There are three things for absolute certain in Buffalo right now: There is a monumental game of football to be played this weekend, the weather is bonkers, and both of those prior facts are inextricably intertwined.
Sunday’s AFC divisional round contest between the hometown Bills and the visiting Kansas City Chiefs is the latest chapter in one of the NFL‘s great modern rivalries, but it is impossible to separate the excitement surrounding the matchup from the painfully harsh conditions it is likely to be played in.
“We will work on our game plan,” Bills coach Sean McDermott told reporters. “And we will work on our weather plan.”
A monumental snow drop requires planning on all kinds of levels and adds an extra covering of crisp, wintery intrigue to the clash that will send the victor into the AFC Championship Game.
Things were bad enough last week that Buffalo’s eventual victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers took place Monday instead of Sunday, and local die-hards were offered $20 an hour to help with the shoveling efforts to make sure that even the reworked kickoff time could be met.
This weekend will see the unmissable visual of Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen duking it out once again, and also the splendid images of a powdery coating for Highmark Stadium with snowballs surely being tossed into the air, sights to warm the hearts of those watching at home and simultaneously chatter the teeth of those in attendance.
A delicious irony is that if there is one team unlikely to be fazed by the extreme chill, it is the Chiefs, themselves coming off a victory against the Miami Dolphins in the wild-card round amid a savage wind chill of minus-27 degrees.
Snow is expected in the Buffalo area through Saturday and the plans McDermott was referring to included basic logistics, such as trying to ensure his players could reach the practice facility midweek.
“Cold is cold,” Mahomes told his Wednesday news conference. “I haven’t played in Buffalo in January, but I know it is a great environment, but it is not negative-30 this week at least. I’m sure it will be windy and cold, and we know it is a great challenge, but I don’t know if it beats the cold we played in this past week.”
Things got gnarly enough at Arrowhead that Gracie Hunt, daughter of Chiefs chairman Clark Hunt, described the team’s fan base as “the real MVPs,” coach Andy Reid shrugged off having icicles lodge in his famed mustache, and the manufacturer of Mahomes’ helmet claimed the cold had contributed to the piece of equipment cracking after a second-half collision.
Speaking of equipment, it is not just the players who need to be prepared Sunday.
Sarah Beckwith, who owns Buffalo-area outdoor store Gear For Adventure with her husband, situated a short snowplow drive from the stadium, said the demand for extra protection was incessant leading up to the Pittsburgh game.
Once the area’s driving conditions become manageable, she is braced for a similar influx.
“Some people leave it to the absolute last minute and stop by to get stuff literally on the way to the game,” Beckwith told me via telephone.
Gloves are a necessity, naturally, especially if there are impromptu snow clouds to be created by tossing the stuff into the sky.
“Layers, layers, layers, that’s what it’s all about,” Beckwith added. “People are going to be out there for hours and hours, so you’ve got to cover yourself. People are buying balaclavas, full face masks, heavy coats. You name it, extra socks, hand-warmers, toe-warmers. And yes, a lot of gloves.
“If Chiefs fans come in then, of course, they are welcome to stock up on whatever they need to stay warm and safe. But this is Bills country, so we might have a bit of fun with them while they’re shopping.”
If you are interested in the meteorological specifics, the icy blast taking place is caused by a polar vortex from the Arctic sweeping in over the Great Lakes and blowing directly into Western New York. Snow is hardly a rarity in Buffalo, but this is definitively frostier than normal.
Buffalo is the NFL’s snowiest city, with around 90 inches of snow falling in an average year, 60 inches of which typically comes during the NFL season, according to FOX Weather expert Steve Bender. Sixty inches fell during the past week alone, with more to come.
“There is a little more pressure on the forecast when you are talking about not only extreme weather but it being related to an event like this, you are talking about what people love and have a passion for,” Bender told me.
“The weather affects everything, not just the conditions but the coaching decisions and the outcome of the game itself, and you know that whatever it is like outside, people are going to be showing up, no matter what. The different weather we have across the country is part of what makes the NFL so interesting and such a part of America. The players are going to show up to play, but Mother Nature is going to play her part, too.”
Cold-weather games are a lot of fun to watch and a lot of fun to talk about, but there is a serious side at stake, as well. The Chiefs’ win over Miami led to double-figure hospitalizations for ailments including hypothermia and frostbite.
Also, Bender urged common sense across the board, such as extra care to be taken on the roads for fans trekking to and from the game. Storied pastimes such as jumping through tables pre-game might want to be put on hold this time or else Bills Mafia members might risk some serious injury.
For the small number of fans who always seem to think that taking their shirt off in freezing conditions when a television camera is present is a grand idea, here is a word of personal advice: It isn’t.
Benson cautioned that while expectations are for a comparatively warmer experience, perhaps as high (!) as 24 degrees, the size and specific characteristics of Lake Erie means that extra-cold temperatures can sometimes linger longer than expected in the region.
Either way, the host city and the home fans are prepared for it.
Buffalo native Sam Bassett was one of those who tried to get to the stadium to clear out the accumulated snow last weekend, but couldn’t, because his journey to Highmark was blocked … by too much snow.
“Twenty dollars an hour just to shovel some snow like I do in my driveway, and to be part of why the Bills were able to advance?” Bassett said when we spoke by phone. “Next time, I’ll find a way to get there. It is just snow, man.”
Snow, yes. And, this weekend, all part of the show, too.
