As is often the case for a game at Lambeau Field in January, the weather was a storyline during the divisional playoff game between the San Francisco 49ers and Green Bay Packers.
At kickoff, the temperature was 14 degrees with a 2-degree wind chill. When the second half began, those numbers dropped to 12 degrees and a zero-degree wind chill. It was cold, which was surely a factor in a low-scoring, 13-10 Niners victory.
Yet 49ers radio play-by-play broadcaster Greg Papa took off his boots during the broadcast, standing and walking around the Lambeau Field press box in socks. Producer Mike Hohler took a picture of Papa’s feet for posterity and the tweet went viral.
During his weekly appearance on KNBR’s ‘Murph and Mac,’ Papa was asked how he could go without boots in those frigid Green Bay temperatures.
“I went double socks, which I never do,” Papa explained. “And I was wearing my after ski boots. It was a little snug to have the double socks, but I love the double socks. You have to keep your hands and your feet cold when it’s zero out. So I did not complain and I was fine for the game.”
The hosts joked that this nearly put Papa in company with great musicians who performed barefoot, such as Sade, Robert Plant, and Henry Rollins. Papa said this made him a “smooth operator,” but clarified that he wore socks unlike broadcasting colleague Joel Meyers, who doesn’t wear socks.
As unusual as it might seem to wear only socks when Green Bay was so cold, Papa was inside the Lambeau Field press box. He wasn’t on the field. Plus, in addition to feeling too tight, maybe Papa’s feet got a bit sweaty with double socks and boots. Air those puppies out. Especially if it kept him sharp for the broadcast.
Ian Casselberry is a sports media columnist for BSM. He has previously written and edited for Awful Announcing, The Comeback, Sports Illustrated, Yahoo Sports, MLive, Bleacher Report, and SB Nation. You can find him on Twitter @iancass or reach him by email at iancass@gmail.com.
