The Arizona Cardinals built a beautiful new stadium with a retractable roof, and that roof was not intended for precipitation. You may have heard that it doesn’t rain much in the Phoenix area.
But on Sunday, the Cardinals and Chicago Bears got a surprise.
The roof was open and that is usually not a danger at Cardinals home games, as long as it is not too hot. But in the second quarter it started to rain. Not only that, but some hail fell.
That was unexpected as it was a beautiful day out when the competition started. The Cardinals began closing the roof, but the CBS broadcast said the process takes ten minutes. So the teams played one of the more unexpected weather upsets of this or many other NFL seasons. The roof was closed late in the second quarter.
FootballZebras.com said it was the first time a retractable roof was closed during an NFL game. The site said the decision can only be made by the match referee, along with football activities.
No problem, it just started to hail in Glendale during the Cardinals vs Bears game.
Remember, the Cardinals have a retractable roof and are now closing it. pic.twitter.com/l7YU1vvirV
— 🌵 Mr. Az (@MrAzSports) November 3, 2024
The Bears should have made peace with it. It is not unusual to have bad weather in Chicago. They probably never expected to dodge raindrops and hail in Arizona.