The reason howling subzero winds, sideways rain and heavy snow have become known as "football weather" is because bad conditions make life hard—and playing football harder. With the onset of the polar vortex in the Northeast, some of this weekend’s games will be played in what has gone past "football weather" and turned into a force of nature.
Nowhere is this more apparent than in Buffalo. The area has been slammed by an epic amount of snow—five feet in some areas—that has left the Bills' home stadium buried in more than 220,000 tons of the white stuff.
Ralph Wilson Stadium is back there somewhere. #BuffaloSnow #FootballWeather https://t.co/4ZAQ2dNNJl
— Buffalo Bills (@buffalobills) November 18, 2014
With Buffalo’s home stadium buried in snow and Sunday’s game against the New York Jets in jeopardy, the Bills have decided to reach out to local fans for help — to the sweet tune of 10 dollars an hour and free tickets to Sunday’s game. In a wise PR move the organization is taking what could be a severe crisis and turning it into a model for community relations. The snowfall may be secured in the news-cycle for now, but what will really last will be the Bills' ability to mobilize its community. Bills' fans surely won't forget their free tickets anytime soon, and you can't put a price on the kind of loyalty it takes to shovel all that snow. After all, a football game takes just 60 minutes. Goodwill and strengthened relationships last a lot longer.
City of Good Neighbors: Marrone aids stranded motorist, Carpenter shovels out elderly resident http://t.co/xXLVgZd6ee pic.twitter.com/jAokQrDj7R
— Buffalo Bills (@buffalobills) November 19, 2014