Doctors advise Chiefs fans to bundle up for Saturday’s chilly AFC Wild Card game
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - Chiefs fans need to prepare to bundle up this weekend at Arrowhead Stadium. While fans hope for a hot start by the Chiefs on the field, the seats will be cold. As of Wednesday night, KCTV5′s First Warn Weather Team is predicting highs in the single digits, with lows below zero.
“Anytime you start to lower the temperature below a body temperature that your body can regulate and acclimate to, you can start to be at-risk for hypothermia,” said Dr. Adam Algren, an Emergency Medicine Physician at University Health.
Chiefs fans will be exposed to hours of Arctic air on Saturday at Arrowhead Stadium. University Health says to wear warm clothing and avoid slick surfaces.
“Dress in layers, wear hats, gloves, and drink plenty of fluids, non-alcoholic drinks,” said Dr. Algren. “Anytime the weather is bad, we start to see more slips and falls, more traumatic injuries, more broken bones.”
FIRST WARN WEATHER DAY: snow storm arrives Friday, extreme cold stretches into Saturday
Overland Park’s Paul Bredemeier has been a Chiefs season ticket holder for 30 seasons. He’s been dealing with cold weather games for decades but says modern technology helps him stay warm in 2024.
“We had to bundle up and just put on multiple layers,” said Bredemeier of cold Chiefs’ games past. “We’d be walking around like Ralphie’s little brother, Randy, from A Christmas Story. Now, we’ve got these heated vests, we’ve got these heated socks.”
On Saturday, some Chiefs fans may start drinking alcohol thinking it will help them stay warm. Doctors warn that a few beverages can put you in a dangerous situation.
“What alcohol does is it actually decreases your ability to shiver, so you might have this false sense of feeling warm, but you’re actually cold,” said Dr. Todd Shaffer, a family medicine physician with UH. “If you’re cold, and you’re not shivering, there’s probably a problem with your body’s ability to actually keep that temperature, so you probably need to get to some place and get warmed up.”
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Doctors also advise avoiding getting wet. If you do, they recommend you replace your wet clothing with dry clothing as quickly as possible. Fans, despite Saturday’s forecasted conditions, are excited to watch a home playoff game.
“It’s going to be a great time. It’s been a challenging season, but we are in the playoffs,” Bredemeier said. “A lot can happen. I think everybody is truly optimistic and hopeful that we’ll play far into the playoffs.”
The Chiefs are allowing fans to bring in some items to help them weather the conditions on Saturday. A complete list of what is (and is not) allowed at the stadium can be found here.
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