| | | | | The Ice Bowl
1967 NFL Championship Game | [ ] [ ]Derek TheakerHistory of Sports Media
Christopher Woodward
2/25/2013 |

The Ice Bowl
1967 NFL Championship Game
The 1967 NFL Championship game between the Green Bay Packers and the Dallas Cowboys became immortalized as the Ice Bowl because the temperature at game time was 13 degrees below zero with a 15 mph wind. As cold as it was that day more than 50,000 fans filled the seats to cheer for their home town Packers. The previous year in the 1966 NFL Championship game played between the Packers and the Cowboys at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas was a narrow win for the Packers. So the 1967 championship game was one of the most eagerly anticipated rematch games of the decade. This game, however, was going to be played on the “frozen tundra of Lambeau Field.” The fans in Green Bay felt that their team had the advantage in the frigid weather of Lambeau Field in late December. The Packers played and practiced in the cold weather, while the Cowboys were used to the warmer climate of playing and practicing in Texas. The weather the days before the game were much milder and looked as though it would favor neither team. Also, the summer before the field had been outfitted with heating coils underneath the grass of the stadium to prevent the field from freezing. The day before during walkthroughs and practice where the temperature was in the teens with no wind. The Cowboys felt this would help them with their speed and quickness on the field. Instead, on game day, they were woken with calls from the hotel front desk with the news of 13 degree below zero temperatures. Lambeau Field was sold out and the stands were packed with over 50,000 fans wearing gear that looked as though they were heading off on an artic adventure. More then a dozen fans would be treated for exposure to the below freezing temperatures. The announcers, the fans, and the teams all suffered from the temperatures and the fierce gusts of northern wind that sent the temperature well below the zero degrees mark. The Packers scored first with an eight-yard touchdown pass. Then again in the second quarter when Packers quarterback Bart Starr connected for a second touchdown with wide receiver Boyd Dowler. The Cowboys then began to adjust and forced a fumble that was returned for a touchdown. Then another fumble by Green Bay led to 21-yard field goal by Dallas to make the score 14-10 going into halftime. The defensive of the Cowboys continued to dominate the offensive of the Packers and held them in check throughout the third quarter. The Dallas offense was now moving the ball and at the beginning of the fourth quarter Dallas running back Dan Reeves threw a pass to wide-open Lance Rentzel that Rentzel took in for a 50-yard touchdown. The Cowboys had taken a 17-14 lead, their first lead of the game.
Now with only 5 minutes left in the game the Packers started a late drive from their own 32-yard line. After driving all the way down to the one-yard line the Packers found themselves with first-and-goal with 30 seconds remaining in the game. They had one timeout left and tried two running attempts with running back Donnie Anderson, which both failed. Bart Starr had to use the Packers last timeout at