North Texas boosters would never have scripted an ice storm and an Arctic blast to welcome thousands of Super Bowl visitors, but many Northerners say they feel right at home.
Despite temperatures that felt like zero degrees, at least one Pittsburgh Steeler was dressed in shorts when the team left its Fort Worth hotel for Media Day at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington.
"This weather is the bomb," said one Packers fan bundled up in the team's colors. "I mean, what more can you ask for football weather than this?"
But it's clearly not the kind of weather local officials had wanted.
Their spin: You can't control Mother Nature.
"You never know what to expect in Texas," Fort Worth Mayor Mike Moncrief said. "If you don't like the weather, just hang around 10 or 15 minutes. It'll change."
At Media Day inside Cowboys Stadium, it was a balmy 72 degrees. The frigid temperature outside was a major topic, but few complained.
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John Stofflet, a reporter for WMTV-TV in Madison, Wis., said he had hoped to escape the cold when he was assigned to cover the Super Bowl.
"And then you come down here, and you've got Wisconsin weather," he said, laughing. "But it's all about the game, so we're thrilled to be here."
Added Lance Allan, a sports anchor at WTMJ-TV in Milwaukee: "It was great the first couple of days I was here when it was 70. But now it's just like home. So what's the difference? I'm used to it!"
