Though my experience was in a heatwave compared to yours, I have a similar memory of my first Broncos game in a late-December Denver with my (recently) deceased mom. So thankful we both were as determined as we were to go to that game, as we were able to see both TD go over 2k yards for the season and John Elway pass for his 300th career TD. Still, the cold conditions sitting in the upper deck of the original Mile High is the first thing that comes to my mind when I think about that game! Hope my mom’s coffee in heaven is warmer than it was in the bleachers that day!
@@mikekaroules2820 It was. 27-7. The week before the Chargers played in Miami in a heat wave, with high humidity. Charger QB Dan Fouts was asked when they thought the game was over, "when we stepped off the bus and into the cold."
What a game, I miss the old school football from the AFC Central, from Riverfront Stadium to Three Rivers Stadium, as a Houston Oilers fan (from the luv ya blue days) I admit I pulled for you guys in the Super Bowl, Kenny Anderson should be in the Hall.
@@deflategate1297No doubt, I remember my dad telling me a football field shouldn’t be all neat and pretty 😂 in fact we’d have a few laughs in the first month or so of the season watching the Oilers in the Astrodome because of the dirt infield.
I remember this game, the NFC Championship between San Francisco and Dallas with "the Catch" later that afternoon, and the "Epic in Miami" game the previous weekend that put the Chargers in this game. The 1981 playoffs were amongst the most memorable.
The Chargers in a week's time had to go thru probably the most dramatic temperature change in NFL history. The long game in Miami that went into the night was during a time of very unseasonable heat where players were suffering from heat stroke. I remember Kellen Winslow ( who had a fantastic game) having to be helped off the field because he was so overheated in those high temps and humidity. THEN, a week later, they are playing in Arctic conditions that would have been more common in Siberia! Gotta wonder if the human body is geared for that abrupt a change!
I had a comment published in the Sports Illustrated that featured “The Catch” on the cover the following week. I had commented on the DH rule in baseball. I don’t even recall what I wrote.
Should have been in the H.O.F. a long time ago. He changed the dynamic of the game, the OG of the "west coast" offense. Anderson is violently underrated.
I'm a lifelong Steelers yet live here in Cincinnati but yes, Kenny Anderson is long overdue for the HOF. Anyone who wins multiple NFL passing championships, held the NFL season completion percentage record for 30+ yrs, and put their team in the Super Bowl should be in Canton
Hall of Fame voters can be jokes. If the coach or player hosts a pre-game show and/or won a SuperBowl, the HOF voters more likely vote them in. Flawed logic. Anderson was as good or better than many SuperBowl winning QB's. Don Coryell is another example. He had many players or assistant coaches who rose to Hall of Famers...his offense is widely been used for decades...yet he's been denied entry.
I was there with my dad and brothers; he had bought some "electric socks", and it was so cold that the 9-volt batteries would not power up the socks until we went into the Owners booth at halftime to warm up and visit and all the sudden dad says hey my socks are heating up now! Well... they worked so good that his feet started sweating and when we went back out to the seats for the 2nd half 15 minutes into the 3rd quarter the batteries had given out again and his feet about froze into blocks of ice with a bad case of frostbite. I remember it like it was yesterday...RIP pop! ❤
@@TheChicagoJunkie Naw... we grew up in a small town called London Ohio with the Sawyer family back when John Sawyer started the Bengal's Franchise along with Paul Brown in 67/68 watched them Play at UC's Nippert stadium before Riverfront was Built and once it was Built If we went into the Box during the game at Riverfront you had to be quiet like in a boardroom until they made a good play, then you cold cheer....lol
I was a sixth grader up in Detroit watching this. A couple weeks later it dumped snow for the Super Bowl in Pontiac. That Bengals team was tough as nails.
I was an 8th grader in Detroit, and I remember my mother putting plastic over the windows while I watched the Bengals,Chargers game. It was extremely cold that day. But yeah that Super Bowl was a mess. My sister went to the 49ers party and brought back autographs of some of the players. I even got O J’s autograph which I still have. But I really wanted Montana’s even though I was disappointed with Cincinnati’s loss.
the crazy thing is the Chargers played the overtime "Epic in Miami" game the week before with temperatures in the 80 degrees and high humidity to the Freezer Bowl a week later.
They had a Chance in November In Regular Season Gm and played at San Diego in Perfect Weather and the Bengals Smoked the Chargers 40-17!!!!! Bengals WR #85 Isaac Curtis had a Great Gm, think He had like 7 Rec for 147 Yds by Halftime with Chargers trying to Cover Him Man to Man with CB #28 Willie Buchanon.
@@jquizzlestick Chargers were all offense no defense . if they would of had a defense they might of been one of the teams at the time fast forward to a few years later Marino lead Dolphins were the same all offense no defense
@@jquizzlestick No, everyone has this romantic belief that the Chargers were gonna win if it wasn't for the freezing weather, the Bengals had to play in those conditions as well. Also as someone mentioned already, the Bengals won in San Diego quite easily. The Chargers get all this love was due to them playing in arguably the greatest playoff game ever played.
I grew up in Cincinnati and was 11 and living in Loveland, in the Greater Cincinnati Area, and I remember how cold it was. Watched the game from home. The funny thing is that we moved to San Diego two weeks after the game. BENGALS FOREVER!!! AND THE REDS!! AND... THE STINGERS!!
I've been to a Bengals game when it was 19 at game time and that was torture. Can't imagine how this felt but you know the win made it all worth it! Who Dey!!
Without a doubt, Ken Anderson should be in the HOF. He was a hard nosed, blue collar QB who wasn’t flashy, but extremely accurate. I’m a Steelers fan and he would give us fits year after year.
Our fuel oil furnace froze up that day, we used space heaters in the living room. Everyone bundled up and watched the game on a 19 inch color TV and it was still cold inside the house. I can't imagine being there. Riverfront Stadium always had a swirling wind and it had to be horrible that day down there. Thank goodness our electric stayed on so we could see the game.
