My heart sank a little when I got the news. Two days later, when my phone buzzed with a text message confirming it, I almost shed a tear.

“We’re still on,” it read.

There was no longer any avoiding it. On a day and night where the temperature barely got above freezing, I was going to have to stand outside for nearly four hours to cover a soccer game.
Before I anger the passionate soccer fans in the audience, let me say that I have nothing against the sport itself. It’s not my favorite as a fan, but I’ve grown to appreciate it, and our local teams have lots of fine folks playing and coaching for them.

My issue with soccer, at least on the high school level, is when it is played. Winter. The worst time of year to do almost anything outdoors that doesn’t involve looking at a deer through the crosshairs.

Unlike football, which starts in the heat of August and only has a few cold game nights a year, or the baseball season that starts in cold weather but quickly gives way to beautiful spring evenings, the best you can hope for during soccer season is to get on the right side of an oncoming front. Catch that break, and it’s a string of wonderful 60-degree nights. Don’t catch it, and you freeze your patootie off.

Guess which side we’ve been on this year?

It was about 32 degrees when I arrived for the St. Aloysius-Madison-St. Joseph game around 5:30 p.m. last Thursday. The sun had just set, so it was only going to get colder, and the grass and mud was already firm with ice as I tromped around its edge. Since I was shooting photos as well as writing about the game, extended periods of time cowering in the press box weren’t an option — not that I didn’t try, under the guise of “getting a roster.”

There’s a pond next to St. Joe’s field. I swear I saw a penguin swimming laps over there.

Even the propane heaters in the bench area had issues. They melted the ice on the ground around them, turning the whole are into frigid mud pits that could leave you with cold, muddy feet. Standing too close can also catch your clothes on fire. I’ve seen that happen a few times.

Luckily, there was no wind and I was able to move around some, so it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. The following night at Vicksburg High and Warren Central, when it was about 35 degrees with a 5-10 mph breeze, was much worse. I made it a little more than two hours the first night before my fingers and toes started going numb. Last Friday was about half that.

I’ve been doing this long enough now that I realize it’s part of the job. High school soccer season is just part of a year-round schedule for the sport, and with regular football in fall and the glut of spring sports that follows, there’s probably no chance of the MHSAA ever shifting it to a warmer season.

In the meantime, maybe it’s time to buy stock in the company that makes those awesome handwarmer packets. Or strike up some random conversations with the fans smart enough to lug their own propane heaters into the game. Snuggling up with the people in blankets and sleeping bags will probably be a step too far.

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Ernest Bowker is a sports writer. He can be reached at 601-619-7120, or by email at ernest.bowker@vicksburgpost.com