Thursday, April 17, 2008

AF-Houston Time, TV Set

Kickoff for the Air Force football team’s third game of the 2008 season – at Houston on Sept. 13 – has been set for 1:30 p.m. (MT), according to an academy release.

That means the Falcons likely will have to deal with hot and humid conditions. The game will begin at 2:30 local time, about the hottest part of the day, and – according to a National Weather Service site I visited – the typical high for Sept. 13 in Houston is 90 degrees. Air Force players' conditioning will be tested.

Air Force also announced the Houston game will be televised nationally by CBS College Sports Network, formerly known as College Sports Television (CSTV).

That gives Air Force seven nationally televised regular season contests in 2008. The Falcons’ games at Wyoming (Sept. 6) and at home against New Mexico (Oct. 23) and BYU (Nov. 15) also will be televised by CBS College Sports Network. In addition, Air Force’s home games against Utah (Sept. 20) and Navy (Oct. 4) and its regular season finale at TCU (Nov. 22) will be televised on Versus.

Air Force’s game at Army (Nov. 1) is expected to be televised by one of the ESPN family of networks.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I played against UH in the fall of 1973, when the freshman team went there for a game. The heat and humidity were so awful that I felt like I was breathing soup instead of air. The biggest problem we had was staying hydrated--those were the days of salt pills--and the fact that we were playing a program that would challenge for a conference championship over the next few years. Plenty of speed and heat conditioning on the other side of the ball, for sure. Most of those kids were from Texas, and hot, humid conditions were nothing new to them. I'm sure Coach Calhoun knows all this in spades from coaching there.

jake.schaller said...

I love the above description -- "breathing soup instead of air."

I grew up in the Washington, D.C. area where the humidity is awful, so that description resonates with me. I used to tell people that you'd forget if you were walking down the street or wading through some kind of dense fog that literally envelops you.

When I moved to Colorado, the dry air and lack of humidity were among the first things I noticed. Here, if it's a hot, sunny day, you can duck into the shade and cool off. In places where it's extremely humid, there's no escape. Even if you're in the shade, it seems just as hot.

To whoever posted the above comment, if you get a moment, would you mind shooting me an e-mail at jake.schaller@gazette.com. I think it'd be interesting to talk to you for a story when we get closer to the game. Thanks!

Anonymous said...

Well, there are more Air Force players from Texas than any other state. Additionally, most Air Force players are from sun belt states, so this is nothing new to them. While Houston is more humid than the rest of the state, the weather on that day will be no different from the dozens of other football games played in the southeast in places like Gainesville, Miami, Tuscaloosa, Athens, etc. Even given the fact that it's nothing new to most of our players, Air Force has one of the best conditioning coaches in the business.

I suggest that it is harder for the Air Force players, mostly from the south and southeast, to play in cold, wind, snow and sleet in Colorado than in warm weather.

Anonymous said...

Ity may be familiar to those players, but living and practicing full-time at 7200 feet, where the humidity is rarely more than 30% and it seldom goes above 90 degrees quickly removes your heat and humidity conditioning. I'm sure they'll be as ready as possible--and the climate will not be the biggest game factor there, I'll bet.