Weather. The Great Equalizer

Is the weather even a story regarding a pending football game with big implications?

I know editors who swear weather always makes a good story (i.e. WOW! It's hot! WOW! It's cold! How do you stay cool? How do you stay warm?)

But is it sports-worthy?

Example: Passing team versus running team. Does rain and a wet field matter?

 

It might take some digging, but find out the last time a toad-strangling rainstorm hit and find the key players in that game to see what impact it made.

Rain fucks up everything and makes it more difficult.

As far as "It's going to be cold Friday for the Bumfizzle-Podizzle game" ... no, that's not newsworthy. Blizzard? Yes. Sleet or freezing rain? Yes. Just turning cold? Meh. Man up and play ball.

 

I think rain almost always negatively affects a passing team.

 

Weather, holidays and war. Avoid them as a peg for your story.

 

I remember an old sports writer friend telling me about a team he covered that "accidentally" let their sprinklers run all night long before a big game against an opponent that just happened to have a speedy running back. Amazingly, the swampy field conditions slowed him down and the home team pulled the upset... now that's a fun story...

 

If you're writing about the cold, it better be the Ice Bowl pt. II

 

Football's supposed to be played in the cold anyway.

 

Did someone mention my name?

 

Cold. I agree. Not noteworthy in the least.

Rain. That's where I question it. I'm talking about a team that only passes versus a team that only runs (for the most part in both cases) potentially playing in a predicted downpour for four hours.

 

the opposite is actually true

it's harder to run in the rain

smart coaches with a good passing game will throw all day in the rain

 

If it impacts the game greatly, yeah talk about it. If not, leave it out.

 

dammit, was about to post the same thing but wasted my time on why god hates me on another thread.