Is there any chance the Oakland Raiders equipment manager packed ice skates instead of spikes?
According to NFL Network's Courtney Fallon, early on Thursday there was a layer of ice under the tarp covering Arrowhead Stadium ahead of tonight's tilt between the Kansas City Chiefs and Oakland Raiders.
Per Fallon, the Chiefs' grounds crew will groom the "ice flash" throughout the day. Heaters under the surface are on, and this is not deemed a serious threat to game-time field conditions. Fallon adds the grounds crew also will let the sun naturally warm and soften the field, however, temperatures in the greater-Kansas City area are not expected to climb above 26 degrees all day.
During Wednesday's edition of Total Access, NFL Network's Reggie Wayne shared his experiences as a player at a wintry Arrowhead Stadium, where one corner of a red zone area was particularly unmanageable.
"There's guys on that team, last time we played there, they told me, they said, 'Listen, we knew you guys weren't going on that side of the field because it is a big block of ice. So they was heavy loaded on the other side knowing that no one is gonna go over there."
Wayne added: "In 2012, Bruce Arians was our (interim) head coach at the time, I told him, 'Listen, do not throw me a ball on that side of the field. Put me on the left side, I'll run whatever. But over there, I need some ice skates.'"
We'd expect the crew to coax life into the turf before game-time but will update you with any developing information regarding #FrozenGrassGate.
For all those fans heading to tailgate, remember the three cold-weather Bs: Bundle, Barbecue, Beer.
UPDATE: It looks like everything should be fine in K.C. by kickoff tonight