I went to a game at 6 years old with my dad and got stranded downtown. A blizzard had came through the city that night. We were on the bus to make matters worse. I wouldn't change that experience for the world. I've been a fan since '86 (the earliest I can remember watching games) Thank you dad for introducing me to the game and this team. FAN FOR LIFE 🧡🖤
I remember watching this game bundled up with my friends in northern Ohio 55 below with windchill. Never seen it that cold since. If you went outside for longer than a few minutes you could die. No lie.
i was there my first game i was 5 my parents could not get a babysitter so they tripled me up in clothing i remember it was so cold my nose would get runny and then freeze up on the inside
I grew up in Cincinnati, graduating high school in 1976. Being in Cincinnati during the Big Red Machine years and as a Bengal fan in the 80s was a blessing. What a wonderful time to be growing up in the mid 70s, 80, and 90s. America has changed a lot as of when I write this in November 2024, hopefully the people who read and watch this video in the future, will look back on history and know this was the greatest time to be alive.
I was a senior in high school & had suffered as a fan through all of those choke jobs & near misses in the 70's & was elated during & after this game. Still my favorite Bengals memory!
I'm from Utah, been a Bengal fan for 36 years. Such an awesome video, I learned so much! Definitely won't be a Freezer Bowl this weekend, but still.. we have such a huge game before us. It's do or die for this season. Driving with my daughter 12 hours from Utah to Sofi to see Joey B and the boys carve em up! It's my daughters first NFL game. So excited!!! We will both be proudly wearing the stripes from head to toe and screaming our heads off!! GONNA BE A BENGAL DAY 🐅WHO DEY🐅
I am a Bengals fan and this in my 54th year being a Bengals fan and I remember that game well and the thing is I have never been to a Bengals game in person as my late father promised I would go to one but he passed before that could happen.
I was a Charger fan. The game before with Miami was an epic battle. One of the most exciting games ever. The Chargers came from sunny Miami to freezing Ohio all beat up. The didn't have a chance.
Don't forget the Bengals played the Chargers during the regular season in warm & sunny San Diego and beat them pretty good (40-17). I've heard some try to put the Bengals down saying "They only beat the Chargers because of the weather." Well SD had two chances at the Bengals that year and lost them both.
@@RRaquello And if a delay of game penalty was not called against the Bills on a successful 4th down pass a week earlier against the Bengals, the Bills might have won that game and they would have been facing the Chargers in San Diego for the AFC Championship.
@@WaltGekko The Bills are one of the teams I always rooted for (after the Bengals) and always wanted to see them win so it was too bad when the Bengals finally had a good team one of the teams they had to beat to get to the Super Bowl was Buffalo. It would have been better if they had good teams at different times instead of in the same year.
This is an awesome documentary on that famous game! The Bengal players who had segments here were very engaging and you had a good sense as a viewer of their memories and recollections. Outstanding!
I was a sophomore in h.s. and had been in the hospital for 2 weeks due to ankle surgery. I was released the day before the freezeer bowl and grandpa rode me down to the river on the n. Ky. Side and with the fog coming off the river you couldnt see the stadium or downtown cincy. It was like what i imagined hell would look like. Our french Sheppard scruffy had run away, i believe he was trying to find me since i had been gone for two weeks. When we got back home, it wasnt but 10 min. Later he was scratching at the door. What a great weekend.
197 touchdowns 160 interceptions in a running back era Kenny Anderson deserves to be in the Cincinnati Bengals hall of fame NOT the National Football League’s hall of fame. He was a sorry quarterback
Whoever designed the stripes on the helmet an uniform did one of the best things in modern day football history,it seperated the long history of being compared to the browns,for me tbey have been a total different team ever since
@jamesswain2465 I just thought when they moved the browns over to the AFC an same division even,the stripes kinda one uped the browns an separated there look,being they were both Paul Brown teams,I don't think anyone knew at the time the Browns would end up being an AFC team too,lol I been a Browns fan since 68 never dreaming bk then they would never make the SB an here a start up team in 68 the Bengals have been there I think like 3 times now,so since the stripes I really support them to now
Old school football at its finest. I miss the old AFC Central, guys like Brian Sipe, Kenny Anderson, Bradshaw and our QB Dan Pastorini who was fortunate to have Earl Campbell behind him. I recently watched our second postseason trip to Three Rivers Stadium (AFC TITLE GAME) and yes, That was a touchdown. Luv ya Blue!
We lived in barberton, oh and my dad had won tickets thru a radio station. It was a very cold day for a 11 year old child but I will always remember that day forever.
I grew up in Atlanta, and was in 4th Grade when this game was played. I remember being downtown with my Dad after Church and it was so cold - and the wind was so strong - I could barely breathe. We ended up getting a blizzard, ourselves, and missed the whole week of school….so, I can only imagine how bad the weather was in Cincinnati. Thanks for the great video - and yes, Ken Anderson should have been in the HOF DECADES ago.
Philly fan but historian at heart. I respect these guys, yes even dallas players. This game ALWAYS intrigued me, along with the fog bowl, the 1990 nfc championship game, and so on. I've watched nearly any available content on this particular game, and I'll never get enough of it. The build up during the season, the stories, the players, its so cool. Love this!
I remember watching that game! I can relate to how cold it was because, 10 years later, I went to the Grey Cup (the Canadian Football League's championship) in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The conditions at game time were pretty much identical. It was so cold, beer was turning to slush! 😂
There was a CFL connection to that game. Mike Wilson and ML Harris had played fot the Toronto Argonauts in the mid to late 70's. Also, Forrest Gregg was the Head Coach in Toronto at the same time.
I think my favourite thing about this is how it's just so human. We decided that we were gonna have a football game this day. And mother nature said something like, "are you sure about that?" And everyone just said yea, go ahead and do your worst. Players, fans, commentators on the field. We're all gonna bundle up and prepare for the worst. And it sucked while it was happening but after it was over, nothing but the best memories of another day of football.
Was standing in the Bengals tunnel. Knew a guy! When the wind blew in that tunnel. It would sting your entire face. The post game party was like an Eskimo disco. High times in the Nati. lmao. Who Dey.
Years later I remember reading a comment from one of the Chargers' former trainers about that game. He stated that the weather was freezing cold when the team arrived a day or two before, and he knew just by glancing at the WTF! look on the players' faces the minute they got off the plane that the contest was already lost at that point
Regarding the chargers, the week before they had played in perhaps the hottest playoff game of all time in Miami. Final score 41-38 in overtime. And then the next week they had to go into completely opposite weather conditions. And they were from San Diego, where the weather is always pleasant. It is unbelievable that they were able to play football in that cold environment.
