The 2021 NFL Week 12 Roundup | Hog Lard & Salt
Thin Ice
The NHL has a dirty little secret. And it resides in plain sight 2,624 times throughout the course of any given Regular Season. The shame shines brightly 24/7 like a Christmas tree even when the League’s areas are dark. The stigma that curses the NHL’s evergreen uphill fight to be recognized as a forward thinker in Green Sports? Energy consumption. NHL arenas, all 32 of them, are far and away the most resource-intensive venues in all of Professional Sports. That makes sense given that rink managers essentially must maintain year-round a 100,000 pound, 17,000 square foot, inch thick ice cube. Additionally, the ambient arena air temperature ought not rise not further than 60 degrees (ideally 50 degrees) lest one of the world’s 32 most perfect singular continuous pieces sheet of ice begin softening. So it’s clear the unique demands of putting on the Show so familiar to millions of fans around the world pose grave challenges to the League, and Team Ownership that is always saddled with the bills funding the NHL’s ambitious sustainability endeavors. Everyone’s multi-party timeless interest in reducing plural cost (financial, operating, environmental) took a jarring backseat to hypocrisy in recent weeks with the League’s quiet announcement of a partnership with a 6-year old $5B Delaware chemical company named Chemours. The news floored observers who viewed the move as an unadulterated attack on common sense and a frigid insult — and complete reversal — to the League’s own Sustainability Goals so famously declared in 2014. You be the judge.
The NHL was founded in 1917 not long after the commercial introduction of state-of-the-art refrigeration technology allowed the League to proliferate within contained climate-controlled arenas nationwide. In the decades prior, attempts at the construction of artificial ice rinks relied on a noxious mixture of ice, animal lard and salts to form a recreational solid sheet of frozen fat. In practical terms, it was like gliding on top of a frozen stick of butter. The resulting day-to-day surface irregularities, difficulties in maintaining the frozen “surface” and the horrible smell of the congealed fat cap made for very limited appeal among the general public. Just the very thought of falling onto the grease slick was enough to do-in the novel idea. It wasn’t until 1876 that John Gamgee in London introduced the precursor to what we see today with his Glaciarium in Chelsea. Here, his innovation of the first-ever mechanically frozen ice rink with copper piping submerged in water through which refrigerant was pushed, the whole of it atop layers of concrete, dirt, cow hair and wood for insulation, was equal part inspiration and genius. The NHL hasn’t looked back and every rink in use today and since is based upon John’s shining technological breakthrough.
While individual designs and componentry makeup might vary slightly, all ice rinks are united in basic composition methodology. First, a foot-thick sand and gravel base supports any modern rink. Atop this layer is a heated 3-inch concrete substructure (to maintain a consistent base structure temperature free of fluctuations) which itself is capped with insulation. Another 3-inch layer of concrete rises further, this time chilled. Five miles of steel pipe (and 3000+ soldered joints) wind their way back-and-forth within this surface carrying refrigerant. Finally, 10 applications (tenth of an inch each) of purified water are applied to the sub-freezing 24 degree concrete along with paint and Team insignias. In total, it takes 48 hours and 10,000 gallons of water pumped through an on-premises reverse osmosis purification system to complete the final inch-thick regulation skating surface the NHL demands. Where rinks differ is in the type of refrigerant employed. Generally, the arenas in the NHL are of a certain age. The refrigerant technology used reflects the era in which they each was conceived. It’s no wonder then that about 80% of the currently-in-use NHL rinks utilize ozone-depleting and greenhouse gas hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) as their refrigerant of-choice. The remaining rely on the neutral carbon dioxide or ammonia-based technologies that offer the green-cred most adept at meeting our ever-challenging times.
