GREEN BAY, Wis. (NBC 26) — The coldest Packers game Mike Schmoll can remember attending was the 1997 NFC Championship against the Carolina Panthers.
"That was pretty cold," he said.
And when Green Bay takes on the Vikings this Sunday, temperatures could hit single digits. Schmoll says he's been to four of the eight coldest games in Lambeau history.
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"We had a Carolina Panther fan next to us, and he had tennis shoes on," he said. "Yeah, the poor guy was cold."
"The Frozen Tundra" of Lambeau Field will be back this weekend, and fans with plenty of experience say it's time to bundle up.
"You try to keep yourself warm," Schmoll, a Stevens Point resident, said. "Wear a lot of layers, a lot of hand warmers. For me, if I keep my feet warm, I'm good."
Whether you're going to the game or not, UW Health experts say frigid weather can lead to permanent injuries if you're unprepared.
"We've already done amputations this year already from people who've gotten frostbite so badly that they lost their feet," Dr. Lee Faucher said.
It doesn't need to be freezing to get conditions like hypothermia. So Faucher advises Northeast Wisconsinites to keep their clothes dry and help those who are underdressed.
"Maybe they forgot to wear their hat and they get frostbite on their ears or they don't have their gloves and they need to be outside to get some place and they aren't able to protect themselves," he said. "Those are the most common."
He says you can beat the cold by keeping a blanket and extra clothes handy. And if you lose sensation, get inside.
"The only way I would worry about our Packer fans would be a little too much alcohol," Faucher said. "Maybe they do things that then they're not making the right decisions. Those are the times that they're gonna get injured or get frostbite."
Those side effects can be mild or severe, but fans like Schmoll say you can brave a cold Packers game if you stay alert.
"I just sat and did nothing and sat in 20-below-zero weather," he said. "That's kind of impressive when you think about it."
