For me, it's about probability. Does the chance of dreadful weather in Minneapolis increase the likelihood of chaos and a soccer match turning into a spectacle. I think the answer is Yes, and I think a spectacle has a higher probability of hurting the US, who is the better team. IMO, the Snowclassico in 2013 was a narrow, narrow escape for the US. In any event, U.S. soccer fans are told nearly every year that winter conditions in the Midwest are absolutely unsuitable for soccer, which is why MLS has to play a summer schedule. So it's definitely a story of interest. And I'll say that thanks to Canada, I'm fine playing in Columbus, but the Minneapolis selection is strange. They should have switched the Costa Rica match in October from Columbus to Minneapolis. The US has dropped points on several occasions in Columbus. I think Columbus and New York are the only places in qualifying where the US has dropped points that weren't matches in NFL stadiums.
No snow storms predicted for any of the 3 games, right? If that is confirmed, then I think this will be a big psychological advantage for the USA against ES and Honduras. I guarantee that their media is talking about the cold nonstop. Their teams may be psyched out before the games start. it will help against Canada too, in that they will not have a psychological advantage over the USA since the USA will play 3 games in basically the same conditions.
Might be a little too early on that. At first it was looking more like a clipper system, but there is a trend towards a more organized storm developing in the plains. It might hold out until the 3rd or 4th though.
Louisville doesn't have a heated field, at least in the way KC and Minn do, but the winter weather is not like it is in Minnesota, either. From an article when the grass was being installed: "A high-tech SubAir drainage system was installed beneath the playing surface to combat inclement weather on game days, address challenges of the Ohio Valley climate and extend the growing season of the grass. On rainy days, the SubAir system quickly drains water off the field; on cold days, the system blows heated air into the roots to keep the grass greener longer." They had rolling grow lights on the field at least as early as last week. I imagine they'd have been capable of covering the field if needed. The groundskeepers have done a good job keeping the field playing evenly all the way through the season. And I live in Louisville, so all the more reason for one of these games to be here. I'm sure the stadium would have been packed to absolute max fire capacity.
You asked for it... 😋 I've run 2 sets of probabilities for you: based on the long range models at this point (which can change) & the normal for the date of Feb. 2 (which cannot change) & avg those. There's really only a 1 in 5 chance (at this point) of it being colder than 15°. https://t.co/mnFi8y70Yr pic.twitter.com/QZ7agGfwMn— Sven Sundgaard (@svensundgaard) January 25, 2022
How much “playing in the cold is no big deal” content has US Soccer put out over the last week… no wonder they don’t have time to mention Sargent’s Premier League brace… some cynics might even say they’re being a bit defensive about their decision to move these two home games… doth protest too much etc. Playing in winter brings back special memories for @Antonee_Jedi ❄️ pic.twitter.com/g8peE4wW0T— U.S. Soccer Men's National Team (@USMNT) January 25, 2022
Can’t win can they? Some fans bitch about them not addressing fan’s concerns, and when they do, they are being defensive.
I just checked the latest forecast for Minneapolis on Feb. 2--not looking good as of today. High of 29 on Tuesday Feb 1, but then drops to a high of 11 on Feb 2. Oof.
Yeah, this is a ruh-roh. The forecast outlook plummeted for St. Paul. Now it's indicating it will be 1 to -1 Fahrenheit during the match. The wind chill is -4 to -7. https://www.wunderground.com/hourly/us/mn/saint-paul/date/2022-02-02 Their luck may have run out. Time to stop tweeting fluff pieces romanticizing the cold and to move it inside instead because this just got dangerous.
Correction: it's more like 9 degrees on actual temp, which is still almost a drop of 10 degrees from before, so this is a very notable event. And the wind chills are legit. That's the better indicator. I still think this should be moved indoors for player safety and performance or this is going to be very rough. The other games should be uncomfortable, but still playable. The one that's not was predictable and the least necessary.
Still tickets to be had in Columbus As of this morning, ticket sales/distribution for USMNT vs El Salvador in World Cup qualifier Thursday: 19,000+.Listed capacity: 20,371— Steven Goff (@SoccerInsider) January 26, 2022 Probably a combination of the cold and having already had a qualifier there.
As much as the forecasts are still swinging around there's no need to make a final call until after the Canada game, but agree they need to start preparing for that contingency.
True. Also true: if it really is wind chill of -7 as predicted, they should. I imagine the temperature indoors can be somewhat controlled such that if they want to play at 30 degrees, they could still do that! Have cake and eat it: game in MN, cold as all get out, actual playing conditions safe for players.
Might interfere with the Home and Remodeling Show. https://www.usbankstadium.com/events/detail/mpls-home-remodeling-show-1
As an engineer I can tell you that is a very hard thing to do. Shut the heat completely off and with such a huge heat sink as an arena it would take a looooonnnggg time to cool off to 30 degrees. And if you were to do something stupid like that are you also going to turn the water off to the facility?
It's just not a logistical possibility. They would have to book the Vikings' stadium on a contingency, when it is already booked for a convention that starts 36 hours later. Presumably the prep work for a home show begins more than a day prior. It would require an entirely different stadium ops and field crew to be prepared to get the place ready on short notice. Does it even have a FIFA-approved fake turf surface? This isn't Atlanta where they have soccer games all the time.
If the USMNT wins this match as they should, this will all go away and we'll fondly remember the Freeze Bowl of 2022 like we remember the Snow Clasico in 2013. I think the whole decision of where to play the games has been silly, but I like the mentality that the players are showing. And no, you cannot just move a game at the last minute to another venue. I don't know why people are talking about that. Not happening.
I'm ok with 40 degrees. I'm actually ok with 60 degrees, just trying to find a compromise with the guerra fria nuts. The point is that they can play indoors and it doesn't have to be balmy.
Of course. The failure here, as we've been saying, is that picking this venue basically demanded coming up with a Plan B back in November (or whenever it was announced), and they haven't. If no Plan B was possible for whatever reasons, then they should have scrapped this crazy idea at that point.
That would require admitting they were wrong, when have they ever done that? Who is going to delete the fifty "the cold is no big deal" social media posts??
Monday and Tuesday looking like one of the warmest days of winter up there (highs in the 30s). Then the cold front comes through on Tuesday...