The NHL knows that these aging HCFC systems will need to be replaced. Pundits presumed continued adoption of the environmentally-friendly carbon dioxide or ammonia approach. They were wrong. A press release a few weeks ago announced the NHL’s multiyear renewal of an agreement (first inked in 2018) with chemical company Chemours. The company is the lead League producer of refrigerants and boasts of twin segment-busting bridge chemicals allowing for seamless transitions from outlawed HCFC-based refrigerants to modern less-problematic HFC (hydrofluorocarbon) replacements. The issue is, less-problematic is STILL problematic. Chemours’ menu of HFC alternatives (marketed under the Opteon brandmark) continue to contribute to global warming though at a much-reduced levels than their decades-old predecessors. But these HFC-based alternatives also maintain global warming impacts up to 1200 times that of carbon dioxide over the course of 100 years, pound for pound, according to the Company. According to Chemours! Ammonia, for its part, has no warming impacts. So it’s curious then that the NHL breaks its arm patting itself on the back heralding the arrival of next-generation ice rink technology on the back of anti-Green chemical refrigerants; and an ethos in direct opposition to the League’s very own inward 2014 environmentally-minded manifesto dedicated to continues improvement and Mother Earth. This screed lent the full weight of the League in publicizing the virtues of carbon dioxide and ammonia-based solutions as practical, viable and Earth-smart. The big issue with carbon dioxide and ammonia-based refrigerant systems is upfront cost due primarily to the need for a secondary refrigerant loop (carbon dioxide or ammonia circulate in a closed loop and transfer heat via a heat exchanger with the primary concrete-embedded loop within which circulates brine or glycol). But running costs are tremendously less expensive with these types of systems because they run at much lower systemwide pressures resulting in attenuated energy needs. It’s the traditional conundrum: upfront cost for long term savings versus time savings and minimal upfront cost. Carbon dioxide and ammonia versus HFCs. With the NHL’s recent announcement, it’s clear which side they are collapsing into. It’s a position sung from ribbons upon ribbons of lip service.
There is interminable calculus in deciding any position or course of movement. Cost is typically the bonafide star of the show when it comes to these decisions. Naturally. But it’s how you determine cost and measure reward is what separates the pioneers from the puppets. Swapping in a less-intolerable HFC chemical refrigerant into existing rink infrastructure saves gobs of money and obviates the need for pricey, time-consuming and disruptive arena reconstruction efforts whose benefits will be reflected in the decades to come. Not lost on anyone is the fact that the HFC solution also locks in ice rink owners as Chemours perma-customers for as long their aging chilling technology resides in-place. It might look rosy on the Balance Sheet, but it’s a massive counterweight to the League’s breezy Green-first self-directed sustainability pledged intent. It needn’t be surprising though. Immediate gratification is often informed by short-minded thought. Pushing past that to hero impactful substantive actions stemming from long-term reward is where the wheat separates from the chaff. It’s also what differentiates the puppeteer from the puppet. What’s worse, local community and private rink operators look up to the NHL for medium to long term technological guidance and are receiving squishy signals in exchange: Highlighting the virtues of eating your veggies yet wielding a fistful of soda coupons just for showing up. It’s just the dissonance of self-advertising the appearance of Green living alongside contradictory actions fueled by the other kind of green. Pick a lane. It’s fine to cling to bride refrigerants as a stopgap measure in transitioning to the inevitable. And it’s great to dream BIG. Conflating both is where the NHL finds itself in the penalty box. Judging from the oh-we’ll-get-around-to-it mindset of the NHL, the League might have been better served announcing a partnership with Crisco shortening and the Morton Salt Company in a retro throwback to the greenest, if ill-pleasing, of all refrigerant technologies. Now, THAT would have made headlines.
As we look back on a Thanksgiving-enmeshed Week 12 in the NFL, there were many Teams around the League thankful, but for differing reasons. Bucs at Colts found Tampa Bay giving thanks for the gas station that appeared at the 50 yard line at the beginning of the 2nd half. The matchup showcased the Offensive strength and breath beyond Tom Brady who showed up with a decent-for-Tom performance. He ceded the ground stage to RB Leonard Fournette who with 17 carries and 3 TDs was the Team locomotive. This time last year the Team famously began embarking upon their lossless trek to the Super Bowl. This year, might they be a week ahead of schedule mid-November slump included and carried over? The Colts, coming off a buzzy WIN in BUF last week, settled for an L, 31–38. QB Carson Wentz paired his 3 TDs with 2 INTs. The difference was the taming of RB Jonathan Taylor. At least for this week. And smile INDY, you’re still on Hard Knocks IN Season — a stomach-wrenching exercise in boredom. Over in Cincy, PIT’s must-win game couldn’t have gone any worse as they catastrophically tack on another Loss, 10–41. Bengals QB Jo Burrow and especially RB Joe Mixon were able to perfect their offensive recipe for carving up a now-faltering Steelers DEF. CINCY’s DEF took notice and flexed in sympathy. A Black and Yellow humbling resulted likely signaling lights out for the Season. Up in Green Bay, Aaron Rodgers and his COVID toe or broken toe saga continued complete with his strangely exhibiting a supposedly disabled toe and exposed foot before cameras mid-week. Covid toe or NO, Aaron cruised efficiently through yet another Victory, this time over the worsening Rams, 36–28. LA is now careening, racking up their 3rd LOSS in a row. Matt Stafford is still producing in the air but is also coughing up pick-6s, one for each of the last 3 games. Starry additions Von Miller and OBJ were supposed to help pave the way to playing the Super Bowl in the Team’s home stadium. Instead, the Rams haven’t wont a game in 30 days. Disaster looms with precious few weeks in the offing. The Packers at 9–3 boast of the NFC’s best record despite unspoken tensions roiling just beneath the surface.
