Dunleavy: Dressing is difficult with ice on the ground, A/C in the air

By Mary Dunleavy, WRAL Sports anchor/reporter

When I hopped into my car to head to PNC Arena for Game 3 between the Canes and the Isles last night with my winter-ish jacket on, I looked at my dash and it read 85 degrees.

I quickly ripped off the jacket and jacked up the AC.

Of course, when it’s in the 80s, PNC always feels like an ice box. So what do you wear?

Is it still winter technically at the rink? Is it socially acceptable to wear a parka? No? Ok.

I want to make it clear that I am not complaining. I’d rather have this debacle any day than the Canes not playing for a Stanley Cup Championship. This has been an amazing ride.

Still, I am one that can’t stand the cold. Most of my fam is from NY, but the south has turned me into a baby who craves summer into November.

Dressing as a woman sports journalist is an art I’m still perfecting. Hockey has thrown a wrench in my attempt at ‘sports girl style.’

Right before the locker room where we wait to interview the players, there’s what the reporters call a ‘wind tunnel,’ from the ice to the hallway. It can feel like 32-degree weather when the wind hits ya just right. I wish a parka was socially acceptable in that moment.

Are boots still okay? Maybe? Is it weird to wear open toed shoes when standing next to ice?

Any answers are welcome: mdunleavy@wral.com.

This is the first hockey market I’ve worked in, so I’m learning as I go. Just one of those things you don’t think about til you cover hockey ... in the playoffs when it feels like summer.