Commentary

At the 2026 season opener, the South Carolina Gamecocks played the hottest home game in Williams-Brice Stadium history. Temperatures reached a blistering 99°F, with the heat index soaring to 110°F. Yesterday, the Tennessee Titans' artificial turf hit a scorching 157°F (per USA Today's report from the game) — hot enough that Eagles players were swapping out cleats because of melting soles.

We sing an old gospel song at Olive Branch AME Church: "It's gonna rain, it's gonna rain. You better get ready and bear this in mind. God showed Noah the rainbow sign. He said, 'It won't be water, but fire next time.'"

I've been singing that song my whole life. I didn't expect to watch it play out on a football field.

In 2023, I had the privilege of serving on a Charleston Literary Festival panel with Jeff Goodell, author of The Heat Will Kill You First. Jeff shared that heat now kills more people than any other disaster we track – more than hurricanes, more than floods. In that discussion, the late Dale Morris, who served as the City of Charleston's chief resilience officer, put it in terms that we can all relate to: "When it gets too hot for the horses, they stop working – which is great – but we don't extend that same consideration to outdoor workers. We need to address that human aspect of heat, too."

Dale was right. Watching the steamy gridiron fields across the Southeast, it's clear the heat isn't waiting for us to catch up.

Some conversations are worth having again. This is one of them.