Warming Up to the Cold in Green Bay

They don’t call it the Frozen Tundra for nothing. What smoke stacks are to steam engines, icy turf is to Green Bay when the second season comes calling. On the field Aaron Rodgers calls home, the elements get down in a four-point stance.

“Growing up in Chico, CA, we might get some 40 degree weather toward the end of the (high school) season. But the worst we’d get is rainstorms. As a quarterback, the weather can be my worst enemy. It makes it difficult to grip the ball, to throw with accuracy. The cold, all by itself, is a pretty tough opponent.”

Commanding the huddle, barking out audibles at the line and executing in the mayhem that rages after each snap comes down to a few simple principles.

“The two most important things are keeping my core body temperature up and my hands warm. When it gets cold, the ball always feel slick – almost like it does when it’s wet. And it also hardens as the temperature drops, so I have to loosen my grip.”

When Mother Nature rears her ugly head, the battle starts long before kickoff.

“Sometimes, there just isn’t really much you can do. I like to go out early on game day, at least two hours before kickoff. I try to get used to the temperature, really feel the weather. I usually get in 30 to 40 throws to see what the air’s doing to the ball – if it’s making it slick, how long it takes my hands to warm up, etc.”

As the action heats up on the field and a player’s body fights to keep pace, the real battle exists between a player’s ears.

“A lot of it’s in your head. You just have to deal with it. For the most part, as long as I can keep my core temperature up and my hands warm, I know I’ll be fine. But if you let the cold mess with you, it’s easy to start having issues. You can’t make excuses.”

Playing football in the league’s version of Siberia presents unique equipment challenges. The tech experts in Nike’s testing labs help him stand up to Green Bay’s extreme forces of nature.

“Nike gear keeps me warm - and that’s really the most important thing. It’s not baggy or bulky, and yet it keeps the heat on my body. It fits tight enough without restricting any movement.”

Nike Cold Weather Gear exceeds the needs of the world’s best football players in the face of their most extreme temperature enemies.

“Nothing can top Chicago last year - not even the (NFC Championship) playoffs. In Chicago, we played in 40 mph winds. They said it was three degrees outside, but it felt like negative thirty. If the championship game was negative twenty-five, then Chicago felt even colder than that. I’ve played with guys who’ve worn equipment that’s given them all kinds of problems on the field - especially in the cold. But we’ve played in some of the most miserable conditions of my sports career, and with Nike I’ve never had any problems.”

Check Out Cold Weather Gear >>