In the Sunshine State, the Panthers traveled to Hard Rock stadium and were rocked, 10–33. After the explosive fireworks of last week’s Cam Newton renaissance, the Carolina QB was benched late in the game dispelling any of the most optimistic forecasts for a Panthers mid-Season surge. There are rust holes enough to step through anywhere you look. Cam’s shaky inauspicious start is yet another (5/21 92 yards 2 INTs). Thought to be fair, expecting textbook execution from a seasoned veteran plopped into the pages of unfamiliar playbook and Team dynamic is a pinch unreasonable. There’s work to be done in honing the Team’s claws for next Season. The Fins, on the other hand, are coming on strong with a Season-best outing from MIA QB Tua Tagovailoa who continues with pinpoint accuracy and the promise Miami fans have clamored for perhaps finally coming into fruition. The Team’s sturdy D clicked in sync. IN Foxborough, the hottest Team in the League hosted the Titans to predictable results. The Pats are on a 6 game tear and weren’t about to let their conference rivals come up for oxygen. Pats QB Mac Jones is peaking at precisely the right time powering his team right into the playoffs, with Captain Belichick firmly in the wheelhouse. Injury-riddled TEN is doing no favors to QB Ryan Tannehill who is getting squeezed amid sky-high expectations to pull the freight train deep into January. Problem is, the train might have already derailed. And over on the West Coast, how about that San Francisco renaissance? The 9ers capped off the week with their third W in a row having benefitted from a timely infusion of healthy stars into the starting lineup. The always-interesting NFC West sweepstakes appears poised for a dangerous reshuffling of the cabinet. Kirk Cousins and his Vikings remain on their topsy turvy roller coaster ride banging from mind-blowing victory to deflating loss week-to-week-to-week. This week they take the L against SF, 26–34.
In our Round Robin, the Charger’s splash-landing into reality is now complete with Sunday’s punishing loss to DEN, 13–28. There were plenty of self-inflicted mistakes to go around for LAC including Justin Herbert’s twin picks. The Broncos DEF showed UP to mesh nicely with a powerhouse QB Teddy Bridgewater-led OFF. Which begs the existential question: Are the Broncos suddenly GOOD? The weeks ahead will tell the tale. AS both LA Teams went belly-up, their counterparts in the Big Apple were thankful for rare WINS. The Jets took out the trash and with stinky Texans (21–14) while the always-questionable Giants surprised the plummeting Eagles (13–7) in a game that both opposing QBs will look back upon one day and remember very differently. NYG QB Daniel Jones enjoyed one of his best outings in weeks while PHL QB Jalen Hurts suffered through perhaps the worst game of his nascent career. News of Jalen’s ankle injury today only adds to gathering clouds of premonition on the PHL horizon. The horrible Jags lost again (to ATL, 14–21) brining their tale of terror this Season to 2–9. And finally, the Ravens escaped with the WIN over the Browns(16–10) despite QB Lamar Jackson throwing for 4 INTs and last night the WFT was busy driving nails in the coffin that is Seattle’s Season, 17–15. Russell Wilson tried his mighty best to overcome the crafty WFT but to no avail as his DEF let him down…once again. Don’t look know but QB Taylor Heinicke and Co have strung together a nice string of crucial WINS and with it street cred in the NFC East. Just don’t tell that to the Cowboys.
