Packers left in the dark
A power outage in Cleveland affected the team's planning at the hotel for tonight's game
By Todd McMahon
News-Chronicle
The Green Bay Packers aren't scheduled to return to Ohio for the rest of the season after tonight, and that's a good thing.
For the second time in less than two weeks, the Packers found themselves in the eye of strange circumstances while visiting the Buckeye State. They were caught in the blackout that plagued Cleveland as well as most of the Northeast into late Thursday night.
The Packers arrived in Cleveland ahead of tonight's preseason game against the Browns shortly before power was lost after 4 p.m. Eastern time. The team had checked into the downtown Renaissance Cleveland Hotel when all electricity failed.
As of 11:30 p.m. Eastern time, power had yet to be restored. Nevertheless, tonight's 7 o'clock game on national TV (Channel 5) is scheduled to be played.
According to Packers.com, the team's Web site, some players passed the time after the power outage began by milling in the hotel lobby and playing card games.
The hotel served the team dinner using gas ovens and wood-burning stoves. It supplied guests with bottles of water throughout the warm night.
"Most of the guys are handling it pretty well," fullback William Henderson said on the team's Web site Thursday night.
On Aug. 4, the Packers' preseason opener against Kansas City in the Pro Football Hall of Fame at Canton, Ohio - 50 miles south of Cleveland - was canceled with 5 minutes, 49 seconds left in the third quarter because of lightning and a torrential downpour that flooded parts of the field. The Chiefs won the game 9-0.
The Packers had to make do without the power Thursday night as they prepared for the game tonight. Position and team meetings were conducted in the hotel with candles and flashlights providing illumination.
"The guys are just kind of going with the flow," quarterbacks' coach Darrell Bevell said on the team's Web site. "It's a calm situation, and they're trying to make the most of it." |
