No stranger to brutal cold, Green Bay hosts frigid playoff game Saturday night
Players and fans alike will brave brutal cold in Green Bay on Saturday night as the Packers play the San Francisco 49ers for a chance at the big game next month.
Hardcore devotion is a must-have to watch a football game on a frigid winter’s night, and that’s what thousands of ardent fans will do at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin, on Saturday night when the Packers play the San Francisco 49ers. Wind chill values near -20 will be rough on players and fans alike. While this bone-chilling cold is enough to freeze a frosty beverage, it’s far from the coldest game ever played at Lambeau.
Green Bay is nestled on the northwestern shores of Lake Michigan. The gales of winter don’t miss northern Wisconsin, but devout Packers fans don’t let surges of Arctic air get in the way of their favourite team—especially when it’s playoff season.
Temperatures at the game’s 7:15 p.m. CST kickoff will clock in at a balmy -11°C, dropping another degree or two through the end of the game. An icy westerly breeze will drop the feels-like value down around -20, with the potential for light snow showers to arrive during the second half.
Fans will have to rely on plenty of layers and hand warmers to get through the game, not to mention the pads and towels they’ll need to fend off the icy chill of the stadium’s metal bleachers.
While Saturday’s playoff showdown will be absolutely frigid, the team has played colder games in Wisconsin’s harsh winters.
The legendary “Ice Bowl” was one of the coldest games the NFL ever played. The Packers met the Dallas Cowboys on December 31, 1967, as air temperatures dove to -25°C and wind chill values sank to -38.
The Packers prevailed by the end of the Ice Bowl, but the dangerous cold took its toll—one fan died and several players developed frostbite, according to the U.S. National Weather Service office in Green Bay.
Green Bay’s location and the timing of the NFL schedule has seen plenty of games fought at Lambeau Field in the throes of a deep Arctic chill.
The Packers played the New York Giants amid wind chill values that pushed -35 on January 20, 2008, according to the team’s website. A gametime temperature of nearly -20°C saw the Packers defeat the Los Angeles Raiders the day after Christmas in 1993.
Saturday night’s playoff between the Packers and 49ers will determine which team will play in the NFL championship game on January 30, with a shot at defrosting during the big game in sunny Los Angeles, California on February 13.
Thumbnail courtesy of the Green Bay Packers via Twitter.
