As the NFL’s knockouts begin Saturday, teams with the coveted home advantage will enjoy all the typical luxuries of playing at home, including sleeping in their own beds. them and the promise of ardent fans cheering for them. Teams that play in colder climates — including Kansas City, Philadelphia and Buffalo — have another advantage: knowing not to stand near a side fireplace for too long.
“You’re wearing layers so you can’t really feel the heat directly, but then you smell something,” said Ike Boettger, a queer annoying the Bills. “You just smell that burning cloth and you know someone got too close.”
As temperatures dropped towards the end of the NFL season, small sideburns and scorched skin became rite of passage. For some players, the smell of burning cotton, the sight of melted pads and the occasional scorched body part is synonymous with winter football.
“I mean, if you didn’t do that, you wouldn’t be playing in the cold,” said Scott Chandler, a retired player who spent nearly five seasons with the Bills after starting his career. NFL career in sunny San Diego, said. “Just like kids who touch the stove to know it’s hot, you have to learn the way football players do.”
The fire stretched past the players. Last January, a Falcons public relations officer, Gaby Moran, was on the sidelines of a game against the Bills in Orchard Park, NY With wind and snow conditions in the air, and temperatures in his 20s, one Another Falcons employee yelled at Moran that she was on fire.
Moran said she looked down and saw the bottom of her coat on fire, catching fire from the giant fireplace she stood nearby to keep warm. “We are just starting to bottom out,” Moran said. “I completely forgot to stop, release and roll.” A streak of feathers from her damaged coat flew as she ran into the dressing room to get a new coat.
For many players, seeing the medical staff or team communications staff also suffer the wrath of the side heaters often makes them laugh and makes the cold more bearable.
“It’s always been my favorite,” said Lee Smith, a retired player who played 10 seasons at Buffalo, Atlanta and Oakland. “Doctors and things over there with the fireplace; I hope all the doctors’ khaki pants are burned.”
Of course, fireplaces are not the only place for players to look for warmth, although they can do the job fastest. Side benches are usually heated with slots for players’ hands and feet. There are also helmet heaters, hand warmers like those available at your local gas station, and oversized jackets that are quickly delivered by team staff when the players are out on the field.
Many queuing people also try to stay warm by staying on the pitch during standoffs and other breaks, huddled together in something similar to a pyramid formation with players turning to face each other. face the wind. Some players apply Vaseline or weather protection cream and wear rubber gloves designed for doctors and nurses underneath their football gloves.
Some players intentionally wear less when the temperature drops sharply, at least long enough to show off. Ahead of the Seattle Seahawks’ game against Kansas City in December, Seahawks recipient DK Metcalf told reporters he doesn’t mind the cold and can go out shirtless. On game day, he delivered on that promise to some of his teammates as they warmed up, despite temperatures below 12 degrees (and plenty of face and head coverings).
Being shirtless or sleeveless moving in the cold is often seen as a way of showing resilience. Some players consider this strategy pointless.
Smith said: “I will show my toughness when I lay my hand on you. “If I see a defensive player in his swimming trunks before the game when it’s snowing, it certainly doesn’t frighten me; makes me think that guy is an idiot.”
Boettger, who played college football in frigid temperatures at the University of Iowa, recalls once burning his face in his helmet from leaving it in the heater for too long. So playing for the Bills is not much of an adjustment.
The coldest game he says he’s ever played took place in December in Chicago, when temperatures were below 10 degrees along with 20 mph winds. Boettger put his helmet on a heater that wasn’t working that day, and when he tried to put it back on, the cushions inside froze.
However, Boettger said he has always been a fan of games in cold weather because they keep the defense from playing as fast as usual and make some opposition players uncomfortable.
“The best part about it is that the big guys love it and the little guys absolutely hate it because we have more built-in insulation,” says Boettger, who is 6 feet 6, 236 pounds.
Ten of the NFL’s 32 teams have dome or retractable stadiums. Every time a game is affected by snow or heavy rain, questions arise about the value of playing football outdoors. Earlier this season, the Bills’ game against the Cleveland Browns had to be moved from Buffalo to Detroit because of snow. (The lions play in a dome.)
“It’s always been part of the game,” said Smith, who opposes indoor soccer. “You could make the same argument about the heat in South Florida. I promise you it’s harder to get from Buffalo to Miami than from Miami to Buffalo.”
As teams build stadiums, many consider adding domes to better control the climate on the field (and to make it easier to host big events like the Super Bowl). But not all teams are looking to escape the cold. In 2026, Bills plans to inaugurate a $1.4 billion stadium no roof.
So don’t get too close to the fireplace.
