The AFC and NFC championship games are looming this weekend in two cities where weather in mid-January could be a huge factor. If you don't think so, just ask the Seattle Seahawks. Those poor guys started the game in Green Bay last weekend in normal, albeit cold, weather and by the time the rout had mercifully ended they looked like Kurt Russell and the cast of The Thing stumbling around lost in Antarctica with some sort of monster chasing them.
Oddly enough, the Packers appeared to be enjoying themselves in the blizzard, which, I suppose is to be expected when you're kicking the other team's butt all over the frozen tundra.
So, the question is, what are the weather conditions going to be like this Sunday, when, in perhaps the only time you will see these two cities on your radar at the same time for any reason, Green Bay and Foxboro take center stage in the sporting world for a few hours.
I looked at the long-range forecast for each city on weather.com and discovered a couple of interesting things. First off, there is more than one Green Bay as well as more than one Foxboro, which I did not know. In addition to Green Bay, Wisconsin, there is also a sister city named Green Bay, Virginia. Even stranger, in addition to Foxboro, Massachusetts, there is a Foxboro, Wisconsin which seems to give the whole thing a weird sort of synchronicity.
Seemingly against all odds, neither stadium will feature a big snowstorm this Sunday, at least not according to the long range forecast. Gillette Stadium in Foxboro will see partly cloudy skies with a high temperature of 23 degrees, but with winds out of the west-northwest at up to 25 miles per hour. If true, that would result in a wind chill factor of about 6 degrees.
That's the good news. In Green Bay, the high temperature is forecasted to be just 4 degrees, with snow flurries and 13 mile per hour winds. This translates into a wind-chill factor of about -13 degrees, without even Philip Rivers' hot air to warm things up.
Just for a point of reference, the temperature in Fairbanks, Alaska Sunday will be 14 degrees. Plus, and this will warm the hearts of everyone planning to attend the game, the NFC Championship doesn't even start until 6:30 p.m., by which time the high temperature will be just a fond memory.
If you happen to have tickets to either game, have fun and make sure you bring plenty of antifreeze. It will be a toasty 72 degrees in my seat, unless I feel a chill, and then I'll bump it up to 75.
Hey everyone, I know it must seem like I've dropped off the face of the earth, but it's nothing like that.
I've been busy writing - two full-length novels so far, plus over a dozen short stories - and working hard to try to get an agent. If you are curious and have a few minutes, check out my website, www.allanleve rone.com.
If you're a literary agent or if you know one, by all means contact me! In the meantime, I'll be here when I can - love this forum - and as always, thank you for checking out my blog, especially considering how many great ones you could be reading instead....