DENVER — With less than two days until the Denver Broncos take on the New England Patriots in a rematch a decade in the making, the team is geared up with equipment to keep players warm and safe.
Denver7 meteorologists have forecast temperatures during kickoff will be below freezing. It means bundling up for fans, and bringing out warming equipment for the team.
"It's going to be really cold in Denver this weekend, so we're going to be blasting the heat up the players backsides to keep their hamstrings back, helmets, feet warm in the sub freezing temperatures to make sure that they're staying loose ready to go back on the field and try to help minimize risk of injury in some of this in the cold temperatures," said Franklin Floyd, the chief operating officer for Dragon Seats.
Dragon Seats has been around for about 20 years, according to Floyd, focusing on warming benches for players, even the greats who once played for the Denver Broncos.
"The entire surface of the bench is warm. We're putting about 185-190 degrees into the bench, so that surface of the bench will feel like you're sitting in a hot tub. Then there's a foot deck that pulls out," Floyd told Denver7's Veronica Acosta.
"If the guys are standing on the sideline but not want to sit, but watch the game over the tops of other players, kind of shoulder line they could stand there with their sideline parka on, it'll blow that warm air right up there sideline parkas," Floyd added. "One of the features was built specifically for your former quarterback, Peyton Manning, he wanted to keep his his hands warm. So, we built hand warming stations into the bench to keep quarterback skill players, receivers' hands warm before they go to the next series."
Floyd also told Denver7 the warming benches also have spots where players can set their helmets down to keep warm. The purpose being to keep players safe.
"It's all about the athlete physiology, keeping their hamstrings loose and limber to try to eliminate or minimize the risk of injury, calf muscles, lower back," he said.
However, Floyd and Dragon Seats aren't the only ones with stake in the game. Christopher Miehl, the president of Big Fogg, also provides warming equipment for teams.
Miehl told Denver7 the Denver Broncos use his torpedoes, which are essentially heaters players use to warm up their legs.
"They have them at the edge of the benches, and they usually have one pointing in from the left side and from the right side, depending on how cold it is, sometimes they'll bring out both," Miehl told Denver7's Veronica Acosta. "It'll be going in both directions, and it's cylinders closer to the ground, so it's more like heat that does your legs."
Ultimately, both Floyd and Miehl say they're rooting for the Broncos in Sunday's game.
"I'm rooting, of course, for the Broncos, you know, to beat the Patriots," Miehl said.
"There's just a ton of excitement around Denver football and Denver sports," Floyd added. "It's been a fun run."
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