The Ice Bowl (1967)

The Ice Bowl, The Green Bay Packers vs. The Dallas Cowboys

It was New Year’s Eve 1967 when the Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys faced off in the NFL Championship Game at the frigid Lambeau Field. Once the game began, the temperature in the stadium was 18 degrees below zero and the wind chill made it feel like an icy 48 degrees below zero. Despite the atrocious weather conditions, 50,000 brave fans showed up to the game that would decide who would play in Super Bowl II (Pro Football Hall of Fame).

The Ice Bowl itself had almost been postponed by NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle when the forecast called for freezing temperatures the day of the game, but Rozelle held off because he believed the cold front would not arrive until after the scheduled game time (Sporting News). Unfortunately, the cold weather arrived just in time for the game. Nevertheless, the players suited up for the championship game that would be played on icy and “tundra-like” turf due to a malfunction of Lambeau Field’s heating system earlier that day (“When Pride Still Mattered, A Life of Vince Lombardi” via Wikipedia).

The game kicked off at 1:00 P.M. and, throughout the game, several coaches, fans, and even superstar quarterback Bart Starr had contracted frostbite. Green Bay had held the lead for the first three quarters until Dallas struck back with a 50-yard touchdown reception by wide receiver Lance Rentzel from the passing arm of the Cowboys running back Dan Reeves. This put the Cowboys up by a score of 17-14. The Packers then started their final drive of the game on their own 32-yard-line with under five minutes to go down by three points (Pro Football Reference). This was where history was about to be made. The Packers proceeded their historic drive down the field by compiling first down after first down until they reached the one-yard-line of the Cowboys. The Packers attempted two run plays, but the icy field caused running back, Donny Anderson, to stumble and come up short each time (Gruver, 1998, via wikipedia). After the two unsuccessful plays, Green Bay called its last timeout with 16 seconds left. Starr and the offense met with Lombardi on the sideline and planned to run a run play to the fullback, but Starr planned to run it into the end zone himself without telling his teammates what he was going to do. The Packers lined up on the goal line in the sub-freezing temperature for what might be their last play of the season. Starr snapped the ball as offensive lineman Jerry Kramer and Ken Bowman performed a crucial double-team block on Dallas defensive tackle Jethro Pugh. This pivotal block allowed Starr to dive into the end-zone for the touchdown and the 20-17 lead (Gruver, 2002, via Wikipedia).

The Green Bay Packers would go on to win the game by a score of 21-17, and later would beat the Oakland Raiders in Super Bowl II to secure wins in both of the NFL’s first two Super Bowls. What made this game special was that an organization called NFL Films had created a documentary of the game that was viewable to the American public from the comfort of their living rooms. The documentary included not only game play, but also interviews, and glimpses of the shivering fans watching from the stands which was a very new and unique way to display the game. Well-known figures like Vince Lombardi drew interest in many viewers because of his famous quotes and rugged coaching style. According to executive director of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Joe Horrigan, the Lombardi-era itself captivated America because of the way he coached a small-town team like the Green Bay Packers to two Super Bowl wins. The Ice Bowl also proved a revolutionary marketing tool for Rozelle and the NFL because at the time they were trying to expose football to people who weren’t already fans of the game. The fantastic game play and treacherous weather conditions were ideal for popularizing football because it made the game seem very dramatic in the eyes of Americans compared to other sports. Another, factor that made The Ice Bowl stick out was because of the fact that the Packers defense included many African American players that was very uncommon of the teams of that era (The Guardian). This would go down as one of the coldest games in NFL history, and be historically called “The Ice Bowl”.

This football game also had lasting significance because it was the beginning of America´s love affair with the game. Partly because of the competitive nature of the game but also because of the easy accessibility for millions of viewers. With very few television choices (unlike today!), the Sunday football games quickly became part of the new pop culture of our country. The television set was becoming the gathering place for families and friends. Cheering for the home team and the development of home town pride were significant parts to this new popular culture in America.

The close games and the larger than life heroes of the game became important to each city and team. Arguably, football was now on its way to surpassing baseball as the most popular sport in the United States. Children were now imitating their favorite football players and backyard football games were becoming the norm.