Fans embrace the cold at Lambeau
DEFOREST, Wis. — For many fans the cold and Lambeau Field are synonymous. History remembers the Ice Bowl played between the Green Bay Packers and the Dallas Cowboys on December 31, 1967 when the temperature reached minus 13 degrees.
In 2003 the Packers played for NFC Championship against the New York Giants with a game time temperature of minus 1.
“Where else can you have that? It really is the elements. You don’t remember the nice weather bowl. You remember the Ice Bowl. We remember the 2008 NFC Championship game, well not so much because we lost, but we remember it,” said Steve “The Owner” Tate.
Tate, a fixture at Packer games wears his trademark cheese wedge with the world “NFL Owner” emblazoned on the sides. He is one of many individuals who own a share of the publicly held franchise.
He said, given the nature of the game, there is something natural about playing in tough weather conditions.
“It’s football. It is a physical, tough and mean game that needs to be played in the elements. It just does,” said Tate.
With the forecast to Sunday’s wildcard game against San Francisco calling for wind chill temperatures to possibly reach -30, Tate says it will be a perfect day for football game.
“Well I’m not going to take my shirt off. I’m sure it is going to be cold but I also have this big huge sideline cape that the players wear and you just have to wear your thick down stuff. Layer up and you’ll be OK,” says Tate.
