Blogs

I wanted to do a special blog entry that I could update through the end of week that would include significant weather for the AFC and NFC Championship games this weekend,…and you will find that updated information below.

As I began,…I was reminded how weather can play a very significant part in sporting events. The most notable was the 1967 NFL Championship game, between the Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys. The game time wind chill factor was about 45 below zero. This is the game where the term “frozen tundra” was originated.

(Note to all sports announcers,…..that now clichéd phrase was interesting the first one billion times,…but like McDonalds, you passed the billion mark in the 1970s.”)

The 1967 NFL Championship game was so cold that the official put the whistle to his lips to start the game,…and the whistle froze to his mouth. The officials used their voices for the rest of the game to stop and start the action.

The halftime show was canceled too, as the instruments froze to the musician’s mouths. All true stories.

Cowboys quarterback Don Meredith contracted pneumonia and had to be hospitalized after the game. A few years later, during another record cold game in “Phulidellpheeeah” Howard Cosell helped his friend Don by warming his feet at halftime. (If you haven’t heard this story, e-mail me)

In 1967, when this game was played, the Green Bay Packers had a new heating system that would warm the field in case of snow, but there are many insinuations that Packers coach Vince Lombardi turned off the heating system, because the Cowboys were a faster team, and a bad field would favor the Packers.

Thankfully, it’s been proven in the last 40 years that no one in the Sporting World would resort to trickery to gain an advantage.

Forecasts: UPDATED EACH DAY THIS WEEK!

Foxboro-(N.England vs. San Diego) Mostly Sunny, but windy, no snow, game time temp 17 degrees, and falling throughout the game. Wind Chill factors in the single digits.

Green Bay-(Green Bay vs. New York) Ridiculous cold. Snow flurries possible, game time temp 3 (yes THREE) degrees,…and falling throughout the game. Wind chill factors below zero.