The Ice Bowl: A Whole New Way of Putting the Game "On Ice" | The Timeline 

"WIsconsin's fans were equially creative in finding ways to stay warm" AND then it immediately goes to a guy chugging a bottle of Jim Beam. Definitely a Wisconsin fan. LOL

I was a 17 year old kid who worked in the Press Box for that game. I sat in row three, behind the Dallas sportswriters. Snuck into both locker rooms after the game. Absolutely admired the Dallas players (Lance Rentzel, Bob Lily, Don Meredith) and loved those from GB. I think there were 450+ hospitalizations for frostbite. It was cold even by Green Bay standards. It remains one of the best days of my life.

37:27 love how Roger Staubach gave credit to Don Meredith for Super Bowl VI. Respect 🙏

As a life long Packers fan I want to say how grateful I am to Dons son for putting this together. I only knew his father as a voice on MNF, but now can truly appreciate him for the player that he was. Only 4 years old at the time, I had to grow many years before I understood the magnitude of that game. After watching this, I understand more of what it meant to Mr. Meredith, his family, and all of the players on the Cowboys team. Very grateful for this video, it fills a space in history that was previously empty.

I was at that game as I was home on leave from Fort Stuart Ga. one month later I was in Vietnam Nam in the 9th Infantry Division battling the heat during the Tet Offensive. What a difference between 15 below and 110 degrees.

Much respect to the entire Meredith families. Masterful.

This is why I love football

It is great seeing Bart Starr! Rest in peace to one of the greats.

Dude.... VERY WELL DONE! I am an old man now. This made me cry. Good tears. Loved it!

That sneak was the gutsiest call in NFL history. The Packers had no timeouts left. Not enough time to get the FG team on. An improvised call. The could have easily tied the game with a FG after the last timeout. Bad footing. Starr doesn't score, the game is over. Incredible guts not to attempt to tie the game. I don't recall Starr or Lombardi ever explaining the decision to go for it.

This is the game that we would always pretend we were playing in as kids back in the 70's & 80's. Especially when it was cold or on the super rare occasion that it snowed or iced over like it did in 1982.

Don should be in the Hall of Fame, as a player and as a broadcaster...

Excellent narration n research by Michael Meredith, Don Meredith's son ! Enjoyed his football career. Fantastic job on the video. Hopefully you'll will produce more of it. Aloha from Hawaii

Dear Mike , As a lifelong Packer fan ...I thank you for the perspective of the runner up of the championship . I watched your dad on television growing up . (I am about 2 years older than you ) I have , and had nothing but the most sincere respect for your dad ...and I loved how he entertained us all in the quiet times of a football game . ( I liken Brett Favre to your dad . I would have talked to Brett ...after winning the Super Bowl in 96..but then losing in 97 ) I truly believe , that PTSD ...does actually play a part in the win/loss of football games . I want to thank you for the perspective ! ( fyi - George Halas's son supposedly sold that field heating system to the Packers )

Willem Dafoe being at the game makes this feel extra odd, apart from everything else that happened around the game.

Dyed in the wool Packers fan here. This just brought me to tears, hearing the other side of the conversation about the Ice Bowl. Don Meridith was a wonderful football player and human.

Great documentary, I grew up in Green Bay, my dad was in the Marines, I was in 5th grade. My dad went to the game with a few Marine buddies and had a ticket for me. At the last moment my mom decided to not let me go to the game. I remember being glued to the radio listening to the game. I gave my folks a hard time for many years for not letting me go to that game. I no longer live in Green Bay but make a game every December, still a Packer backer for life!

Never forget the good old days kids.

Great production of a great game!!! I'm from Wisconsin & a huge Packer fan but I give Dallas great credit for actually outplaying Green Bay for a lot of this game on the road in insanely cold conditions. Every player on both sides in this epic battle should be considered a football hero. There are no losers!!!

Well that was phenomenal.

Packer fan here. This is an AMAZING addition to the documentaries about the Ice Bowl. I've seen so many produced from the POV of the Packers (rightly so), but this side is so seldom even considered. Thank you sir for your hard work and appreciation for this side of what is without a doubt one of the top 5 NFL games of all time (It's #1 in my mind, but I don't think there is ANY true fan of the game that could consider it out of the top 5).

Thank you Michael, you did a great job, luv ur dad

I am 58 years old, I do not remember the Ice Bowl, but know all about it as a young Man from Michigan( and a HUGE Cowboy fan ) and I must say you have done a FANTASTIC job of bringing that game to LIFE.... Thank you , Ray Magley

Awesome. What a game. 2 great sides. Incredible respect for each other. Lombardi vs Landry. Doesn't get any better!!

