OkieHawk":1qj5dy52 said:
bestfightstory":1qj5dy52 said:
Man, the heat index in Carolina could be in the triple digits. I was at the season opener in Miami ten years ago or so and I also recall a season opener in JAX that emphasized the fact that we will need as many able big bodies in our DLine rotation as possible.
Truth, they are not accustomed to playing in that type of environment.
Hey BFS, I was at that game as well. That was a hot one that day. Those rotten Dol-fans
taught my kid to sing their song. Nah, they treated us well enough... for the most part. Probably helped I had my oldest son with us (who was very young at the time.)
Respectful disagreement about the comment regarding the environment and others who think that just because the Seahawks play their home games in the NW that they are not used to other elements. I will grant that camps are held in different elements (and there might be something of an adjustment and acclimation), but why do people forget that any assembled NFL team does not have players made up of players exclusively from that region? Even if you look at the college locations of these players (front 7, for example, includes players from Texas A&M, East Carolina, Mississippi State, Florida, Tennessee, Memphis, etc.), ... players from other regions may have played their high school ball elsewhere and been recruited away from the south. Happens all the time. My sons are playing every Saturday in these elements and it is extremely hot and humid. So, if they play 9 years of youth and high school ball... then get recruited (just hypothetically here) to play college ball in the North (and teams do have southern teams on their schedules) - players like that certainly are "accustomed to playing in that type of environment."
I do think you mean that it is a drastic change from the environment they practice and play home games in. Fair enough to that extent. Other than that, this blanket statement simply isn't true at all. I'm sorry. I don't mean to sound offensive nor arrogant. I just don't get it when that is brought up. Hydration is always important no matter where teams play. If a professional team like the Seahawks don't have players who haven't learned those types of things by now (individually responsible) and trainers who are monitoring the players habits like that plus knowledgeable enough to prepare their teams well enough in advance for those types of drastic changes of environment... then why are they even employed? I gotta believe that this isn't nearly as big of an issue as it might seem. Professional athletes do not train to play exclusively in particular environments. The Panthers will also be dealing with the exact same environment that day. They only play so many days like that, as well. Maybe only half of their home games (4) may have those extreme elements. Their location there doesn't make them significantly more prepared for it and they are not necessarily significantly more prepared for it.
I
might buy into a college team like Alabama (some team in the deep south) having that advantage over say a northern team that primarily has recruited players from their region because certain good teams in the south tend to recruit their region well. We just have to remember that the Seahawks players have not played their entire careers in Seattle, WA.
Go Hawks.
