This is just stupid. The final Champions League group stage games are this week, with the top two teams in each of the eight, four-team groups advancing to the Round of 16. Most of today's matches had something riding on them with the final group standings still unresolved, but perhaps the most exciting matchup was between Italian champions Juventus, who were taking on Turkish club Galatasaray in Istanbul. Juventus entered the match with six points, while Galatasaray had four. If Juventus won or draw, they'd be through. If the Turks could pull off a win, they would.
Everything seemed cool until the prematch weather advisories rolled in that said there was a 100 percent chance of a hailstorm. The two sides kicked off anyway; a little hail can kill you, but it usually doesn't. Shortly after kickoff, though, it became clear this storm wouldn't be just a couple of pellets.
Snow and ice fell onto the pitch in sheets, like raindrops, and then bounced off the turf, off the goalposts, and off the heads and shoulders of players. Here's another look:
Nuts. After about 30 minutes, the ref had enough, and issued a weather delay. The pitch, which was green to start, was completely white with ice by the time the whistle blew. Though they tried to shovel, switch to a brighter ball, and redraw the lines of the field, but decided to postpone the match until tomorrow when players won't be pelted with tiny, freezing bullets from Jesus. We'll see what happens then.