Fritz Has Never Said It Would Be Like This

Were you a little chilly Sunday evening when temperatures in parts of Los Angeles dipped into the 40s? Think of the fans and players for the Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings during Sunday night’s 26-22 Packer victory at Green Bay, Wis., when the temperature at kickoff was 11 degrees.

What was the NFL thinking scheduling a night game at Lambeau Field in December?

The game between the border rivals marked the latest -- by 30 days -- that the league had ever scheduled a night game in Wisconsin.

The wind chill was 6 degrees at kickoff.

“This will be just great. This is football weather, right?” said Dennis Michels of Antigo, Wis. “But we’re not going to take our shirts off.”

A Packer fan refusing to take his shirt off? Sacrilege.

Norma Cruz of Green Bay said she would have preferred a noon kickoff.

“For Green Bay, they should schedule day games,” she said.

Joe Catheline of Chicago said it wouldn’t have made much difference.

“It’s only about 10 degrees warmer in the daytime,” he said.

Amanda Krysvak, of North Aurora, Ill., whose family has had season tickets since 1957, said this was nothing compared to some playoff games -- the Ice Bowl in 1967 or the NFC championship in 1996, when the temperature at kickoff was 3 degrees.

Still, she was dressed in several layers and had heat packs in her shoes. Reminding people everywhere of an annoying commercial from a few years ago, Krysvak added: “If I fell down, I couldn’t get up.”

Sean Lannan, who was born in Minneapolis, had two pair of wool socks, two pair of long underwear, four shirts, a coat, gloves and a hat.

“The pain is now bearable, that’s all,” he said.

But he’d rather be in Green Bay than in the climate-controlled Metrodome any day.

“I love it. Being a football fan, it couldn’t be better,” Lannan said. “It’s the essence of football, sitting outside and enjoying the game -- which I don’t get to do being a Vikings’ fan.” He also doesn’t get to see a lot of wins by his team.

Both teams practiced outdoors during the week in preparation for the frigid night, although the Packers had several layers of clothing Friday and Viking Coach Mike Tice made his players go out in short sleeves so they would know exactly what it would feel like.

“The worst thing about it is the commercial breaks,” Packer safety Darren Sharper mused. “Because we’re out there in the middle of the field and can’t run to the heater.”

What a bunch of wimps.

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Dante Hall returned a punt and a kickoff for touchdowns in the first half of Kansas City’s 49-10 win over St. Louis, the first Chief player to do both in the same game. Hall is the 20th player in NFL history to return two kicks for scores in a game.