The talking heads on cable news have been going on and on about the approaching cold weather. You’d think it was the Apocalypse. It’s just winter, folks. Okay, it’s colder than usual, but winters do that on occasion. A couple of cold days doesn’t mean a new ice age is here. It’s what the weather people call an “arctic blast.” It’s caused by the jet stream dipping south, allowing cold air that Canadians should properly keep on their side of the border to spill over into the States.
Fortunately for me, I live in Virginia – not some place that gets really cold, like North Dakota. (Incidentally, according to the NWS the current temperature in my home town is 55° F (13° C) whereas the current temperature in Fargo, ND, is a not-so-balmy -15° F (-26° C). Still, Monday night through Wednesday night will be chilly as can be seen from this NWS forecast chart:
This weekend is the NFL Wild Card Playoff Weekend, and Sunday’s game in Green Bay, Wisconsin, may be the coldest NFL game ever played. So they say. The second half temperature is forecast to be -10° F. Adding wind chill, the feel-like temperature is expected to be -35° F.
I’d hate to work outdoors in that kind of weather, but if I did, knowing I was making a minimum wage of $375,000 would make it more bearable. For 2014, a new player will earn $420,000, plus signing bonus and incentives. Plus celebrity endorsements and advertising. The average NFL player’s salary in 2011 was $1.9 million. The best players earned over $20 million. Is there any question why they’re willing to work outside, even in bad weather?
I think not. I think the real question is why someone would pay lots of cash to be allowed to sit outside in brutally cold weather for hours to watch those guys play. Oh yeah – they’re fans. And as we know, “fan” is derived from the word fanatic.
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