@ kind of a stupid thing to say. No player on any team is used to playing in those conditions. San Diego came off of a much tougher game than Cincinnati did to get to the championship game. And as I mentioned at the other extreme of temperatures. Remember that Cincinnati was the home team and the number one seed. I think every player on both teams showed a lot of guts playing under those conditions. That is what makes football the great sport that it is.
These guys are the greatest generation of football players. Just a bunch of tough guys that played mainly because they loved it. Today, the nfl is like a damn reality show.
I was twelve and my stepfather sent me and my little brother to the local carry out to buy a few things to eat and drink for the game . The store was about a block and a half away , we were layered and I’d never been that cold in my life . Get back and the Bengals o line came out sleeveless . I was in awe.
This game was about a month before my 12th birthday. We lived in Xenia, up near Dayton. I remember barely making it to church and back that morning. Wow, was it cold! I watched the game on TV wondering how everyone was surviving.
The '81 season was phenomenal. And the Freezer Bowl was epic. The guys on that team are all Bengals legends. I remember watching this game like it was yesterday. Even in NJ, the weather was arctic. We had the fire place going and were all hunkered down and these guys played the game of their lives. Pure delirium when that clock hit :00. As Brent Musburger, said earlier that year, "The guys in the funny helmets are at it again!"
I once slept in -10 degree weather because my truck broke down in New Mexico. I never wanna do that again. For these guys to play in -60 just shows how badass NFL players can be. Especially back in the day.
Well deserved home field advantage for the Bengals…in November they had beaten the Chargers 40-17 in San Diego. Had the Chargers won that game, both clubs would’ve had 11-5 regular season records with the Chargers getting the home game in the playoff rematch due to the head to head tiebreaker.
SD Quarterback Dan Fouts suffered frostbite in that game. When asked about it again recently he said, "Frostbite never goes away," Fouts said. "I've got it on my fingers and toes, my hands and feet basically." Frostbite, yeah its permanent ... it's more of a cold sensation, you just can't get warm. I still feel the effects of the Freezer Bowl to this day."
I remember watching that game. I was not there but had been outside earlier that day. Later in life i spent 3 winters in Northern Maine while in the Air Force and as cold as it gets up there that game day is still the coldest ive ever felt.
There was a 140 degrees difference from the week before for the chargers. There is no team in history that would be able to play a good game under those conditions. This was beyond home field advantage for the bengals. The game was over before it began
Watched this game in my apartment and couldn't believe how cold it was in Cincy. I had attended a few college games that were cold, but nothing like this.
I remember this on TV, and was mostly disappointed by how lopsided it was. The Chargers put up nearly 500 points that season, and Fouts throwing for a then record 4,700 yards,, but they could barely move the ball. But the Bengals sure stepped up and owned the game, the stadium, the cold. I remember later hearing all the stories. One was that the turf heating system struggled to keep running, making the surface even more hard, and brutally cold. Kellen Winslow suffered I believe 2nd degree frostbite in his toes, and had lingering issues from it the rest of his career. He wasn't the only one. Frostbite on ears, noses, fingers. It was as much an arctic expedition as a football game!
never forget my step dad coming home from this one. he still hadnt regained all his movement from the cold, but it didnt matter one bit a win made it all go away. WHO DEY!
I remember me & my brother in law were smoking a joint out on the concourse and I asked if he wanted anymore & when he said no I got done and threw it over the edge then when I looked over the edge it landed on the hood of a Cincinnati police suburban with 2 officers in the front seat. They both leaned forward to look up to see where it came from and I just waved and went back to my seat. Stories I could tell about that day and how about the radio man for the Bengals Mr. Phil Samp. What a voice !!!
Phil Samp and Andy MacWilliams! And let’s not forget Gary Burbank, Andy Mac, Bob Trumpy, and Cris Collinsworth with “Sports or Consequences” on WLW. “He don’t, he don’t, he don’t mess around! Hey!”
I went to a game where there was snow and ice on the seats, and the wind chill was in the single digits. I couldn't feel my face by the third quarter, and I had to put hand warmers in my shoes because my feet went numb from the cold. That was with wind chills in the single digits. Standing in wind chills of -60 just sounds like a death wish.
I played football at Va Tech in the 1970’s. I was a linebacker. I was 3rd string. Rick Razzano was the toughest most savvy football player I ever was around. Absolutely great player.
I watched that game from the comfort of my basement 75 miles north of Toronto, Canada -- and I was genuinely sympathetic for what those guys were going through. I knew how bad that was!! But it was also in the age of that gawd-awful "astro turf", which was rendered "fuzzy cement" as someone called it at the time. Extreme, extreme conditions.
One of the most striking similarities between America and the Roman Empire is their sports. You look at those Bengals linemen and tell me those aren't gladiators.
If free agency and the salary cap hadn’t become a thing then the Dallas Cowboys would still be winning championships… It kept teams from hoarding all the top tier players.
The Ohio River was frozen solid during this cold spell in Cincinnati. TV news stations showed dozens..literally dozens of pedestrians adventurously "walking" across the frozen ice of the Ohio River. A sight to see, indeed.
I very much enjoyed this video and I give the Bengals a lot of credit. That being said, I'm a lifelong Pittsburgh resident and Steeler fan. I'm sorry, but I just have to chuckle. Anyone remember the Steeler/ Oiler ice bowl game where there was 3 inches of water/ice on the field. That game and maybe a half a dozen others I remember Mike Webster, Terry "Moon" Mullins, Not to mention the entire Steel Curtain. Not only did the Steelers wear short sleeves for every game, The Oilers also looked at us like we were nuts. The best though was watching the Oilers and others wearing winter jackets and sitting on those heated benches. Lambert, Green and Webster wouldn't allow heated benches on our sidelines.Lambert would wear his regular spring jacket with the hood. He never even sat on the bench. He always sat on his helmet on the ground near the bench. Again, Nice video Bengals, but NOBODY was tougher than the Steelers in freezing cold weather. Just stating facts. 👍 I'd like to also salute the Bengals as well. The AFC North plays rough football. I loved Kenny Anderson, Pete "The Runaway Beer Truck" Johnson, as well as their entire offensive and defensive lines. Can't forget the great fans in Cincinnati either !! 👍 If you'd have played the Steelers, we would have been wearing the same as you guys. I doubt we'd have bothered with the heated benches though. Pete Johnson was a beast as usual in this game. Reminds me of the game at Heinz Field in heavy snow when Jerome Bettis put Brian Urlacher on his ass on his way into the end zone. That was Bettis's last year. We won the Super Bowl that year too !
