In Reply to: Game Time Temp at the Rose Bowl Saturday posted by UCLA23OSU10 on September 05, 2024 at 21:04:02
Sept. 15, 1991 12 AM PT
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — This is no place to be playing, officiating or watching football in the middle of the afternoon on the second Saturday in September.
It is remarkable that Tennessee and UCLA performed as well as they did on a muggy day when the temperature on the artificial turf of Shields-Watkins Field at Neyland Stadium reached 112.
“I can’t remember more uncomfortable weather for a game,” UCLA Coach Terry Donahue said after the Bruins were defeated, 30-16. “The heat was a bigger factor than the crowd. Of course, Tennessee had to play under the same conditions. Guys were cramping up, and we both had to do a lot (more) substituting than usual.”
It wouldn’t have been nearly so hellish if the teams had kicked off under the lights, as had been planned.
But two months ago, TBS decided to televise the game as part of its Southeastern Conference package.
Presto, a 7 p.m. kickoff became a 12:40 p.m. kickoff, and each school was enriched by a couple of hundred thousand dollars.