Another Benefit of Air Domes: No Fog!

Fog Hurting Your Game? Another Benefit of Air Domes

Fog might seem harmless, but foggy conditions can ruin an outdoor event just as quickly as a downpour or snowstorm. This blog often focuses on how great domes are for protection from rain or snow, but precipitation of all kinds can be enough to damper an outdoor sports event, even fog.

Fog is a uniquely complex atmospheric phenomenon. When conditions are just right, small droplets of water suspend in the air at, or near, the Earth’s surface. We see suspended droplets all the time, but typically they float high up in the upper levels of the atmosphere. Fog is, essentially, a cloud down on the ground.

While fog can moisten the playing field and make it slick during a sports match, it’s most impactful effect is low visibility. If you’ve ever driven through a thick fog, you can attest to the dangers imposed by “harmless” fog.

Outdoor sports are particularly vulnerable to foggy conditions, especially when visibility is limited to only a few feet in front of an athlete’s face. Imagine playing baseball and having no idea where the ball you’ve pitched is going. Or even worse, being up to bat and having no idea when there is a ball flying towards your face.

These conditions were a reality for the 2007 Eastern League All-Star Game.  The fog wasn’t as bad as batters not being able to see pitches, but outfielders we’re missing catches all over the place. They simply couldn’t see the white baseball through the dense fog. After 2 innings, the teams’ managers and the umpire crew decided it was best to end the game early. Not only to protect the players from injury, but also from embarrassment as they stumbled around looking for the ball! The game ended with a score of 2-2.

Sometimes players have endured the fog, though, only to result in terrible playing and an all-around poor showing. The 1988 NFC Divisional Playoff Game between the Bears and Eagles is aptly known as the Fog Bowl. This football game goes down in history as resulting in an impressively poor performance by all players, all a direct result of a dense fog that rolled in during the 2nd quarter of the game. The game continued despite the low visibility and the Eagles’ QB even managed 407 passing yards, but the team failed to get the ball into the end zone with players saying they couldn’t even see the sidelines, let alone the other end of the field. The game went full time and the Bears walked away victorious with a final score of 20-12 and the game is commemorated in the NFL’s Top 10 Weather Games.

So foggy conditions can truly ruin any outdoor sporting event. Whether it creates unsafe playing conditions, or results in a terrible performance, fog is another weather peril that comes with playing an outdoor sport.

Luckily, there is a solution: move your game to an indoor sport facility. Having the option to move a game indoors can save players and officials from having to call a game early. Air domes are perfect for keeping football, baseball, soccer, or tennis players safe from rain, snow, or even fog. The next time you see a dense fog rolling in to put the brakes on your game, run for cover underneath an air dome!