The Chargers basically went from playing in a sauna in Miami one week to playing in Antarctica the next week. Probably no team in the history of American professional sports has experienced such an extreme weather swing between games.
Fun fact! The Ice Bowl air temperature was -13 degrees, while the Freezer Bowl was -9... but the wind chill of the Freezer Bowl was a whole 22 degrees colder than the Ice Bowl. We are just splitting frozen nose hairs by this point, though.
As a person born 11 years after this, It's hard for me to believe people not liking the striped helmets. And I'm not even a Bengals fan, but those are fantastic helmets.
I was born and raised in Ohio and a Bengal fan from day one in '68. Through a quirk of fate and military service, in '81 I lived near San Diego and watched this game on TV. I was rooting hard for the tiger stripes, but I gotta admit, seeing that weather back home on TV made me glad I was were it was sunny and 70s. 😄
My parents were friends with Kenny at Augustana College. My dad passed in 1978 so I wa rooting extra hard for the Bengals this game and the Super Bowl. Get Kenny in Canton!
At a minimum [plus more than 100 degrees when factoring in the wind], the 88 degree temperature change for the Chargers, as their game the previous week vs the Dolphins at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida with a game time kickoff at 5:00 p.m. EST and the temperature registering at 79 °F. There has never been a greater difference in temperature with respects to any game in contrast to either the next or the previous week's matchup than what the Chargers endured in a little over a week's [spanning 8 days] time.
That was an awesome video. I live in northeast Ohio and remember that like it was yesterday. The '81 Bengals got a well-deserved conference championship.
Im a Bills fan and i cant imagine a game being this cold i was at a Buffalo game in 2012 and it was like 20 degrees nothing compared to this wow damn 😮
![[UNCUT] เก็บ "สจ.โต้ง" เอี่ยวมาเฟีย รู้ตัวคนบงการ ก่อนสั่งลั่นไก I คนดังนั่งเคลียร์ I 13 ธ.ค.67](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/o-J_p62D40w/mqdefault.jpg)
Was there. Still thawing out. My dad has a special (warm) place in heaven for taking his 14-year-old son to his first Bengal game in those conditions.
Though my experience was in a heatwave compared to yours, I have a similar memory of my first Broncos game in a late-December Denver with my (recently) deceased mom. So thankful we both were as determined as we were to go to that game, as we were able to see both TD go over 2k yards for the season and John Elway pass for his 300th career TD. Still, the cold conditions sitting in the upper deck of the original Mile High is the first thing that comes to my mind when I think about that game! Hope my mom’s coffee in heaven is warmer than it was in the bleachers that day!
Same here. I was 10 and my parents had season tickets. I got to go instead of my mom.
When football was football😊
“.. still thawing out” 😂😂
You gotta be tough most of you Americans ain't tough enough to handle the cold 🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦
The Fact that Forrest Gregg played in The Ice Bowl and Coached The Freezer Bowl proved what a Savage Badass he was.
He ain't no Forrest gump
@Ericrawnsley yes, well Forrest Gump had the great Lt. Dan as his "mentor," Forrest Gregg only had some nobody named Vince Lombardi.
That experience probably helped him.
Its not a job you can just call in sick
really i didnt know that was he a cowboy or a packer?
I was there as a NBC tech and it was the coldest I've ever been. Brutal!!
What was the final score ? It looked like a lopsided game. N
@@mikekaroules2820 It was. 27-7. The week before the Chargers played in Miami in a heat wave, with high humidity. Charger QB Dan Fouts was asked when they thought the game was over, "when we stepped off the bus and into the cold."
What was it like?
@PhilAndersonOutside makes sense since they were based in San Diego and they played in Miami the week before. Total shock to the system.
The old Air Coryell days. Chargers had one of the best passing games in history. To bad they couldn't display it in that weather.
I could watch this all day long…stories like this & NFL films is what it’s all about as a football fan
What a game, I miss the old school football from the AFC Central, from Riverfront Stadium to Three Rivers Stadium, as a Houston Oilers fan (from the luv ya blue days) I admit I pulled for you guys in the Super Bowl, Kenny Anderson should be in the Hall.
NFL Films made me a die hard football fan.
Nfl has the best documentaries and history
@@daniellefagan7984I just miss players getting their jerseys covered in mud and rain lol
@@deflategate1297No doubt, I remember my dad telling me a football field shouldn’t be all neat and pretty 😂 in fact we’d have a few laughs in the first month or so of the season watching the Oilers in the Astrodome because of the dirt infield.
I remember this game, the NFC Championship between San Francisco and Dallas with "the Catch" later that afternoon, and the "Epic in Miami" game the previous weekend that put the Chargers in this game. The 1981 playoffs were amongst the most memorable.
@Recovery2012-x2f it was Kellen Winslow
The Chargers in a week's time had to go thru probably the most dramatic temperature change in NFL history. The long game in Miami that went into the night was during a time of very unseasonable heat where players were suffering from heat stroke. I remember Kellen Winslow ( who had a fantastic game) having to be helped off the field because he was so overheated in those high temps and humidity.
THEN, a week later, they are playing in Arctic conditions that would have been more common in Siberia! Gotta wonder if the human body is geared for that abrupt a change!
@@jimmyrubin4862definitely an impossible weather change for the body and mind
The temperature at the "Epic in Miami" football game on January 2, 1982 was 76°F (24°C) with 80% humidity.
I had a comment published in the Sports Illustrated that featured “The Catch” on the cover the following week. I had commented on the DH rule in baseball. I don’t even recall what I wrote.
Kenny Anderson deserves to be in the HoF.
💯
Should have been in the H.O.F. a long time ago. He changed the dynamic of the game, the OG of the "west coast" offense. Anderson is violently underrated.
