Your stories from the Freezer Bowl

[Jhowdy54]

I was only 2 years old when the freezer bowl happened so don't remember a thing from it. Just curious for those who attended the game or lived closed to the city during the time of the game. What's your story?

[bengals67]

my wife attended. they were all wrapped up in plastic garbage bags and then found out they could not get them off without great difficulty when they needed to go to the ladies room.


I watched on TV. It was truly amazing for all Bengals fans. I think this game may be the high water mark for the Bengals.

Tough environment to say the least and our team showed great character.

Forest Gregg was a great coach and had played in the famous Packer-Cowboys NFL championship on the frozen tundra.

The team we have seen over the last 15 years has not shown anything close to the character or leadership to rise to the occasion like the 1981 team.

To this day, I think Dan Fouts hates the Bengals because of this game as he was the QB for the Chargers.

And that era team occasionally actually beat the Steelers - even in Cincinnati.

[*bfine32*]

(02-02-2018, 07:22 PM)Jhowdy54 Wrote: I was only 2 years old when the freezer bowl happened so don't remember a thing from it.   Just curious for those who attended the game or lived closed to the city during the time of the game.   What's your story?

There I was.......


OK, I was there and have shared the story before I think. The first thing I remember is getting in my car to go. I had a 1978 Trans Am and I put my key in to open the door and it snapped off inside the lock. Luckily those were the days when the door key and the ignition key were different, plus a coat hanger could easily unlock the door.

This was a game at which we did not tailgate and to get into the stadium if you knew the right door and had $20 you could get in without a ticket. I was a member of the Ohio National Guard back then and one of our Platoon members with a Cincy Cop that worked the field on game day, so we got down on the field pre-game.

The rest was just walking around the Stadium watching the game from various vantage points. I cannot remember many plays nor can I recall the famous "our oline wore short sleeves" situation; however, I do remember that it seemed our D forced a TO in about every drive.   

[BenZoo2]

We had tickets. My parents had no interest in going. A neighbor asked if he take his boys. My dad said yes if he took me because I wanted to go.

We proceeded with the bundling process. Every layer of clothing I could put on I did. My dad supplied his army issue winter boots, guaranteeing my feet wouldn’t be cold. We arrived and to the stadium, coming across the coliseum. When we broke the cover of the coliseum the wind hit my face and I experienced the ice cream headache. I’ve never had that happen since.

We got to put seats and waited for the game to start. Very cold. The chargers had no interest in playing that day. The bengals just imposed their will. Hot chocolate quickly became cold. In the second half some idiots in front of us took of their shirts. I was happy we won and I had roughed it out. I was 12 and never so happy to Home.

My feet were cold by the first quarter.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[*Awful Llama*]

I was not at the game, though I had attended the Denver game earlier on the season as a birthday present. So, I cannot regale anyone with stories from the game. But I do remember walking about tat day.

My parents were divorced and I was going to my Dad's apartment. He did not live all that far from us and I always walked there, but my Mom said she'd drive me given the temp that day. But, it was sunny and I insisted on walking. I was frozen by the time I reached his place. He hated football but felt bad for me damn near freezing to death and let me watch the game.

[SunsetBengal]

(02-02-2018, 07:48 PM)bfine32 Wrote: There I was.......


OK, I was there and have shared the story before I think. The first thing I remember is getting in my car to go. I had a 1978 Trans Am and I put my key in to open the door and it snapped off inside the lock. Luckily those were the days when the door key and the ignition key were different, plus a coat hanger could easily unlock the door.

This was a game at which we did not tailgate and to get into the stadium if you knew the right door and had $20 you could get in without a ticket. I was a member of the Ohio National Guard back then and one of our Platoon members with a Cincy Cop that worked the field on game day, so we got down on the field pre-game.

The rest was just walking around the Stadium watching the game from various vantage points. I cannot remember many plays nor can I recall the famous "our oline wore short sleeves" situation; however, I do remember that it seemed our D forced a TO in about every drive.   

For some reason, I get an image of Billy Madison, and you standing in the parking lot, wearing a denim jacket with a sweatshirt underneath, and the collar flapped up.  

Personally, I was 12 and though I had outside chores to attend to that froze my ass pretty good, I watched the game on TV.  

[*psychdoctor*]

I was young. My parents wouldn't let us go to the game because it was too cold. So my friend and I painted our faces like Bengals' helmet and watched from another friend's house. Hard core Bengal face painting. I wish I had photos.

[jfkbengals]

(02-02-2018, 09:58 PM)psychdoctor Wrote: I was young.  My parents wouldn't let us go to the game because it was too cold.  So my friend and I painted our faces like Bengals' helmet and watched from another friend's house.  Hard core Bengal face painting.  I wish I had photos.

Ditto.


And yet, SOMEHOW they didn't think it was too cold for me to go outside at halftime and reload the firewood rack on the back porch with wood from the back of our lot!

I will NEVER forget how freakin' cold it was doing that.  Almost instantly numb, and yet painful nonetheless.

[*Go Cards*]

Was a senior in HS and did not attend.

Although my first game was earlier that year when Bengals played the 49ers.

Anyway, 4 of my diehard Bengals fan friends got together at a buddies house.

It was so cold outside we had a hard time smoking a joint at halftime. It hurt so bad to suck that cold air into our lungs we finally gave up.

