https://edition.cnn.com/2024/01/20/sport/nfl-cold-weather-chiefs-dolphins-spt-in... NFL’s policy over cold-weather games questioned after fans
treated for hypothermia and frostbite at Chiefs-Dolphins game
By Ben Morse, CNN
6 minute read
Published 4:54 AM EST, Sat January 20, 2024
As the icicles formed on Andy Reid’s bushy mustache and players huddled around heaters, Kansas City’s freezing weather must have sent shivers down the spines of many onlookers.
Conditions at Arrowhead Stadium during the Kansas City Chiefs’ 26-7 win over the Miami Dolphins were tough for players and coaches to deal with, but even more so for fans:
the temperature at kickoff was
-4 degrees Fahrenheit with a wind chill of -20 degrees, making it the fourth coldest game in NFL history, CNN has reported.
At the end of the January 13 game,
the temperature was
-9 degrees and felt like -28 degrees, according to the Peacock broadcast.
While players could run around, use heaters on the sidelines and go to the locker-room at halftime to help deal with the cold, fans were forced to wrap up warm and embrace the elements. But it was still too much for some.
The Kansas City Fire Department (KCFD) rendered aid to 69 people – with “close to 50% … for hypothermia symptoms” – during the game, KCFD battalion chief Michael Hopkins told CNN.
Fifteen of the patients seen were transported by KCFD, “seven for hypothermia symptoms, three for frostbite symptoms, and five for various other reasons,” said Hopkins.