TITLETOWN (NBC 26) — Longtime Packers historians point to the 1967 NFL championship game as a signature in the team's history — not only the coldest game in NFL history, but the only time in the postseason era a team has won three straight NFL championships. The Packers went on to win Super Bowl II shortly after.
- The game took place at Lambeau Field 57 years ago — December 31, 1967
- The "frozen tundra" and "Ice Bowl" monikers did not immediately surface after the game, but historians say the game's legacy is undeniable
- NBC 26 spoke with the official team historian — as well as De Pere resident Paul Vidani, who contributed to Tony Walter's book, "Ice Bowl: The Game that Will Never Die" — to put the game, and its aftermath, into perspective
- Video shows sights and scenes from the Ice Bowl game
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story, with additional details added for web)
Packers fans generally aren't allowed on this field like they once were — and they certainly aren't allowed to tear down these goal posts.
But on one famously frigid day, nearly 60 years ago to the day, the uprights came down — on one of the most memorable days in football history.
The 1967 NFL championship — coldest game in league history.
13 degrees below zero, with wind chills plunging below 30 below.
"It's probably the signature game in Packers history, just because it was the climax of the Lombardi era," said Cliff Christl, the Packers team historian. "It kind of gave the {ackers an identity they still have — being a cold weather team, playing in the frozen tundra. "
The Green and Gold beat the Dallas Cowboys 21-17 — an iconic win.
"They were hailed as the first-time three-peat champions in the history of the NFL, at least under a playoff format," Christl said.
Christl — who was at the game — says after it was over, the freezing fans were rowdy, tearing down the goal posts in the north end zone — something rare in the NFL at the time, but more common in college football.
"I'm not aware of any other NFL city doing it," Christl said. "I don't think the Packers objected at all."
But it wasn't rare in Green Bay, which started the tradition after winning the 1961 NFL title.
"There were so many rumors running around about the activity, especially the tearing down of the goalposts," Paul Vidani said.
Paul Vidani helped write a book about the game — making it his mission to learn more about it, as he wore a vest to games in the 1990s (reading "Were You at the Ice Bowl Game?"), and interviewed fans.
""I wanted to make sure this story of the Ice Bowl, and the frozen tundra, never was lost," Vidani said. "Half the people that I've interviewed, probably more I've followed up on, they're dead. They've gone. So what we've got are photos, a book about it, and I still have the interview tapes."
Paul and the book say a man named Keith Budzis chopped the uprights into pieces.
"After the people rocked it down by climbing up on the uprights, he turned on the acetylene torch and divided that goalpost, the entire thing, into three parts," Vidani said.
Keith kept a piece for himself and used power tools to distribute dozens more chunks — which families around Green Bay keep as mementos, a memory of the game that forged the legacy of packers fans.
"This also shows who the people of Green Bay are," Vidani said. "I mean, we're not like people from the Minnesota Vikings that have to sit into an encased stadium. We're out here supporting our team."
Now fans also once tore down the goalposts after every final home game of the season, back in the 1970s— they have another one of those coming up Sunday against Chicago, but don't expect anything to happen to the uprights.