RESPECT To the Meredith family! It's way past time Mr. Meredith be inducted to the N.F.L. 👈👉H.O.F 1✊Peace Power n Progression ✊

I was 16 when they played the Ice Bowl. Watching it live, of course, was sensational. It's legend continues to inspire. Thank you Michael Meridith.

Outstanding documentary. These kind of games (like the 1971 Nebraska vs. Oklahoma Game of the Century) prove that it's not really about winning or losing. Both teams taught all of us something much bigger. Thus, we all win.

Lol love the old peeps looking back into they’re own life , that moment kept them young and pumped up . W or L they lived a good one .

That shot of Tom Landry turning away in disgust was not when Meredith threw the interception but when the Cowboys false-started on 1st and goal from the 2 yard line a few plays before. That penalty moved them back to the 7. Selective editing but now every show about this game does it.

I can confirm it was cold, I was the football

My vote for "Greatest Pro Football Game Ever Played". Back when MEN of character played. I miss those days.

There are no heroes like this anymore. And I'm not even a Packers or Cowboys fan. I'm an Eagles fan. But I know men when I see them. And these were real men unlike what we see today.

The good thing about NFL Films is that they used film, which helps old school games before HD look at least as good as HD.

This game , these teams and players will always remain larger than life in my mind. This was special. Michael...if you read this your dad was my first pro football hero. I was crushed when he retired and very unhappy with Dallas fans when I heard the restaurant story.

I was a 10 year old kid living in Michigan but a Cowboy fan thanks to my Aunt Val who turned me on to footbal in 66. I remember me and my brothers going out to play catch in the side yard during halftime. Damn, it was cold! We would skate on the pond all day if it was near zero out. This was different. The coldest afternoon of my lifetime. We were back in the house in no time. Lost 50 cents in my last bet for money in my entire life on a sporting event. It is amazing that in some musty closet they have not found the actual broadcast footage. My favorite game of all time.

At ten years of age when the Ice Bowl was played, I watched it from the warmth of my home in Neenah, Wisconsin. My dad and oldest brother attended that torturous event, dressed in hunting gear and my mother’s fur coat. Though foolhardy to force athletes to play in those conditions, the players sucked it up and showed effort beyond what most of us can comprehend. The Ice Bowl was about the tenacity, courage and pride within the human spirit. Each man from each team is a profile in courage. Congratulations on an excellent documentary, Mr Meredith, well done.

As a packer fan, it is really cool to hear from the cowboys perspective.

This is an incredible piece of sports reporting. It was the greatest game ever played!

Chuck Mercein, really came up huge, especially in the red zone, that last drive; then, he didn't get to play in the SB

I'm only 35 and a bengals fan and this documentary was wild. NFL films should start doing half hour documentary series before games where teams are featured that in previous years played classic games like this and tell the story. They could even splice in animation where video might not be available and only witness accounts are there such as Lombardi telling Starr "Then run it, and let's get the hell out of here!"

I was an 11year-old fifth-grader and a devoted Cowboys fan when the Ice Bowl was played. For me, it was the most heartbreaking loss as a fan of professional sports teams at the time. The 27-yard pass play from Bart Starr to Chuck Mercein that gave the Packers a first down on the 11-yard line still gives me that "Oh no" feeling. From the moment the Cowboys took the lead on the pass from Dan Reeves to Lance Rentzel I was highly confident the Cowboys were going to win. The Mercein play changed confidence into doubt. This documentary brings home the effect the effect the outcome of the Ice Bowl had on the; players.

I’m a Lipton ice tea man because of Don Meredith. I still have iced tea in the dead of winter.

In the mid-1950s, Vince Lombardi and Tom Landry were assistant coaches with the New York Giants. Vince was offensive coordinator, and Tom was defensive coordinator.

One thing is for sure, EVERYBODY loved Dandy Don Meredith! He is sorely missed. Don't turn out the lights, the party ain't over!

20:03 My how times have changed. Here is the legendary Bart Starr taking instructions from Lombardi and saying 'Yes sir' to Vince in reply. I wonder how many seasons it has been since any NFL quarterback said 'yes sir' in response to anything his coach said to him?

Forrest Gregg played the Ice Bowl and Coached the Freezer Bowl. That Man is Alpha written all over him.

