MONROE - Longtime Packers fan Ed Hughes of Monroe experienced the New Year's Eve of a lifetime almost a half-century ago at the legendary "Ice Bowl."
Hughes and his wife, Nancy, were in the stands for the 1967 NFL championship game at Lambeau Field when the Packers came back and beat the Cowboys 21-17 for their third straight title, in a game that would live up to its famous name.
The temperature at kickoff was 13 below, with a wind-chill of 48 below.
The couple was invited to the game by Ed's boss at Staley & Lawrenz Inc. of Beloit.
So they bundled up and, at one point, even used brown grocery bags to try to keep their feet warm during the coldest game in NFL history.
"No. 1, I thought I was a saint for going," Nancy said. "I never really cared much for football. You have to go up there for a game once. It's not every day you get the opportunity. It's a moment I will never forget."
The game remains a blur to Ed.
"I don't remember much about the game other than it was damn cold out," Ed said. "Everyone was just cuddled up and the steam came off your breath. We stuck it out, that was the one thing."
Despite the frigid temperatures, it was a sellout crowd of 50,861.
"The Packers have done that all along," Ed said of the Lambeau Field faithful. "It didn't matter what the temperature was. Once you got in there, the body temperature of the crowd helped."
Nancy recalls sitting next to a fan who was sucking on a peppermint stick and drinking hot chocolate until he became nauseated. Both Ed and Nancy still can recall the vendors trying to sell ice cold beer.
Packers Hall of Fame quarterback Bart Starr led his team down an icy field.
He took a timeout with 16 seconds left with about two feet to go. He conferred with Packers coach Vince Lombardi. Then, Starr ran a quarterback sneak and dove into the end zone for the thrilling game-winning touchdown.
The Packers went on to knock off the AFL's Oakland Raiders 33-14 in Super Bowl II in Miami two weeks later.
At the time, Ed didn't understand the significance the game would have in the history of the NFL.
"I didn't look at it that much as we do now," he said of the game, now considered a classic.
But Ed sees the Packers beating the Steelers Sunday to win Super Bowl XLV.
"I think they are going to win by a field goal," Ed said.
Nancy said she prefers watching football games on TV now.
"I can't believe the number of people who would go up there and freeze to death watching a football game," she said.
Hughes and his wife, Nancy, were in the stands for the 1967 NFL championship game at Lambeau Field when the Packers came back and beat the Cowboys 21-17 for their third straight title, in a game that would live up to its famous name.
The temperature at kickoff was 13 below, with a wind-chill of 48 below.
The couple was invited to the game by Ed's boss at Staley & Lawrenz Inc. of Beloit.
So they bundled up and, at one point, even used brown grocery bags to try to keep their feet warm during the coldest game in NFL history.
"No. 1, I thought I was a saint for going," Nancy said. "I never really cared much for football. You have to go up there for a game once. It's not every day you get the opportunity. It's a moment I will never forget."
The game remains a blur to Ed.
"I don't remember much about the game other than it was damn cold out," Ed said. "Everyone was just cuddled up and the steam came off your breath. We stuck it out, that was the one thing."
Despite the frigid temperatures, it was a sellout crowd of 50,861.
"The Packers have done that all along," Ed said of the Lambeau Field faithful. "It didn't matter what the temperature was. Once you got in there, the body temperature of the crowd helped."
Nancy recalls sitting next to a fan who was sucking on a peppermint stick and drinking hot chocolate until he became nauseated. Both Ed and Nancy still can recall the vendors trying to sell ice cold beer.
Packers Hall of Fame quarterback Bart Starr led his team down an icy field.
He took a timeout with 16 seconds left with about two feet to go. He conferred with Packers coach Vince Lombardi. Then, Starr ran a quarterback sneak and dove into the end zone for the thrilling game-winning touchdown.
The Packers went on to knock off the AFL's Oakland Raiders 33-14 in Super Bowl II in Miami two weeks later.
At the time, Ed didn't understand the significance the game would have in the history of the NFL.
"I didn't look at it that much as we do now," he said of the game, now considered a classic.
But Ed sees the Packers beating the Steelers Sunday to win Super Bowl XLV.
"I think they are going to win by a field goal," Ed said.
Nancy said she prefers watching football games on TV now.
"I can't believe the number of people who would go up there and freeze to death watching a football game," she said.