Snow? Ice? Freezing temperatures? That doesn’t stop business in the NFL, especially when advancing to Super Bowl 50 is on the line.
We saw evidence of that recently. On January 10, fans braved the elements in Minneapolis to see the Seattle Seahawks beat the Minnesota Vikings 10-9 in the NFL Wild Card round at TCF Bank Stadium. It was one of the coldest games in NFL history, with the temperature at -6 degrees Fahrenheit and a wind chill of -25.
So, really, it should come as no surprise that all is status quo for the Arizona Cardinals and the Carolina Panthers. Even though Charlotte, North Carolina, is in the path of the snowstorm hitting the East Coast, plans haven’t changed as the two teams prepare for Sunday’s NFC Championship Game. Kickoff is still scheduled for 6:40 p.m. ET at Bank of America Stadium.
At 10:15 a.m. Friday, the Panthers were practicing in the snow.
After practice, Panthers head coach Ron Rivera downplayed the conditions, saying Friday that the team has practiced in the snow before.
“This is just what we deal with,” he said.
And the players didn’t seem very bothered by it, including some in short sleeves.
And the Cardinals’ itinerary remains the same. Cardinals spokesman Mark Dalton told CNN that the team will leave Phoenix on Saturday and will fly directly to Charlotte. They do not expect travel plans to be affected.
Still on the schedule as well is a send-off for the team at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport on Saturday at 10 a.m. local time (noon ET). Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, Sen. John McCain, Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton, Cardinals team President Michael Bidwill, General Manager Steve Keim, head coach Bruce Arians and select players will speak at the rally.
One event was affected, however. The Panthers Pride Rally that was scheduled for Friday was canceled because of the threat of winter weather.
It’s rare for the NFL to postpone or move a game because of the weather, but it did happen last season. In 2014, a Sunday afternoon game between the New York Jets and the Buffalo Bills was moved to Detroit on Monday instead of being played in Buffalo.