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Embrace the Cold
Now that we’re into cooler weather, I am amused at how "what is cold" is completely relative to where you are. Is it condescending for me to laugh at news reports here in Atlanta that say we’re headed for a super cold front with temperatures dipping down into THE THIRTIES? You can count on one hand and still have fingers left over how many days in Atlanta the temperature doesn’t break freezing, much less 40 degrees. When the temperature “dips” into the upper 40s, the hoods come out as if they were in Edmonton in January.

I look at the cold weather as a challenge that I relish. It’s man versus nature and I’m intent on winning. My college roommate said it best. His stance was that you can always add layers of clothes in the cold weather. In the warm weather, once you’re down to your skin, there’s no other way to be comfortable in the scorching heat if you’re outdoors.

I am one of the few people in the south who misses the cold. It probably is more of a case of me missing snow more than anything. Nothing is neater than to wake up and look out your window and see a fresh layer of snow blanketing the entire area, making it look new and clean. Sure, the streets look nasty with the grey slush after a while but then you get a new snowstorm and you start all over again. I’ve never lost that childlike love of fresh snow and to me I like nothing better than to stare out the window during a blizzard watching the landscape transform into a winter wonderland. My favorite thing to see are glowing Christmas lights buried underneath several inches of snow on the bushes.

As a kid I would always relish the yearly “Alberta Clipper” that would whoosh through Detroit, generally in February. This jet stream that drops down from northern Canada creates truly cold days where the high temps are usually in the lower to middle single digits. Any time you don’t reach double digits for your high is bone chilling but fun. One of those years it got so cold our sycamore tree in the front yard split in the middle near the base of the tree. There was about a half inch wide crack you could see through and it closed up when the temperature got warmer.

There would be times in Chicago where my jacket crinkled when I would walk outside. When it is 10 degrees before you even factor in the wind chill factor on Lake Shore Drive and you’re waiting for the bus, THAT is true winter weather. When it dips to 30 degrees and the news reports in Georgia remind everyone to shut off their outdoor water pipes, that is not a true winter - it’s Fortified Fall Weather.

In the NFC North division, I divide the teams by the outdoor stadiums and indoor stadiums. I’d much rather watch a game in Chicago or Green Bay where real men play outdoors than in the wussified confines of the Metrodome in Minneapolis or Ford Field in Detroit. A major reason why the Lions built another dome was to attract the Super Bowl (which they successfully did) but that is a once-every-20-years occurrence. Yes, it might be more comfortable sitting in Ford Field in December than it would be in Soldier Field off Lake Michigan, but I’d rather enjoy a game in “Bear Weather” than in a glorified office cube. It’s the same thing with the Atlanta Falcons. There is nothing more depressing than having a wonderful 70 degree October day in the south and you have to go INDOORS to watch an NFL game underneath a dreary grey tarp. It’s a crime against football and why I have less respect for indoor teams. Most domed teams can’t handle the outdoors come November – January. The same principle applies to warm weather outdoor teams like Miami and Tampa Bay. For the longest time, Tampa never won a game played in weather under 40 degrees.

(The following Blanket Statement / Pocket Psychologist Remark does not reflect the views of Major League Baseball or its partners). Just like I was a minority growing up a white kid in Detroit, I am aware I am in the minority on this opinion too. I do think that the northern states produce people who can face adversity a little more. If a small think like cold weather bothers you, are you mentally tough to face other obstacles? With all due respect to the southerners and transplanted northerners I have met here who can’t deal with the cold, you’re all pusscatores. Cold is a state of mind that can be cured by a warm sweater and a flask of Bailey’s Irish Crème. Until then, I will enjoy the empty sidewalks in the winter time that I get to myself while going on my daily walks.