I'm a lifelong Steelers yet live here in Cincinnati but yes, Kenny Anderson is long overdue for the HOF. Anyone who wins multiple NFL passing championships, held the NFL season completion percentage record for 30+ yrs, and put their team in the Super Bowl should be in Canton
This! Stop playing with that man and put him in Canton!
Hall of Fame voters can be jokes. If the coach or player hosts a pre-game show and/or won a SuperBowl, the HOF voters more likely vote them in. Flawed logic. Anderson was as good or better than many SuperBowl winning QB's. Don Coryell is another example. He had many players or assistant coaches who rose to Hall of Famers...his offense is widely been used for decades...yet he's been denied entry.
I was there with my dad and brothers; he had bought some "electric socks", and it was so cold that the 9-volt batteries would not power up the socks until we went into the Owners booth at halftime to warm up and visit and all the sudden dad says hey my socks are heating up now! Well... they worked so good that his feet started sweating and when we went back out to the seats for the 2nd half 15 minutes into the 3rd quarter the batteries had given out again and his feet about froze into blocks of ice with a bad case of frostbite. I remember it like it was yesterday...RIP pop! ❤
Yeah I was at that game too,it was cold AF out there
@@James-ki5ixWe were all at the game 🤔
What was the owners booth like? Curious if your Dad was some rich guy to visit the owners booth or if that's just regular stuff in Ohio 😅
@@TheChicagoJunkie Naw... we grew up in a small town called London Ohio with the Sawyer family back when John Sawyer started the Bengal's Franchise along with Paul Brown in 67/68 watched them Play at UC's Nippert stadium before Riverfront was Built and once it was Built If we went into the Box during the game at Riverfront you had to be quiet like in a boardroom until they made a good play, then you cold cheer....lol
you rich huh
Anthony Munoz Local boy from Ontario CA. Best OF tackle in nfl history
He was a freak.
The standard by which all other Tackles should be measured
Definitely an all time great.
Break a leg munoz
Nope. Walter jones. 5025 drop back passes. Gave up 32 sacks
I was a sixth grader up in Detroit watching this. A couple weeks later it dumped snow for the Super Bowl in Pontiac. That Bengals team was tough as nails.
I was at that Super Bowl in 1982 as a 49er fan. Had to hike into the Silverdome through -21 windchill. 🥶 I can’t imagine -59! 🥶🥶
I was an 8th grader in Detroit, and I remember my mother putting plastic over the windows while I watched the Bengals,Chargers game. It was extremely cold that day. But yeah that Super Bowl was a mess. My sister went to the 49ers party and brought back autographs of some of the players. I even got O J’s autograph which I still have. But I really wanted Montana’s even though I was disappointed with Cincinnati’s loss.
the crazy thing is the Chargers played the overtime "Epic in Miami" game the week before with temperatures in the 80 degrees and high humidity to the Freezer Bowl a week later.
The Chargers would have won if it was in normal conditions.
They had a Chance in November In Regular Season Gm and played at San Diego in Perfect Weather and the Bengals Smoked the Chargers 40-17!!!!! Bengals WR #85 Isaac Curtis had a Great Gm, think He had like 7 Rec for 147 Yds by Halftime with Chargers trying to Cover Him Man to Man with CB #28 Willie Buchanon.
@@jquizzlestick Chargers were all offense no defense . if they would of had a defense they might of been one of the teams at the time fast forward to a few years later Marino lead Dolphins were the same all offense no defense
@@jquizzlestick No, everyone has this romantic belief that the Chargers were gonna win if it wasn't for the freezing weather, the Bengals had to play in those conditions as well. Also as someone mentioned already, the Bengals won in San Diego quite easily.
The Chargers get all this love was due to them playing in arguably the greatest playoff game ever played.
If the Chargers were so great why were they on the road in a playoff game?
hell yeah!!!! 13 years old for this game!!!!! Loved it!!! Sooooo proud of my bengals.
I was there too… I was 16 years old… Who Dey!!!
I was about the same age. I remember watching on TV. There were crazy shirtless fans
I grew up in Cincinnati and was 11 and living in Loveland, in the Greater Cincinnati Area, and I remember how cold it was. Watched the game from home. The funny thing is that we moved to San Diego two weeks after the game. BENGALS FOREVER!!! AND THE REDS!! AND... THE STINGERS!!
I've been to a Bengals game when it was 19 at game time and that was torture. Can't imagine how this felt but you know the win made it all worth it! Who Dey!!
19? That's warm! Come to Green Bay!!
@@Packman612 the stadium is on the river… so that makes it more like -19.
I'll never forget that game. Watching on TV. In South jersey. It was freezing in our living room. Hard to imagine them playing in it.
I grew up in Millville. Where are you from?
@darthnihilus511 burlington twp. NJ. And most all of South jersey. My brother lives in Vineland.
Without a doubt, Ken Anderson should be in the HOF. He was a hard nosed, blue collar QB who wasn’t flashy, but extremely accurate. I’m a Steelers fan and he would give us fits year after year.
Our fuel oil furnace froze up that day, we used space heaters in the living room. Everyone bundled up and watched the game on a 19 inch color TV and it was still cold inside the house. I can't imagine being there. Riverfront Stadium always had a swirling wind and it had to be horrible that day down there. Thank goodness our electric stayed on so we could see the game.
I went to a game at 6 years old with my dad and got stranded downtown. A blizzard had came through the city that night. We were on the bus to make matters worse. I wouldn't change that experience for the world. I've been a fan since '86 (the earliest I can remember watching games) Thank you dad for introducing me to the game and this team. FAN FOR LIFE 🧡🖤
LOVE IT!
@@Bengalswar eagle 🦅 Auburn University represent! Thanks should do more uploads for MLB hidden gems
❤
I remember watching this game bundled up with my friends in northern Ohio 55 below with windchill. Never seen it that cold since. If you went outside for longer than a few minutes you could die. No lie.
NFL in it's heyday. Incredible to see.
"its"
My parents were there, and the stories were epic
i was there my first game i was 5 my parents could not get a babysitter so they tripled me up in clothing i remember it was so cold my nose would get runny and then freeze up on the inside
or wait this would been my second bengals game my first was bengals vs browns the same season lol
ok
did they tailgate before the game?