[*bfine32*]

(02-02-2018, 09:22 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: For some reason, I get an image of Billy Madison, and you standing in the parking lot, wearing a denim jacket with a sweatshirt underneath, and the collar flapped up.  

Personally, I was 12 and though I had outside chores to attend to that froze my ass pretty good, I watched the game on TV.  

Nah, we were in the NG, so we had all the warm gear the state of Ohio could buy. But on a regular Saturday night you might find bfine and the crew cruising the loop between Malibu Gran Prix and Golden Tee off Sharon Rd and we were Members Only jackets and Parachute pants.  

[Jhowdy54]

Great stories everyone. Thanks for sharing.

[bengalstruth]

I was stationed at Ft. Wainwright in the interior of Alaska at the time.  I was a die hard Bengal fan then and now.  I don't remember a lot of details from the game, but I do recall two things in particular.  One, was that it was about 30 degrees warmer in Fairbanks that day than it was in Cincinnati.  And two, I remember seeing Bengal jerseys being worn all around town by lots of bandwagon fans.  

I did make it to the conference championship game 7 years later when we beat Buffalo.  That was the greatest sports event I've ever attended.  The stadium was a roar the whole game.  I don't think we sat down, and you had to yell to the person sitting next to you to be heard.  I would love to experience that again ...

[Daddy-O]

I was not there but my uncle was and had a good story.... well kind of good story!

He was a huge fan and went to every game so would not miss the AFC Championship for anything. He was a hunter so not worried about the cold. He and his friend layered up like most. They also took shoe boxes to keep their feet off the concrete.

The story he told was he had a thermos of hot coffee and accidentally kicked it over. He said the coffee essentially froze dead in its tracks on the cold concrete, stopping any momentum it had coming out of the thermos. Said it was the craziest thing he had ever seen and he had never been so cold in his life. But they toughed it out and watched the Bengals celebrate their first Superbowl appearance. RIP uncle Milt!

[Daddy-O]

(02-02-2018, 11:16 PM)bfine32 Wrote: Nah, we were in the NG, so we had all the warm gear the state of Ohio could buy. But on a regular Saturday night you might find bfine and the crew cruising the loop between Malibu Gran Prix and Golden Tee off Sharon Rd and we were Members Only jackets and Parachute pants.  

Was that you bfine32?  We were the other dudes cruising the same loop, chasing the same tail.  Arch enemies!

Tough goin's back in the days before cell phones and hook up sites!  I couldn't wait to get old enough to get into Corvettes USA to take my game to another level.

[Chezaugie]

We have so many fun stories but this is my favorite:

Four of us (me, my wife, my best friend and his wife) stayed downtown Cincinnati so we could walk to the game. The morning of the game we dressed in layers (not enough) and proceeded to pack cans of Hudy in our clothes to sneak into the game. We began our trek weaving in and out of various office buildings with large groups of people to keep warm. Halfway on our trip we started hearing faint "ssssssssssing" noises. After a few seconds we realized our cans of beer where freezing and exploding in our coats and pants. We were in some building's lobby frantically taking the beers out and trying to find a way to dispose of them. Streams of beer were shooting from the cans while people just walked by and laughed. Needless to say, our clothes were soaked and we smelled like a brewery.

The beer soaked clothes made us colder but we weren't about to turn back. We soldiered on and had one of the greatest times of our lives.

[Bengalitis]

if this super bowl gets colder than the freezer bowl, the NFL would be more than happy to shove the freezer bowl in the depths of its archives and will forever use the super bowl as reference to the coldest game ever in the NFL and superbowl. Same reason our players never get nominated to the HOF.

[*Awful Llama*]

(02-03-2018, 02:18 PM)Bengalitis Wrote: if this super bowl gets colder than the freezer bowl, the NFL would be more than happy to shove the freezer bowl in the depths of its archives and will forever use the super bowl as reference to the coldest game ever in the NFL and superbowl. Same reason our players never get nominated to the HOF.

I think the Freezer Bowls' spot in history is safe given this will be played indoors.  Conversely, had the Freezer Bowl featured the Packers, Steelers, Cowboys or especially a NY team, the media and league would have never shut up about it to this day.  

[BRM13]

(02-03-2018, 09:11 PM)Awful Llama Wrote: I think the Freezer Bowls' spot in history is safe given this will be played indoors.  Conversely, had the Freezer Bowl featured the Packers, Steelers, Cowboys or especially a NY team, the media and league would have never shut up about it to this day.  

If the Bengals had won the NEXT game, they'd never shut up about it either. 

[BRM13]

I remember watching the game in my dorm room.  Oddly I seem to recall being optimistic we'd beat the Chargers, a Bengals big-game feeling I haven't had in decades.  Anymore I don't know what I remember from watching the game and what I remember from seeing highlights.  I was in a college dorm after all...

I went to IU in Bloomington so it was every bit as cold there as in Cincinnati so I could imagine how awful it had to be in the stands.  I had been to a pretty cold (damp, 30s) game the year before and it seemed like the concrete in Riverfront used to suck the body heat right out of you.  I'm in awe of those of you who actually sat through it in that weather.

Interestingly, even though it was genuinely dangerous to be outside it never occurred to anyone to cancel classes at IU the next day.  Now, I teach at UC and we have canceled classes because it was 'too cold' more than once.  I hate being cold, so i approve.  

[*Awful Llama*]

(02-03-2018, 09:21 PM)BRM13 Wrote: If the Bengals had won the NEXT game, they'd never shut up about it either. 

Yep, that too