FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — One Pittsburgh safety kept interrupting reporters’ questions about the Super Bowl to complain it was too chilly. A Green Bay receiver bragged that the snow outside made the Packers “the home team.”
Even the player known as “The Freezer” said Texas was just too cold.
Five days before the Super Bowl, a wintry blast of snow, ice and bone-chilling winds hit the Dallas area on Tuesday, closing the airport for a couple of hours and turning roads into ice rinks.
As workers shoveled and scraped the icy walkways outside Cowboys Stadium, Green Bay Packers nose tackle B.J. Raji, known for his frigid nickname, was asked about the Big Chill in Big D for the big game.
“Too cold,” said the 337-pound Raji. “Feels like the AC is on.”
And then some.
Downtown Fort Worth, a few miles from the stadium in Arlington, was virtually deserted. Dave Carden, a production assistant for ESPN’s operation in the old cow town, cleared ice off the red-brick streets a day after handing out T-shirts.
“I think you’ve got enough fans from Pittsburgh and Green Bay to come out,” said Tim Callahan, a 28-year-old former stockbroker who lives downtown. “I don’t know how many of the locals will come out.”
While the rest of the Dallas area slipped and slid through a miserable day, the NFL stuck to its Super Bowl schedule. League spokesman Greg Aiello sent out a Twitter message not long after sunrise saying media activities would go on as planned — and they did, with the roof of Cowboys Stadium thankfully closed high above the Packers, Steelers and hundreds of reporters in town for Sunday’s game.
“The show goes on,” Aiello wrote. “Media day is on schedule. Drive carefully.”
The North Texas climate can be moderate — highs were in the mid-70s just days ago — but the area left no doubt about its wintry side as a massive storm moved across the country. The National Weather Service says it won’t be above freezing until Friday and Sunday’s forecast calls for highs in the mid-50s.
Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport was shut down briefly, and primary tenant American Airlines canceled 800 flights — about half its daily service. A spokesman said it was too early to tell whether the trickle-down would affect the heavier passenger loads for the Super Bowl later in the week.
The Packers might even practice indoors this week if the weather doesn’t improve — just like they do at home, where the temperature hovered in the low 20s Tuesday.
Even the player known as “The Freezer” said Texas was just too cold.
Five days before the Super Bowl, a wintry blast of snow, ice and bone-chilling winds hit the Dallas area on Tuesday, closing the airport for a couple of hours and turning roads into ice rinks.
As workers shoveled and scraped the icy walkways outside Cowboys Stadium, Green Bay Packers nose tackle B.J. Raji, known for his frigid nickname, was asked about the Big Chill in Big D for the big game.
“Too cold,” said the 337-pound Raji. “Feels like the AC is on.”
And then some.
Downtown Fort Worth, a few miles from the stadium in Arlington, was virtually deserted. Dave Carden, a production assistant for ESPN’s operation in the old cow town, cleared ice off the red-brick streets a day after handing out T-shirts.
“I think you’ve got enough fans from Pittsburgh and Green Bay to come out,” said Tim Callahan, a 28-year-old former stockbroker who lives downtown. “I don’t know how many of the locals will come out.”
While the rest of the Dallas area slipped and slid through a miserable day, the NFL stuck to its Super Bowl schedule. League spokesman Greg Aiello sent out a Twitter message not long after sunrise saying media activities would go on as planned — and they did, with the roof of Cowboys Stadium thankfully closed high above the Packers, Steelers and hundreds of reporters in town for Sunday’s game.
“The show goes on,” Aiello wrote. “Media day is on schedule. Drive carefully.”
The North Texas climate can be moderate — highs were in the mid-70s just days ago — but the area left no doubt about its wintry side as a massive storm moved across the country. The National Weather Service says it won’t be above freezing until Friday and Sunday’s forecast calls for highs in the mid-50s.
Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport was shut down briefly, and primary tenant American Airlines canceled 800 flights — about half its daily service. A spokesman said it was too early to tell whether the trickle-down would affect the heavier passenger loads for the Super Bowl later in the week.
The Packers might even practice indoors this week if the weather doesn’t improve — just like they do at home, where the temperature hovered in the low 20s Tuesday.
