An Ice Bowl in “The Frozen Tundra”: The Greatest NFL Game Ever Played
The NFL’s Dallas Cowboys joined the league as an expansion team in 1960. Since then, they have been a success on and off the field and have enjoyed an avid following in the state of Texas, the United States at large and internationally too. The history of the Dallas Cowboys is marked by many great events and countless memorable games, perhaps none more so than the 1967 Ice Bowl.
Ice Bowl is a term that has been associated with a number of sporting events that have been held in extremely cold weather conditions. The 35th game of the National Football League Championship that took place in 1967 between the Green Bay Packers and the Dallas Cowboys was one of those games. Due to the importance of the game, the rivalry between the teams, and the amazing conclusion of the game, it is considered one of the best games ever played. The weather conditions the teams endured during the game cemented its place among the all-time greatest games in NFL history.
The 1967 Ice Bowl game is remembered not only for the play on the field, but also for all the events and consequences attributed to the brutally cold football conditions. The game that took place on December 31, 1967 at Lambeau Field, home of the Green Bay Packers in Green Bay, Wisconsin, is one of the coldest NFL games ever played. At the time of the game, the official temperature was -13 °F (-25 °C), with a wind chill of -48 °F (-44 °C). The playing field was as hard as a rock and almost as smooth as a hockey rink as the cold temperatures overwhelmed the stadium’s new turf heating system. As a result of the Ice Bowl, Lambeau Field was affectionately referred to thereafter as “the Frozen Tundra”.
The Ice Bowl was the second consecutive NFL championship game between the Green Bay Packers and the Dallas Cowboys. The Packers had won the game in 1966 with a 34-27 loss to the Cowboys. On this cold December day in 1967, the Green Bay Packers, led by legendary great Vince Lombardi, took an early 14-0 lead on two touchdown passes from quarterback Bart Starr to wide receiver Boyd Dowler. However, two costly Green Bay turnovers in the second quarter allowed Dallas to score ten points and finish the half down 14-10. Neither team put any points on the board in the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, the Cowboys struck early with running back Dan Reeves’ 50-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Lance Rentzel on a running back option play that put them up 17-14. Later in the quarter, the Packers faltered. on a 40-yard pass. field goal attempt. With just under four minutes left and on his own 32-yard line, Starr led the Packers down the field with three key completions. They then ran the ball to the Cowboys’ 3-yard line. Twice the Packers tried to get the ball into the end zone, but both times they were stopped at the 1-yard line: the icy field and poor footing played a role on the second down.
With only 16 seconds left on the clock, Starr called a timeout. He and Coach Lombardi conferred on the sidelines. Many observers, including the Cowboys, hoped that a pass play as a completed pass into the end zone would win the game and an incomplete pass would earn another play for a touchdown or field goal attempt to bring the game on time. extra. The Packers, however, influenced in part by the treacherous terrain and weather conditions, had another idea. After the snap, Starr executed a sneak quarterback pass and scored a touchdown that gave the Packers a dramatic 21-17 lead. The Cowboys received the ball back on kickoff but were unable to advance the ball in the few seconds remaining. With the victory, the Packers defeated the Cowboys for the second year in a row and won their third consecutive NFL Championship.
The Green Bay Packers easily defeated the American Football League champion Oakland Raiders to win Super Bowl II. At the time, the Super Bowl was considered by many to be of less importance than the NFL Championship game (all of that would change next year when the AFL champions defeated the NFL champions to claim the Super Bowl). The Ice Bowl and Super Bowl II marked the end of an era when Vince Lombardi, after winning five NFL championship games in seven years and Super Bowl I and II, retired as the Packers’ head coach. The following season, the Packers had a losing record as age and injuries took their toll on the team. Thirty years would pass before they would again be a dominant force. On the other hand, the Dallas Cowboys were becoming a force to be reckoned with and would show their dominance in the 1970s by winning two Super Bowls.
The extremely cold weather experienced at the Ice Bowl affected and left its mark on all aspects of the game, including pre-game and halftime entertainment, what the game was called, player health and general fan comfort. . During the warm-up for the pregame show, the marching band’s woodwinds froze and the mouthpieces of the brass instruments stuck to the players’ lips. Several of the band members suffered from hypothermia and the band’s performances were eventually cancelled. The metal whistle used by the referee to signal the start of the game froze on his lips, ending the use of whistles for the day. For the rest of the game, officials used only their voices to call plays. Also on this day, player health was compromised as some suffered frostbite during the game and Dallas Cowboys quarterback Don Meredith was diagnosed with pneumonia and hospitalized upon his return to Texas.
The 1967 Ice Bowl will forever go down in the history books as a game notable not only for “the Frozen Tundra” and the elements the players had to contend with, but also for the drama of the final minutes. The game capped an incredible streak for the Green Bay Packers and marked the end of the legendary Vince Lombardi’s coaching career. He also revealed what was ahead for Cowboys football and Dallas Cowboys coach Tom Landry as the team completed its second winning season in what would become 20 straight years of winning seasons. At the 1967 Ice Bowl, the Dallas Cowboys’ glory days were just beginning.