I wish I could hear those stories
I grew up in Cincinnati, graduating high school in 1976. Being in Cincinnati during the Big Red Machine years and as a Bengal fan in the 80s was a blessing. What a wonderful time to be growing up in the mid 70s, 80, and 90s. America has changed a lot as of when I write this in November 2024, hopefully the people who read and watch this video in the future, will look back on history and know this was the greatest time to be alive.
Did you go to Moeller?
I’m jealous my friend, i wish I grew up in your era
I was a senior in high school & had suffered as a fan through all of those choke jobs & near misses in the 70's & was elated during & after this game. Still my favorite Bengals memory!
I'm from Utah, been a Bengal fan for 36 years. Such an awesome video, I learned so much! Definitely won't be a Freezer Bowl this weekend, but still.. we have such a huge game before us. It's do or die for this season. Driving with my daughter 12 hours from Utah to Sofi to see Joey B and the boys carve em up! It's my daughters first NFL game. So excited!!! We will both be proudly wearing the stripes from head to toe and screaming our heads off!! GONNA BE A BENGAL DAY
🐅WHO DEY🐅
Hope y’all have a great time and that we come out with a W this week 🫡🔥 from a fellow bengal WHODEY baby lets gooo
@Ivsmokingblunts98 Thank you!🐯
I am a Bengals fan and this in my 54th year being a Bengals fan and I remember that game well and the thing is I have never been to a Bengals game in person as my late father promised I would go to one but he passed before that could happen.
@@BrianMiller-XavierMan66this is fire 🔥
Yes please more of this kind of stuff!!!
I was a Charger fan. The game before with Miami was an epic battle. One of the most exciting games ever. The Chargers came from sunny Miami to freezing Ohio all beat up. The didn't have a chance.
Don't forget the Bengals played the Chargers during the regular season in warm & sunny San Diego and beat them pretty good (40-17). I've heard some try to put the Bengals down saying "They only beat the Chargers because of the weather." Well SD had two chances at the Bengals that year and lost them both.
Yep Bengals were definitely the better team.
@@RRaquello And if a delay of game penalty was not called against the Bills on a successful 4th down pass a week earlier against the Bengals, the Bills might have won that game and they would have been facing the Chargers in San Diego for the AFC Championship.
@@WaltGekko The Bills are one of the teams I always rooted for (after the Bengals) and always wanted to see them win so it was too bad when the Bengals finally had a good team one of the teams they had to beat to get to the Super Bowl was Buffalo. It would have been better if they had good teams at different times instead of in the same year.
Impressive game and great production here. Thank you for doing this. And Congratulations to that Cincinnati Bengals team 🏆🏆!
This is an awesome documentary on that famous game! The Bengal players who had segments here were very engaging and you had a good sense as a viewer of their memories and recollections. Outstanding!
great football team with a great head coach
I was a sophomore in h.s. and had been in the hospital for 2 weeks due to ankle surgery. I was released the day before the freezeer bowl and grandpa rode me down to the river on the n. Ky. Side and with the fog coming off the river you couldnt see the stadium or downtown cincy. It was like what i imagined hell would look like. Our french Sheppard scruffy had run away, i believe he was trying to find me since i had been gone for two weeks. When we got back home, it wasnt but 10 min. Later he was scratching at the door. What a great weekend.
As a Canadian, this kind of stuff always tickles me in the feels. Gotta love a great cold weather game.
I was there. It was absolutely cold but great game. Never forget.
Glad you survived!
@@Bengalswar eagle 🦅 Auburn University represent
@Bengals I'm glad everyone survived. There will never be another game like the freezer bowl.
197 touchdowns 160 interceptions in a running back era Kenny Anderson deserves to be in the Cincinnati Bengals hall of fame NOT the National Football League’s hall of fame. He was a sorry quarterback
Whoever designed the stripes on the helmet an uniform did one of the best things in modern day football history,it seperated the long history of being compared to the browns,for me tbey have been a total different team ever since
Now those stripes stink. They should go back to the 1981 stripes uniforms.
I liked it when it just said Bengals on the side, I know I'm in the minority on that.
@jamesswain2465 I just thought when they moved the browns over to the AFC
an same division even,the stripes kinda one uped the browns an separated there look,being they were both Paul Brown teams,I don't think anyone knew at the time the Browns would end up being an AFC team too,lol I been a Browns fan since 68 never dreaming bk then they would never make the SB an here a start up team in 68 the Bengals have been there I think like 3 times now,so since the stripes I really support them to now
@@jamesswain2465 🤔Yeah I remember the Bengals name on the helmet and the 1980 uniforms.I like them too .👍
I can watch stuff like this all day. Great job. Thank you for posting.
I was 10 when this game was played. I'll never ever forget it. Man what a game
I'm applauding. This production is fantastic!!! Hats off to the producers!!! Thanks very much for sharing!!!
OMG are you?
This is just an outstanding little documentary. 10/10 and I am not a huge pro gridiron fan.
The 81 nfl playoffs was very interesting period!
I remember that day, as a Browns fan, I was pulling for the Bengals. I still like the old helmets BTW.
I'm watching this after watching the 2015 Wildcard game between The Seahawks and the Vikings 🥶. Great documentary 👍👍
I was 20 and was there freezing my ass off. Man it was great
Old school football at its finest. I miss the old AFC Central, guys like Brian Sipe, Kenny Anderson, Bradshaw and our QB Dan Pastorini who was fortunate to have Earl Campbell behind him.
I recently watched our second postseason trip to Three Rivers Stadium (AFC TITLE GAME) and yes, That was a touchdown. Luv ya Blue!
We lived in barberton, oh and my dad had won tickets thru a radio station. It was a very cold day for a 11 year old child but I will always remember that day forever.
WKRP?
I'm freezing watching this. These men are Gladiators!
This is SO good.
I grew up in Atlanta, and was in 4th Grade when this game was played. I remember being downtown with my Dad after Church and it was so cold - and the wind was so strong - I could barely breathe. We ended up getting a blizzard, ourselves, and missed the whole week of school….so, I can only imagine how bad the weather was in Cincinnati. Thanks for the great video - and yes, Ken Anderson should have been in the HOF DECADES ago.
Philly fan but historian at heart. I respect these guys, yes even dallas players. This game ALWAYS intrigued me, along with the fog bowl, the 1990 nfc championship game, and so on.