Michael, you did a heck of a job on this, showed respect to all the men who played in this game! Though I knew about it through videos & reading I learned more about it during your work. Excellent work all around. A little side not for you -- I am a baseball & softball umpire at the college level and one of the assignors I've worked for over the last 7-8 years is Kathie Graf. Her Father Fritz worked that game, I believe as a line judge. His whistle actually stuck to his lips & he couldn't remove it for a large part of the game! That whistle is in the HOF. I'm sending this link to Kathie now

This was a beautiful documentary, Michael. I loved every minute of it. Thanks!

I don't know what it is about that year, 1967, again and again that year has impacted my being(my mom past away), character (young child became a younger responsible child), outlook (moved overseas - Italy), persona (neighborhood mom's watched over you, like you were one of their own, couldn't have been without them...I didn't know it then, oh but years later I recognized little my child's awareness actually was indeed fortunate to those neighbors), a love for life taught that needs/must be/had lived fully and only now beginning to appreciate the generosity, genuine generation we were living in, in our own way...thank you all for showing us how to be our most/best...in more ways than I could've ever imagined as a youngster.

Sir, you have produced a great video. I remember very well watching this game, I was 15, and living in Omaha, Nebraska. I was and still am a Packers fan, but I have a very high regard for the Cowboys of that era.

God bless you Michael! I am a Packer fan who watched your video. I have never been a Dallas fan, but I was a fan of your dad. I believe he will be in the Hall of Fame!

What a great job of honoring your dad Dandy Don Meredith! I'm not sure you could have produced a better piece Michael! You honored both team's... the legend's they are... the pioneer's of NFL football. I live in the same Virginia county that #84 Carroll Dale Green Bay Packers tight end came from. I am a Cowboys fan who loved all the legendary Cowboys but Dandy Don Meredith was the 1st and the perfect Cowboy quarterback who led what became 1 of the team's of the 70's along with Pittsburgh. Beautifully done Michael. Turn out the light's, the party's over.

I remember watching that game with my father and what I remember the most was when the referee blew his whistle to start the game and it was so cold that the metal stuck to his lips and pulled the skin away and the game had to be delayed so that Vaseline had to be applied to the referees' lips. This poor man refed the game with an increasing blood cycle and my father and I watched the game playing 'find Dracula.'

Don Meredith was a stud. Willie Davis is my favorite Packer of all time. Probably the best game in the Super Bowl era. For sure the best odd-weather game! P.S. Great documentary, Michael Meredith! 👏🏽 👏🏽 👏🏽

Always was a Dallas fan since 1960. But this game is one I have never gotten over. For you see Don Meredith was my idol. One of which joined the ranks in front of my icons Lance Rentzel, Bob Hayes, Mel Renfro, Dan Reeves, to name a few. It was the game in which the Cowboys could redeem themselves after losing the year before to the Packers. It was a perfect setting for me. The winter, football, the holidays, and I was in the middle of growing up. These years were some of the happiest times of my life. It was so sad to see them lose.

I love being from Dallas. All my life i been a Cowboys fan since 1982..my whole family deep Cowboys fans

Catching a football when it's 35 degrees hurts your hands I don't want to know how it feels when it's 12 degrees below zero with 32 below zero windshields.

The Cowboys playoff game loss against the Browns in 1968 was the one that Don Meredith hung it up over.

RIP DANDY DON MERIDETH

What an excellent documentary. It got to me when I saw that Packer fan tearing up over Bart Starr. Bart was 83 and obviously very fragile and died 2 years later. The respect between the 2 teams is touching.

I got cold watching it on TV. I think I'm still cold. It was an epic "man against nature" game but also a great football game. Can't say the Cowboys didn't play well enough to win, it was just the roll of the dice on the final play.

Wow! Such a wonderful video. Micheal sure is a spittin image of his father too. My life has many cherished moments listening to Don as an announcer. His playing days I missed by a few years but I’ll never forget the joy he brought to the game of football. The world was lucky to have had him in it, as was I and everyone touched by his jovial approach to reality. RIP Don ❤️🌹

How strange seeing a face mask like Meredith’s for a QB. The only QB helmet I’ve ever seen with a vertical bar. Total power move.

Slicker than snot on a doorknob lol. Love it 😂😂😂

Being 20 mins south of G.B of course im a huge fan, Bret Farve said it best when traded from Atlanta, where the heck is Green Bay! The team from the smallest NFL town holds this honor im so proud to call this home! I think with this and the Farve era put us on the map! GO PACK GO😁😁

I was a sophomore in the Fightin' Texas Aggie Band. What a football weekend. I watched this game in the lobby of the Adolphus Hotel in Dallas and the next day the Texas Aggies beat the Bear and the Snake.

