Raiders-Chiefs Game May be Played on Partially Frozen Tundra

The Oakland Raiders will play the Kansas City Chiefs tonight at Arrowhead Stadium in a battle for first place in the AFC West. Today’s high is expected to be 25 degrees with a gametime temperature of 21, according to Weather.com. So the elements will be a factor, perhaps more than usual, thanks to a persistent overnight chill which got the better of the stadium’s heated turf.

There are still several hours until kickoff and field is being groomed with heaters blasting, but there’s a chance the big thaw never happens. This, of course, is bad news for the players who would prefer the nice, unfrozen turf inside the 10-yard line in the above picture. It’s good news, however, for people at home wishing to see something different and use their best Ice Bowl one-liners.

If there’s one thing football fans love, it’s watching the game played in miserable, painful conditions. A partially frozen tundra would be good news for NBC. Any little quirk that helps sell Thursday Night Football buoys networks, no matter how trivial.