Winter Storm Batters Bears And Rest Of Midwest NFL
(WSCR) - The Bears and Patriots play Sunday in the bitter cold, snow with whiteout conditions and high winds. Although they're not the only one's affected. The Metrodome roof collapsed due to the storm and the Giants got stranded in Kansas City too.
By BARRY WILNER
AP Pro Football Writer
Snow, wind, ice, rain: December in the NFL.
Not even indoor games are safe.
Weather has played havoc with the NFL's Week 14 schedule, with the Giants' game at Minnesota already postponed from Sunday to Monday night and moved to Detroit. New England's game at Chicago's Soldier Field is threatened by whiteout conditions.
The Giants never made it to Minneapolis, stranded in Kansas City after a blizzard hit the Twin Cities, causing the Metrodome roof to collapse for the fourth time, but the first time since 1983. Heavy snows also caused the previous failures.
"There were no injuries, which we're thankful for," said Bill Lester, executive director of the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission.
With the switch of the game to Ford Field, where the Lions were playing the Packers on Sunday afternoon, the NFL said fans with tickets to that game could use their ticket for a free admission to Giants-Vikings, with no reserved seating.
Makes one wonder if Packers fans who traveled to Detroit would stick around an extra day to boo Brett Favre - presuming he is recovered from a right shoulder injury enough to keep his record consecutive starts streak going.
The league also said free general admission tickets for other fans who want to watch the Giants and Vikings will be available in Detroit.
"We're going to work to make this as accommodating of a game for both teams, but particularly the Vikings, since it is their home game that is being lost," Lions President Tom Lewand said.
Earlier this year, three games were delayed because of severe weather: the season opener of Denver at Jacksonville, 33 minutes due to lightning over the stadium; the next night's Baltimore at New York Jets game, delayed 15 minutes by lightning; and Minnesota at the Jets on Oct. 10, delayed 45 minutes due to lightning over the stadium.
Games that have been moved to another city include the Oct. 22, 1989 meeting between New England and San Francisco that was switched from Candlestick Park to Stanford Stadium in Palo Alto, Calif., due to the Bay Area earthquake; a Monday nighter on Oct. 27, 2003 switched from San Diego to Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Ariz., due to Southern California wildfires; and the Saints' entire 2005 home schedule because of Hurricane Katrina.
Chicago also was being inundated by snow and whiteout conditions were predicted for later Sunday when the Bears host the Patriots in a matchup of division leaders.
Temperature 90 minutes before kickoff was 29 degrees, with winds at 34 mph gusting to 53. The forecast called for snow with temperatures dropping into the low to mid-20s and the winds at 30 mph, with 50 mph gusts and poor visibility.
Rain up and down the Eastern seaboard hurt attendance in Jacksonville, Landover, Md., and Orchard Park, N.Y., for early games.
Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park was about one-third full for the kickoff of the Bills and Browns. The Buccaneers-Redskins game also was played before lots of empty seats, as were Raiders-Jaguars in Jacksonville, and Falcons-Panthers in Charlotte, N.C.
None of those matchups is particularly appealing, but rainy weather was a factor everywhere. The Redskins announced an attendance of 66,124, lowest at FedEx Field since a game in January 2002.
The folks in San Diego heading to the Chiefs-Chargers game might have chuckled at it all. It was hot and sunny, with temperatures around 80 degrees.
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