Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City is no stranger to bitterly cold games.
However, the events that unfolded during the recent NFL match witnessed the football landscape morphing into a complex of chilling emergencies.
According to the Kansas City Fire Department, dispatchers answered 69 distress calls at the stadium during the game.
Half of those calls were due to hypothermia-related incidents, proving the idea that although football may be a winter sport, the cold weather can be an adversary worthy of attention.
Exacerbating the severity of the frosty conditions, the fire department transported 15 fans to local hospitals, seven of whom were suffering from hypothermia and three specifically from frostbite.
Seven fans at Chiefs game taken to hospital for hypothermia, three for frostbite. https://t.co/1hf5bseBPZ
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) January 17, 2024
Although the love of the sport often draws crowds irrespective of weather conditions, with the kick-off temperature plunging to a numbing -4 degrees Fahrenheit (-20 degrees Celsius), and wind chills reported to have hit a shocking -30 degrees, this game was undoubtedly one of the coldest in NFL history.
Over 70,000 fans, passionate but perhaps under-prepared, braved the frosty stadium seating nonetheless, exposing themselves to the dangerous elements.
Adding another layer of concern to the deadly cold was the incident of Patrick Mahomes’ helmet cracking due to the extreme low temperature – an incident that could have resulted in a severe, possibly life-threatening injury.
Undoubtedly, the spectacle of fans requiring hospitalization for hypothermia and frostbite during the game only underscores the dire urgency of reassessing winter weather policies in professional American football.