I've watched nearly any available content on this particular game, and I'll never get enough of it. The build up during the season, the stories, the players, its so cool.
Love this!
I remember watching that game! I can relate to how cold it was because, 10 years later, I went to the Grey Cup (the Canadian Football League's championship) in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The conditions at game time were pretty much identical. It was so cold, beer was turning to slush! 😂
There was a CFL connection to that game. Mike Wilson and ML Harris had played fot the Toronto Argonauts in the mid to late 70's. Also, Forrest Gregg was the Head Coach in Toronto at the same time.
I think my favourite thing about this is how it's just so human. We decided that we were gonna have a football game this day. And mother nature said something like, "are you sure about that?" And everyone just said yea, go ahead and do your worst. Players, fans, commentators on the field. We're all gonna bundle up and prepare for the worst. And it sucked while it was happening but after it was over, nothing but the best memories of another day of football.
And to this day, Dan Fouts HATES Cincinnati because of it. Could always hear it in his commentary lol
Find it very hard to picture the Bengals without their Tiger stripes. Iconic design. The helmet as art.
I liked when they had bengals written on the sife.
Was standing in the Bengals tunnel. Knew a guy! When the wind blew in that tunnel. It would sting your entire face. The post game party was like an Eskimo disco. High times in the Nati. lmao. Who Dey.
Man....I had to turn the heat on in my house watching this video.
Years later I remember reading a comment from one of the Chargers' former trainers about that game. He stated that the weather was freezing cold when the team arrived a day or two before, and he knew just by glancing at the WTF! look on the players' faces the minute they got off the plane that the contest was already lost at that point
Regarding the chargers, the week before they had played in perhaps the hottest playoff game of all time in Miami. Final score 41-38 in overtime. And then the next week they had to go into completely opposite weather conditions. And they were from San Diego, where the weather is always pleasant. It is unbelievable that they were able to play football in that cold environment.
They really didn't play. They woulda' been better off not showing up.
@ kind of a stupid thing to say. No player on any team is used to playing in those conditions.
San Diego came off of a much tougher game than Cincinnati did to get to the championship game. And as I mentioned at the other extreme of temperatures.
Remember that Cincinnati was the home team and the number one seed.
I think every player on both teams showed a lot of guts playing under those conditions. That is what makes football the great sport that it is.
I was 21 and i loved football in tough weather.
ARE YOU SEE THAT'S WHY I LIKE BASKETBALL.. NO WAY IN HELL I WILL BE OUT IN THE DAMN SNOW LIKE THAT
These guys are the greatest generation of football players. Just a bunch of tough guys that played mainly because they loved it. Today, the nfl is like a damn reality show.
I was twelve and my stepfather sent me and my little brother to the local carry out to buy a few things to eat and drink for the game . The store was about a block and a half away , we were layered and I’d never been that cold in my life . Get back and the Bengals o line came out sleeveless . I was in awe.
This game was about a month before my 12th birthday. We lived in Xenia, up near Dayton. I remember barely making it to church and back that morning. Wow, was it cold! I watched the game on TV wondering how everyone was surviving.
This was an excellent team! Loved Ken Anderson and Anthony Munoz and Cris Collinsworth!
The '81 season was phenomenal. And the Freezer Bowl was epic. The guys on that team are all Bengals legends.
I remember watching this game like it was yesterday. Even in NJ, the weather was arctic. We had the fire place going and were all hunkered down and these guys played the game of their lives. Pure delirium when that clock hit :00. As Brent Musburger, said earlier that year, "The guys in the funny helmets are at it again!"
I once slept in -10 degree weather because my truck broke down in New Mexico. I never wanna do that again. For these guys to play in -60 just shows how badass NFL players can be. Especially back in the day.
Well deserved home field advantage for the Bengals…in November they had beaten the Chargers 40-17 in San Diego. Had the Chargers won that game, both clubs would’ve had 11-5 regular season records with the Chargers getting the home game in the playoff rematch due to the head to head tiebreaker.
SD Quarterback Dan Fouts suffered frostbite in that game. When asked about it again recently he said, "Frostbite never goes away," Fouts said. "I've got it on my fingers and toes, my hands and feet basically." Frostbite, yeah its permanent ... it's more of a cold sensation, you just can't get warm. I still feel the effects of the Freezer Bowl to this day."
I remember watching that game. I was not there but had been outside earlier that day. Later in life i spent 3 winters in Northern Maine while in the Air Force and as cold as it gets up there that game day is still the coldest ive ever felt.
There was a 140 degrees difference from the week before for the chargers. There is no team in history that would be able to play a good game under those conditions. This was beyond home field advantage for the bengals. The game was over before it began
140 degrees… ok
Now this is a great video! Thanks!
Watched this game in my apartment and couldn't believe how cold it was in Cincy. I had attended a few college games that were cold, but nothing like this.
I remember this on TV, and was mostly disappointed by how lopsided it was. The Chargers put up nearly 500 points that season, and Fouts throwing for a then record 4,700 yards,, but they could barely move the ball. But the Bengals sure stepped up and owned the game, the stadium, the cold. I remember later hearing all the stories. One was that the turf heating system struggled to keep running, making the surface even more hard, and brutally cold. Kellen Winslow suffered I believe 2nd degree frostbite in his toes, and had lingering issues from it the rest of his career. He wasn't the only one. Frostbite on ears, noses, fingers. It was as much an arctic expedition as a football game!
never forget my step dad coming home from this one. he still hadnt regained all his movement from the cold, but it didnt matter one bit a win made it all go away. WHO DEY!
Cincinnati Bengals and Joe Burrow has always been one of my favorite teams. I do enjoy watching them play.
I remember me & my brother in law were smoking a joint out on the concourse and I asked if he wanted anymore & when he said no I got done and threw it over the edge then when I looked over the edge it landed on the hood of a Cincinnati police suburban with 2 officers in the front seat. They both leaned forward to look up to see where it came from and I just waved and went back to my seat. Stories I could tell about that day and how about the radio man for the Bengals Mr. Phil Samp. What a voice !!!
Phil Samp and Andy MacWilliams!
