Every October, Deborah Cooper opens up the bed of her Toyota Tacoma pickup and packs enough gear for a four-month odyssey.

Four blankets. Two portable propane heaters. Tents. Chairs. Umbrellas. Extra changes of clothes.

It’s the type of equipment someone would pack for an Arctic expedition — or just to survive the high school soccer season in Mississippi.

Saturday’s Games

WC at NW Rankin, 1 p.m.

VHS hosts Tupelo, 1 p.m.

St. Al hosts Winona, 2 p.m.

Cooper, whose son Michael was a two-time Vicksburg Post Player of the Year at Vicksburg High, and whose daughter Robin currently plays for the school, is one of thousands of parents and fans who endure frigid weather while sitting on frozen metal bleachers to watch their children and friends play.

Unlike the players, however, the fans can’t run around to stay warm when temperatures plunge. The fans must find their own way to stay warm, whether it’s using a propane heater, bundling up or just shivering. A glance around the stands at a game reveals a culture where anything short of an open fire is embraced and shared.

“Soccer has taught me the art of keeping warm,” Deborah Cooper said. “When Michael started playing, I just had a few clothes and froze my buns off.”

Cooper has tinkered with different methods over the years. Her latest solution, unveiled at the Vicksburg-Warren Central game on Jan. 12, is a thick sleeping bag guaranteed to keep its occupant warm in temperatures as low as zero.

Cooper snuggled up in the bag and reclined across two rows of bleachers, with just her head and shoulders poking out.

“I usually go for blankets, and it’s really working. With this, I only have to carry one thing into the stadium. I think I might try this more often,” Cooper said. “As long as it’s not raining, I could stay out here all night.”

A few seats over from Cooper, Derek and Amanda Morgan opted for a more high-powered approach. On the row of bleachers in front of them, the parents of Vicksburg player Sarah Beth Morgan placed a large propane heater with a pair of 12-inch burners sticking out of the top.

“We probably go through 10 gallons (of propane) a soccer season,” Derek Morgan said. “Plus with this one you can cook hot chocolate on it if you want.”

The heater turned the 35-degree air into a balmy 70-degree blast for everyone in a 5-foot radius. Nearly two feet above the burners, fumes from the burning propane gave the air a wavy shimmer.

Even so, the Morgans made sure to bundle up. Amanda wore three layers of clothes, gloves and three scarves. Derek wore a thick hunting jacket and cap that left only his eyes exposed.

“This was the added feature this year. You never quit learning, I guess,” Derek Morgan said.

The Coopers and Morgans, like other fans, learned quickly the tactics necessary to fight the cold. Soccer is a year-round sport in Mississippi, but the high school season runs from November to early February. Games are often played on frosty nights where the wind and cold can whip through the bleachers like a scythe.

“It’d be better if it was done at a different time. But at least in Mississippi it’s bearable. You get farther north, like in Tupelo, and they’re dealing with snow and stuff,” said Chris Dixon, whose daughter Amy plays for Vicksburg High. “I think all the parents approach it with a lot of humor. You’ve got to grin and bear it. If the kids have to be out in it, we can be too.”

The jokes give fans a sense of camaraderie. High school soccer is just one of several seasons for the sport in Mississippi. The select team season runs through spring and summer. Because of that, players and fans cross paths with each other more often than those in other sports. That leads to the development of friendships and, in some cases, mentorships.

Experienced fans who see newcomers shivering will sometimes give them extra clothes stashed in the truck. Others will advise them on the best heaters or cold-weather gear to invest in.

“We share heaters, lighters, blankets, hot chocolate, whatever,” Amanda Morgan said.

The Morgans said they learned the tricks of the trade from other parents.

“The first trip we couldn’t stand it. The next trip, we started packing more and more, and layering,” Amanda Morgan said. “A lot of it was learning by watching. We saw somebody with a good heater, we’d ask where they got it.”

“After the first experience of freezing to death, you learn quickly,” Derek Morgan chimed in.

Although people are willing to share some of their gear, not everyone needs all of those accessories.

Dixon is one of several fans who opt for a more natural approach to staying warm. He simply bundled up in layers, with a thick hunting jacket and pants. That was similar to Warren Central fan Virgil Massey, a barrel-chested employee at the Ergon Refinery whose son, Ethan, plays for the Vikings.

Virgil Massey attended the Vicksburg-WC game with a few of his other sons, all of whom wore camouflage hunting clothes. Virgil’s jacket remained open, however, revealing a pair of thermal underwear and coveralls underneath.

“We hunt and stay outside a lot. I’m just used to it. We growed up in the country,” Massey said. “We’re outside in this every chance we get. We have five boys and they all love to hunt.”

An even more natural approach to dealing with the cold was displayed by Warren Central fans Karen and Kaylee Boyd. The mother and daughter only attend a few soccer games each season, not nearly enough to invest in a propane heater for special cold-weather clothing. Instead, they opted for hot chocolate and shivering, neither of which worked very well.

Kaylee’s fleece jacket and Converse tennis shoes offered little protection. The hot chocolate, they said, had cooled by the time they returned from the concession stand.

“We’re enduring, but my feet are hurting,” Kaylee Boyd said.

Like their counterparts in the stands on the other side of Viking Stadium, humor was one of the Boyds’ best defenses against the weather.

“We don’t have all the proper attire. We’re just jealous of the team, sitting there in front of the heaters blowing on them,” Karen Boyd said.

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Contact Ernest Bowker at ebowker@vicksburgpost.com