Winter is filled with many festivities and special moments. But for many football fans, there is nothing that embodies winter more than running through the snow in a winter jacket and snowpants with a football in hand, descending to the ground after getting tackled by your friend. Snow Football is a core memory of many people’s childhood. Though snow days and New Year’s might be great, nothing beats a game of snow football during winter.
Playing backyard two-hand touch football can be fun at times, but nothing beats reading a text in your group chat after waking up late on a snow day: “Who wants to play snow football later?” In a normal football game with your friends, you are often not tackling, or if you do, it can be very painful. Snow football is a completely different story. When there is six inches of snow on the ground, it feels like falling into a bed full of pillows. Snow football is also much more unpredictable than your average backyard game. With a winter coat and heavy snow pants on, everybody is moving at half their normal speed, and with gloves on, it makes it nearly impossible to catch the ball. All these rough conditions that you must play in may not sound very fun, but the unpredictability and insanity make for a great time. Not only do these conditions lead to unexpected outcomes, but they can even out the playing field as well. With ten pounds of snow gear on, there is not a lot of difference between your friend who plays varsity football and your friend who fingerpaints.
The great game of snow football is not just confined to your backyard; some of the greatest NFL moments have occurred with snow on the field. Similar to a game with your friends, the difficult conditions have created iconic moments and jaw-dropping plays. When there is a snow game upcoming, NFL coaches are forced to play a physical run-heavy offense due to difficulties throwing in the snow, and teams need to prepare for unforced errors and special team fiascos. One of the most famous snow games was the famous “Tuck Rule” game. In a divisional round game in January of 2002, the Raiders faced off in a field covered in snow. As the game was coming down to the wire, Heisman trophy winner, Charles Woodson stripped the ball from Patriots legend, Tom Brady, to put the Raiders in position to win, but upon further review, the play was overturned, and the Patriots ended up winning on a field goal. This helped the Patriots win the Super Bowl that year. Though snow leads to challenges in the NFL, there are many players who love playing in the winter conditions. When asked before a snow game how it would affect his play, NFL veteran, James Winston, explained how “happy” and “grateful” he is to play in the snow. He even stated that it is “true football weather”.
Sophomore Jordan Marx has been playing snow football with his friends for years.. He explains, “Playing snow football every year has allowed me to create many core memories with my friends, and really brings us together.” Jordan continues and describes, “Snow football is so much more special than your everyday game because of how rare it is. You can play catch whenever, but to be able to play in the snow only happens a few times each year.”
As stated before, winter is a time of fun festivities, like Christmas and New Year’s. However, nothing embodies winter more perfectly than snow football. Just an hour or two in the snow with your friends can bring memories lasting a lifetime. So, next time you have a snow day, call your friends, grab a ball, throw on some boots, and play a game of football in the snow.
