Quote:
Originally Posted by Mecca
I'm sure you can find some guys after they retired talking about it, but it's not something anyone talks about when they're playing, I think it's a mental thing.
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Um, altitude isn't a mental thing, it's definitely physical. There's literally a little less oxygen at higher altitudes. Roughly, there's about 4% less O2 at 5,000 ft. vs. sea level. Doesn't sound like much, but air is only 21% oxygen in the first place. So playing at DEN means a visiting player must perform with only 80% of the O2 his body is normally used to.
Less O2 means your muscles will burn through the available O2 faster, and it will take longer for your body to reaccumulate it. So lactic acid production and build-up are both going to happen faster.
In other words, you get tired quicker and it takes longer to recover. At the beginning of a game, highly trained athletes won't notice this as much as a regular person might, but it's cumulative, so by the 2nd half (or earlier for fatties) is when they probably really notice it.
However, if you live at higher altitudes, your body becomes accustomed to making do with less O2. It takes a few weeks for your body to produce the extra red blood cells. So Broncos players don't feel the effects as soon or as much as a visiting player.
That's why playing at Mile High is such an advantage for DEN.