And let’s not forget Gary Burbank, Andy Mac, Bob Trumpy, and Cris Collinsworth with “Sports or Consequences” on WLW.
“He don’t, he don’t, he don’t mess around! Hey!”
Great to see these guys all looking healthy and in good shape physically and mentally.
According to my mother, a lot of the women were in the bathroom next to hand dryers 🤣
ok
@@daltonbolser5100war eagle 🦅 Auburn University represent
I went to a game where there was snow and ice on the seats, and the wind chill was in the single digits. I couldn't feel my face by the third quarter, and I had to put hand warmers in my shoes because my feet went numb from the cold. That was with wind chills in the single digits. Standing in wind chills of -60 just sounds like a death wish.
Let’s here for the fans who attended this game. FANS are AWESOME 🎉
Where?
Tl2354 you can’t read
I played football at Va Tech in the 1970’s. I was a linebacker. I was 3rd string. Rick Razzano was the toughest most savvy football player I ever was around. Absolutely great player.
I remember this game very well.
I watched that game from the comfort of my basement 75 miles north of Toronto, Canada -- and I was genuinely sympathetic for what those guys were going through. I knew how bad that was!! But it was also in the age of that gawd-awful "astro turf", which was rendered "fuzzy cement" as someone called it at the time.
Extreme, extreme conditions.
Who'd EVER thought that the COLDEST game ever played would be in Cincinnati?? That's just a couple turns around I-75 from Kentucky!!
One of the most striking similarities between America and the Roman Empire is their sports.
You look at those Bengals linemen and tell me those aren't gladiators.
I remember that day I live in the u.p of Michigan the temp without windchill was -18 windchill was -79
I live across Lake Erie from Cleveland. I remember sitting home watching the game, it was too cold to leave the house.
This was when men played with a passion, cried when they lost in the playoffs, and before free agency ruined the game.
If free agency and the salary cap hadn’t become a thing then the Dallas Cowboys would still be winning championships… It kept teams from hoarding all the top tier players.
@@Tomjeffersonason doubt it, that was never the case before then
I remember watching it. It was a great day to be a Cincinnati Bengals fan. Thanks for the memories.
The Ohio River was frozen solid during this cold spell in Cincinnati. TV news stations showed dozens..literally dozens of pedestrians adventurously "walking" across the frozen ice of the Ohio River. A sight to see, indeed.
Around this time of the 1980s, Gregg was also coach of Toronto Argonauts. Didn’t work out for either side.
ML Harris and Mike Wilson also played in Toronto before their NFL careers.
I very much enjoyed this video and I give the Bengals a lot of credit. That being said, I'm a lifelong Pittsburgh resident and Steeler fan. I'm sorry, but I just have to chuckle. Anyone remember the Steeler/ Oiler ice bowl game where there was 3 inches of water/ice on the field. That game and maybe a half a dozen others I remember Mike Webster, Terry "Moon" Mullins, Not to mention the entire Steel Curtain. Not only did the Steelers wear short sleeves for every game, The Oilers also looked at us like we were nuts. The best though was watching the Oilers and others wearing winter jackets and sitting on those heated benches. Lambert, Green and Webster wouldn't allow heated benches on our sidelines.Lambert would wear his regular spring jacket with the hood. He never even sat on the bench. He always sat on his helmet on the ground near the bench. Again, Nice video Bengals, but NOBODY was tougher than the Steelers in freezing cold weather. Just stating facts. 👍 I'd like to also salute the Bengals as well. The AFC North plays rough football. I loved Kenny Anderson, Pete "The Runaway Beer Truck" Johnson, as well as their entire offensive and defensive lines. Can't forget the great fans in Cincinnati either !! 👍 If you'd have played the Steelers, we would have been wearing the same as you guys. I doubt we'd have bothered with the heated benches though. Pete Johnson was a beast as usual in this game. Reminds me of the game at Heinz Field in heavy snow when Jerome Bettis put Brian Urlacher on his ass on his way into the end zone. That was Bettis's last year. We won the Super Bowl that year too !
One of the best games with a name
The Chargers basically went from playing in a sauna in Miami one week to playing in Antarctica the next week. Probably no team in the history of American professional sports has experienced such an extreme weather swing between games.
The second coldest game in NFL history
Fun fact! The Ice Bowl air temperature was -13 degrees, while the Freezer Bowl was -9... but the wind chill of the Freezer Bowl was a whole 22 degrees colder than the Ice Bowl. We are just splitting frozen nose hairs by this point, though.
@@Bengals WHO DEYYYY
We actually count the wind chill factor in America
As a person born 11 years after this, It's hard for me to believe people not liking the striped helmets. And I'm not even a Bengals fan, but those are fantastic helmets.
This is the day I was born. 😊🥶☝🏾
I was born and raised in Ohio and a Bengal fan from day one in '68. Through a quirk of fate and military service, in '81 I lived near San Diego and watched this game on TV. I was rooting hard for the tiger stripes, but I gotta admit, seeing that weather back home on TV made me glad I was were it was sunny and 70s. 😄
My parents were friends with Kenny at Augustana College. My dad passed in 1978 so I wa rooting extra hard for the Bengals this game and the Super Bowl. Get Kenny in Canton!
I was 11 on that day and almost froze to death walking a 1/4 mile from my friends house
Wow! That's intense!
@ for whatever reason i decided to run home in a t-shirt…
Wild considering the game the Chargers played in Miami the week before when it was really hot and humid.
At a minimum [plus more than 100 degrees when factoring in the wind], the 88 degree temperature change for the Chargers, as their game the previous week vs the Dolphins at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida with a game time kickoff at 5:00 p.m. EST and the temperature registering at 79 °F.
There has never been a greater difference in temperature with respects to any game in contrast to either the next or the previous week's matchup than what the Chargers endured in a little over a week's [spanning 8 days] time.
That's just crazy. Wow.
That was an awesome video. I live in northeast Ohio and remember that like it was yesterday. The '81 Bengals got a well-deserved conference championship.
The Chargers went from hot and humid Miami the week before to playing in a freezer 7 days later.
i watched that game and i was wondering if i could have played in that weather and i said no way, i salute both teams
Im a Bills fan and i cant imagine a game being this cold i was at a Buffalo game in 2012 and it was like 20 degrees nothing compared to this wow damn 😮