The Ice Bowl is a classic between the Cowboys 🤠and Packers 🧀

This was one of the greatest documentaries I’ve ever seen. I particularly enjoyed the short feature on Willie Townes. He made one of the coolest defensive plays of all time in this game.

The Ice Bowl was the greatest NFL Game ever played. It will live in infamy & I love, admire and respect both the Green Bay Packers & Dallas Cowboys for how hard they played in this game under the worst weather conditions imaginable especially in the last drive by the Green Bay Packers. It was the greatest Fantastic Finish in NFL history. In the end, there were no winners and losers in this Classic Game. My heart though goes out to Don Meredith. I can just imagine how hard this loss was on him to accept but he went on to achieve so much success in the 1970's for being one of the most colorful Broadcasters on Monday Night Football ever. God do I miss him. RIP Don Meredith & Bart Starr. As for Don Meredith's son he has so much to be proud of his father. He was a great Quarterback & man.

As someone who's from Wisconsin, I appreciate this. I also appreciate Meredith.

I love how Bart Starr laughed when Coach Lombardi said "WELL THEN RUN IT, AND LET'S GET THE HELL OUTTA HERE." He laughed EVERY TIME he retold it. Makes me laugh as well. God bless Bart Starr and all the players of that legendary game!

I watched the previous season's NFL Championship between GB & Dallas played at the Cotton Bowl with my Uncle and my Mother. Of course the weather was beautiful for that particular game. The following December, in '67 on gameday, when the telecast came on and Ray Scott was giving the game temperature and trying to describe the intensity of the cold, it was hard for me to grasp just what he was talking about, for me as a 12 year old kid from Texas, I had never experienced that type of cold before. Well, my heroes from Dallas obviously came up short that day, and as much as I was disappointed in another loss to the Green Bay Packers, I still was proud of the Cowboys for the valient effort they gave. I've often wondered if the game had been played in warmer conditions would the outcome have been different. Obviously, we'll never know. With that said, I still believe that the mighty Green Bay Packers were just too good, and that they were no question a team of destiny....... the greatest dynasty in NFL history.🏈

What a marvellous tribute to the men, and the man. This film showed the greatness of the game and its impact on American life and sport.

I remember Don Meredith did a post-game interview after that game. Even gracious in defeat. I also remember him talking about his struggles in the first half throwing the ball, saying he couldn't "wing" it. He said he made a slit in his jersey and was then able to warm his throwing hand against his stomach, allowing him to "wing" the ball, and making better throws in the second half.

Michael Meridith, son of Don, you did your Daddy proud. Congratulations!

A lot think that the cold weather team has the advantage where in reality once it get's below 10 degrees any advantage is out the window. I attended the Raiders/Browns on 1/4/1981 and the wind chill was a minus 21. Believe me, after a while the name of the game is survival. My feet were so cold and then you have to walk about 20/30 minutes back to parking. My feet actually warmed up as I walked but they were still cold after driving over 2 hours to get home. Lance Rentzel looks like a Macy Parades float. To think he was once married to Joey Heatherton.

The Ice Bowl must have been a tough game to play in, but it created a sports legend that endures today. The Green Bay Packers and Lambeau Field were already popular at the time, but this game made them legends. It cemented pro football as America's favorite sport, surpassing baseball. I grew up on a cattle ranch in Western Nebraska back in the early 70's, so I experienced this level of extreme cold many times. I have a scar on my right thumb from a time when I got frostbite so badly on my hands and feet that a layer of skin came off my thumb when I took my wet leather gloves off one day back in those very cold winters. My dad's favorite passtimes were watching football games and hunting ducks and geese. I went with him many times to have some quality time away from the hard work of the ranch. Those games and hunting trips could be so very cold sometimes, but I enjoyed the time with him. When I was in high school, I was the student manager due to life-long back problems that made it too dangerous for me to play on the field. But I did all I could to help my team in my own way. Our coach even lobbied to get me a football patch for my letterman jacket when I was a senior because he said that I was just as important to the team as any of the players were. I remember many very cold games, some of which were so cold that the tap on the water cooler froze solid and I had to take the lid off to dip water out for the players. When I hear about this legendary game, I can easily imagine what it must have been like. Growing up in Nebraska, I was of course a die hard Cornhuskers fan and a lot of the players who graduated from UNL, which later became my alma mater, played for Green Bay. In my mind growing up, the Packers were the best team that I saw on TV other than the Huskers, so I became a Packers fan rather than the Chiefs, Cowboys or Broncos. Something about the Packers appealed to me then and still does. Don Meredith was the quintessential Dallas Cowboy. This is a great video about him as well as the infamous field and the infamous game played upon it. I remember Don as a fantastic announcer and actor, so it is so great to see this intimate documentary about him, his family and his most famous football game.

