Los Angeles Rams players bizarrely put cayenne pepper in their socks to try and stay warm during Sunday night’s bitterly cold playoff game against the Chicago Bears.
A place in the NFC Championship game was up for grabs in the Windy City but players had to put up with frigid conditions on the edge of Lake Michigan.
Temperatures were around 18 degrees during the divisional round game with snow and whipping winds around Soldier Field.
During her pregame sideline report, NBC’s Melissa Stark revealed some of the measures Rams players took to try and retain heat.
She said that they have put cayenne pepper in their socks to keep their feet warm. The ingredient is believed to increase circulation, allowing players to remain toasty.
The Rams also brought 2,000lbs of cold weather gear with them, including wetsuits, thermal layers and capes.
Rams players put cayenne pepper in their socks to try and stay warm against the Bears
Quarterback Matthew Stafford had a scuba top underneath his jersey to trap body heat
Temperatures were around 18 degrees with snow and whipping winds around Soldier Field
Both teams also had a hot chocolate dispenser and marshmallows on their respective sidelines for players to use during the game. That was in addition to a chicken broth dispenser.
Quarterback Matthew Stafford had a scuba top underneath his jersey to trap body heat while wide receive Davante Adams was wearing a top with a hand warmer built into it.
The cold weather is in sharp contrast to the weather in Los Angeles this week. The Rams practiced in 82-degree sunshine Wednesday at their Woodland Hills training complex.
Quarterback Matthew Stafford made the obvious point this week that even though they’re currently living in Southern California, the Rams’ coaches and players have all been in football weather before.
Stafford spent the first 12 years of his career with the Lions, playing at Chicago and Green Bay every year and even occasionally practicing outdoors in the Detroit winter.
‘I love NFL football and the history of it – Lambeau Field, the Ice Bowl, all those kinds of things,’ Stafford said.
‘There’s something to it, right? It feels right when football is outdoors, you’re playing it late in the year, it’s cold (and) it means a lot. I’m embracing that, and I know our team is as well.’
The Rams played in two wintry games last season, beating the Jets in sub-freezing temperatures before barely losing a divisional-round playoff game in the snow in Philadelphia. This season, they lost amid frigid winds at Seattle and in heavy rain at Carolina.
The Rams obviously couldn’t simulate Sunday’s conditions in Los Angeles – although coach Sean McVay had one interesting idea.
‘What we´re going to do is we´re going to get the biggest cold plunge (ice bath) ever, and everybody is going to see if we can sit in that thing for three hours,’ he said with a laugh.
