed something wasn't right. He peeled off his gloves and his right hand was ice cold. He took a long, hot bath when he got home, but could not warm up his hand. As the night progressed, it swelled and throbbed with so much pain he couldn't sleep. The next morning, it started blistering, so he went to urgent care and was sent to the University of Kansas Health System's burn unit, where he underwent a rigorous treatment to save his fingers from frostbite.

"It feels like you're getting burned from the inside out," Maddux said.

Maddux, 32, was one of dozens of people around the Kansas City area who felt the aftereffects of Jan. 13, 2024, the night of the fourth-coldest game in NFL history. Dolphins offensive tackle Terron Armstead called the conditions "borderline inhumane." An army officer who had undergone training for cold weather attended the game and said it seemed "irresponsible" for the NFL to allow it to be played. League officials said they did their due diligence in the days leading up to the game. But as the playoffs head into the divisional round this weekend with games scheduled for cold-weather outdoor stadiums in Kansas City, Buffalo and Philadelphia, fans and players might benefit from the experiences of that night one year ago.

Fifteen people who attended the game were taken to a hospital because of the cold weather, according to the Kansas City Fire Department. Nearly two months after the game, reports surfaced that some fans who attended the game faced amputations. The story went viral.

The NFL has no minimum or maximum temperature at which games will be canceled. NFL chief administrative officer Dawn Aponte said the league's medical experts weighed whether the game could be played safely, and discussions with local authorities in Kansas City led to the final decision. The league said it was not aware of any severe injuries related to attendance at the game, according to NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy, and heard nothing to substantiate reports of potential amputations. McCarthy said another consideration leading up to the game was that Kansas City fans live and play in extreme temperatures, "so they're accustomed to cold-weather games and cold-weather activities."

Maddux, for his part, doesn't question the NFL's decision to play that night. He figures the league had to adhere to a strict schedule, and the people in the stands were aware of the risks. He had no idea he'd be forced to spend five days in the hospital or a long winter rehabbing. But he knows that with Mother Nature, things can still go wrong even when you try to do everything right.

"It's a playoff game," Maddux said. "I guess you could say we all love a good challenge out there, and just being part of the Arrowhead experience. I mean, it's a one-of-a-kind place to go see a football game, much less a playoff game like that.

"You want to be out there to support the team. I just wanted to go do it, simply put."

...continues > https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/...offs-wild-card

[Reply]

Originally Posted by rydogg58:
You'd be surprised what you can get used to. When I first came up here 11 years ago I'd never been north of Iowa before. It was the first week of February and I walked out of my hotel room to go to the job interview and I was like the dude in that article.

I had no fucking clue what actual cold was. I wore dress pants, shirt, and a jacket. The wind was blowing, there were piles of snow 15 feet high, and the parking lot was covered in 4 inches of diamond hard solid ice. It was like I had traveled to another planet. I called my wife later on and I told her I had no idea how people could live like this. I knew there was no way I could ever live somewhere like that.

But it grows on you, and now there's no way I could ever go back south to the oppressive humidity and heat. If anything, I'm hoping to move farther north. Cold weather is where it's at.

Dude…. You have a screw loose..
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