What is the better homefield advantage?

[BigDaddyFin]

It also depends on the type of team you have and what kind of game plan you go with.  A power running team is going to have a lot easier time playing in cold wind and snow than a passing team.  You can also use the no-huddle or hurry up to wear out a defense and then when they're gassed rip them up with the run. 

[Phishfan]

Not my point at all. Jason was kicking butt and playing lights out while Denver was throwing up and asking out of the game. Denver lost their lead in the 3rd and never scored again meanwhile I think JT caused a fumble and then ran it back for a TD to seal the game. They had the same technology available to them back then too. 

I can't remember the game. Looking back it must have been 2005 when we opened with Denver. I'll take your word on Denver throwing up but this game was led by Miami from the start as Denver only scored twice and one was in the 4th. The next week Miami traveled to the Jets and lost to a team that won only 4 games. I still have to question the long term advantage versus costs based on the limited research available.

[Dolphster]

I think that back in the 70's (or the good old days of football as this old man calls that era), I think that especially for the Dolphins, hot weather was definitely an advantage for the Dolphins.  Everyone talks about how back then Shula would condition the team like crazy, making them suffer through HARD 2-A-Day practices in the summer, etc.  Although I was just a kid, even I could see that in the second half of games, teams from the north would just run out of gas playing in Miami in September and even into October.  I was at a game when I was around 10 and still remember how the game reached the end of the 3rd quarter and the ball was in the red zone at one end of the field.  The teams of course had to switch ends of the field for the 4th quarter.  At Shula's direction, the Dolphin players on the field RAN to the other end of the stadium.  The other team (wish I could remember who it was) dragged ass slowly to the opposite end.  The Fins dominated that 4th quarter and won the game. 

Cut to today, I don't think the heat gives a home field advantage very much anymore.  NFLPA rules, etc. have really cut back on the amount of training days, intensity of training, etc. to the point where teams in the hot south can't prepare themselves like they used to.  So now I think I would say that cold weather climates give an advantage to teams that play in cold weather a lot. 

[CF DolFan]

I can't remember the game. Looking back it must have been 2005 when we opened with Denver. I'll take your word on Denver throwing up but this game was led by Miami from the start as Denver only scored twice and one was in the 4th. The next week Miami traveled to the Jets and lost to a team that won only 4 games. I still have to question the long term advantage versus costs based on the limited research available.

that was the game.  I can't find the article right now about how the heat killed them but there is a quote in this one by CB Travis Daniels. He stated the Bronco WR was bent over and Daniels told him to get up that he was a professional and couldn't be tired yet.  He responded with "I'm tired man. I can't do it". LOL

https://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/12/sports/football/after-unspeakably-bad-season-miami-changes-the-tone.html

[Spider-Dan]

One thing that no one has mentioned:  in the cold, both teams are equally cold.  But in the hot sun, the home team gets an asymmetric advantage from wearing white.

If the Dolphins are playing the Steelers, that's a huge advantage for Miami.

[Dave Gray]

^ Also, the Dolphins' roof is organized in such a way that the home team has a more shaded bench.

[Tenshot13]

^That's a good point I was going to bring up Dave, but you beat me to it.  If it's cold, it's cold everywhere.  In Miami, if it's hot, the sun is beating directly on the visiting team, in their dark jersery's while Miami is in the shade in their white jerseys.

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

I think shade is relevant, color of jersey not so much.  I don’t notice much difference if I am wearing a black vs white shirt in the summer.  The type of fabric will have an effect.

[Tenshot13]

I think shade is relevant, color of jersey not so much.  I don’t notice much difference if I am wearing a black vs white shirt in the summer.  The type of fabric will have an effect.

If you are wearing a black cotton shirt vs a white cotton shirt in Florida you will know the difference.  Northern summer is not even close the same as down here.

Edit:  I Googled it - July is the hottest month in New England with an average temperature of 70°F (21°C).  July is the hottest month in Florida with an average temperature of 82°F (28°C).  It is in the 90's a whole lot down here.

[Phishfan]

I can't tell a difference in color either, for a shirt. White sidewalk and blacktop road, yes.

[Spider-Dan]

Fabric color makes an even bigger difference somewhere like Vegas.  Miami hasn't had a 100 degree day since 1942; Vegas averages sixty of them each summer.  When you're out in the sun and it's a dry 105, black clothing is physically painful to wear.

[Phishfan]

Good point. I was just in Vegas and the difference to here is noticeable. Sweat evaporated off me there in a way that kept me and my clothes dry. Here the humidity keeps everything damp and sticky.

[Dave Gray]

I am comfortable with the heat.  I like to sit outside in the sweltering months of summer and I'm fine with it.  The humidity makes it bearable.  When I go to Vegas, walking outside physically hurts.  It's weird.  It's so dry that the wind burns you. 

[Phishfan]

I felt like I was in a convection oven standing in the monorail terminal

[Tenshot13]

Sitting outside in the sweltering months of summer is fine.  Doing yard work, digging ditches, those poor roofers, anything that has to do with physical exertion, not so fine.