Return of the Ice Bowl

This weekend's NFL playoff game between the Green Bay Packers and the New York Giants will most definitely be a return of the ICE BOWL. The predicted high at Lambeau Field is 4 above.

On December 31, 1967, the Packers played Dallas at Lambeau Field in Green Bay during one of the coldest days on record. The daytime high reached -13 degrees with a windchill around 48 below.

From wikipedia: The bitter cold overwhelmed Lambeau's new turf heating system, leaving the playing surface hard as a rock and nearly as smooth as ice, but many believe Packer coach Vince Lombardi turned it off. The officials were unable to use their whistles after the opening kickoff. As the referee blew his metal whistle to signal the start of play, it froze to his lips. For the rest of the game, the officials used voice commands and calls to end plays and officiate the game.

Several players, including Dallas defensive tackle Jethro Pugh and Green Bay quarterback Bart Starr, still claim to suffer occasional mild effects of the frostbite they developed that day. Dallas quarterback Don Meredith came down with pneumonia after the game and was hospitalized on his return to Texas.

Furthermore, the UW - La Crosse Marching Chiefs band were supposed to perform the pregame and halftime shows. During warmups in the brutal cold, the woodwind instruments froze and wouldn't play, the mouthpieces of brass instruments got stuck to the players' lips, and seven members of the band were transported to local hospitals for hypothermia. The band's performances were canceled.

My husband has a video of this day and it looks downright brutal. All those cheeseheads in thin scarves and thinner shoes. They stood outside in the horrid weather without goretex, polypropylene, electric hunting socks, or those little miracles in a bag called hand warmers. I like football but I'm not an idiot. Tune in on Sunday just to see what people are wearing. Don't you just KNOW one guy will have a naked painted chest.