The Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers are expected to play in record-cold temperatures at -18 degrees when you factor in wind chill. It has lead Bears head coach John Fox Bears to call out his players to be smarter about playing without sleeves.
Bears QB Matt Barkley is using an interesting method to stay warm: he’ll be wearing a wetsuit underneath his uniform.
Bears QB Matt Barkley told me he's wearing wetsuit under jersey today to keep warm -- tip he picked up from Cassell who learned it from TB12
— Michele Steele (@ESPNMichele) December 18, 2016
Barkley learned the technique from former Patriots QB Matt Cassel, who learned it from Tom Brady, who is clearly at the forefront of advanced fashion in the NFL. Barkley and Cassel are both graduates from the University of Southern California, which reportedly has the best and most temperate weather on the planet, while Brady had to learn how to play in the cold after moving from California to the University of Michigan.
I hate to ruin the image of Brady playing football in a wetsuit for everyone, but it’s important to note that there’s one obvious way that scuba divers use their wetsuits to stay warm: they pee in them.
I’m sure Brady and company have a back-up wetsuit to wear if they need a costume change at halftime, but I also know that Brady cares about efficiency and he’ll do whatever he can to optimize the regulation of his body temperature. And I know that the warmth is only temporary before its starts to adjust to the outside temperature, but I can guarantee that Brady would strategically warm up during a two minute warning.