Hats off to you Michael, excellent documentary. I was 2 years old and my dad and grandpa attended the ice bowl. We lived at 1728 Chateau Dr, 5 doors down from the Starrs and 10 minute walk to Lambeau. Bart Jr was a year older than my brother and Brett was about a year older than me, we played neighborhood games with them until they moved to Depere in the early to mid 70s. Wow… good stuff!!! Thanks again!

That was an amazing era . Thank you very much for sharing that. Peace

Thanks for sharing this film.I watched this game at the age of twelve years from the warmth of our home back in East Texas. It will always be one of the top games on any level of Pro. Sports.

Absolutely beautiful documentary...entertaining, touching...Thank you Michael Meredith...

His dad seemed to have a natural acting talent, when I saw him in that monologue at the diner (3 days of rain). Really natural, human delivery.

Timeline is a fantastic series! NFL Films has outdone itself and this episode has been the best by far. Learning about the events prior to the game was amazing. It’s crazy how seemingly small decisions can affect the outcome of games and the conditions of the surface.

Ahh. Bill Mercer!! Also a Legendary Pro Wrestling announcer. Awesome! I love Bill. World Class Wrestling out of Dallas. The Von Erichs and Free birds!!

I was at Farve’s last game as a Packer, it was so cold the coolers were unplugged to keep the beer warm enough to serve. Hell I have a picture of my beer that exploded and the foam froze 4 feet long without touching the ground. I believe the ice bowl was a bit colder but that was the coldest I’ve ever been.

Junior high in Perryton Texas playing in mud and/or snow was a gas. Played in a mud game in Wichita Ks against BC and had a great time. Weather games are so much fun!

Thank you. Great perspective.

What a great tribute ... your Dad is proud!

This was probably the only NFL game that was more about survival than it was football. There may be colder games but advances in apparel technology can keep the body warmer than they could then. That's what makes the game unforgettable. Now the Super Bowl is played every year in balmy weather in front of corporate execs. It's not ever coming to Green Bay, Wisconsin - that's for damn sure. Unless they build a dome and that would be heresy.

Mike, this was an awesome production. I was 11 years old, watching with my Dad at our neighbors house. We opened the windows (40 degrees I think) and sat in shorts and tees to suffer along with our Cowboys. Your Dad was my favorite player and I stenciled #17 on my first football jersey. Years later I played ice hockey (ironic?), and also wore #17. I'm sorry your parents suffered for so long over this heroic effort. God bless.❤

-I was lucky enough to interview three people who were at this game. Bob Lilly told me some amazing stories about that whole trip, that Sunday in particular. And two other guys I spoke with were from Milwaukee, college students at that time. To this day, they recall exactly what they wore, and how many layers of each item, they had on. -Just think . . . if the TV networks had been calling the shots on scheduling in 1967 the way they do now, this game would've been played at night, in prime time. Talk about cold(er) . . . -It was played in Green Bay because the same two teams had met in Dallas for the NFL title the year before. In fact, Green Bay's Jerry Kramer, in Dallas on business during the offseason between the 1966 and 1967 seasons, had visited the Lillys, and as he was leaving their home, Bob's wife told him, "We'll see you in Green Bay in December."

Yo Football can be the most glorious or depressing sport ever if you don't win the big game. It will haunt you.

Dandy Don’s son looks and sounds just like him… The players were/are just like the two coaches. They knew each other, they didn’t really like each other, but they had the utmost respect for each other…

Every time I've visited Lambeau Field. Either on a tour, at a game or when I worked there in Facilities and Fields painting those yellow railings, repainting seat numbers or whatever else I was tasked with, I would imagine that day. The Ice Bowl definitely will live on. It happened 8 years before I was born, and I talk about it from time to time and I know no game comes close to it.

Excellent documentary. Kudos to Meredith father and son. And to all the players who were part of that historic game.

I agree with Michael Meredith - Dandy Don should be in the Hall of Fame.

One of the best NFL Films of all time.

Loved him. The Eagles sucked back then. What a great game to have watched with family that were still alive. Jeff and Hazel's baby boy became my Monday night regular viewing. Thanks

Boyd Dowler was a truly great wide receiver.

This was a truly touching documentary and I'm not even a football fan. Thanks for that.