The Game Plan To Winning Super Bowl 2014: A Look at The Past

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has officially announced that the 2014 Super Bowl will be held at the Meadowlands Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

While locals are reveling in the fact, many others seem to be concerned about how a Super Bowl with almost guaranteed frigid conditions, and a chance of snow, will play out.

Those on this side of the fence feel that this will cause the game to be remembered for all the wrong reasons such as fumbled snaps, muffed kicks, and dropped passes that would otherwise not occur in a game of this magnitude.

Conversely, the counterargument states that the best two teams earned a trip to the Super Bowl for that sole reason: they are the two best teams in the league.

Therefore, the team that is truly number one should be able to overcome any number of obstacles that falls in their way.

With this being said, it seems that everyone has forgotten about the few Super Bowls, and Super Bowl predecessor, that have been played in less than ideal weather conditions.

Let us take a look at how these unique and memorable games played out, and then take a second to think if a snowy, rainy, or wintry Super Bowl is really the worst thing that could possibly happen to the NFL in this day and age.

NFL Championship Game, 1967, “The Ice Bowl”

A match up that is a unanimous pick for one of the greatest games of all time was played at a bone chilling -13 degrees, with a wind chill at approximately between -36 and -48 degrees, depending on where the information is obtained.

The cold caused the new Lambeau field turf heating system to malfunction, leaving the turf as smooth and hard as ice, according to all first hand accounts. The weather was so brutal that 7 band members had to be treated for hypothermia during the pregame show, so further band activities were cancelled for the day.

The matchup itself featured two future Hall of Fame coaches in a cerebral battle, pitting the Packers Vince Lombardi against the Cowboys Tom Landry.

Packers quarterback Bart Starr remained undaunted by the weather, throwing two touchdowns in the first half.

However, the Cowboys stayed in the game by scoring 10 points off of two turnovers late in the second quarter.

After a defensive struggle for the majority of the third quarter, the Cowboys took a 17-14 lead when running back Dan Reeves threw a 50 yard touchdown to Lance Renzel in a completely unexpected halfback option play call.

However, Starr showed how special of a player he was by calling for a quarterback sneak on third-and-goal, with 16 seconds of game clock remaining.

Lombardi put his faith in Starr, and it paid off, as he found his way to pay dirt for a late 21-17 lead.

While the Cowboys had time for one final possession, they could not move the ball with such little time left, giving the Packers their third consecutive championship.

This was a game that showed how rugged and tough football players can be and has remained a crowd-pleaser for subsequent decades. One fun fact from the game is that 14 players from this game have been inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame.

Super Bowl IX

This game was a dream match-up for many fans of this era of football.

For one, two of the game’s elite quarterbacks were going head to head: The Steelers Terry Bradshaw was squaring off against the Vikings Fran Tarkenton.

For those unfamiliar with these historic players, this would be the equivalent of a modern day Peyton Manning-Tom Brady showdown in most people’s eyes.

Additionally, these are two franchises with historically dominant defenses, and not only was the 1974-1975 season no exception, it arguably boasted the best defensive unit either franchise has ever seen.

Pittsburgh had their impenetrable Steel Curtain clicking on all cylinders, while Minnesota, in one of the best sports nicknames ever, had the unforgiving Purple People Eaters.

Needless to say, the pregame hype was through the roof; however, worry began to set in when the weather forecast called for freezing temperatures with a chance of rain. 

While there was no rain during the game, precipitation from the night before had left the field drenched.

Furthermore, the temperature during kickoff ended up being 46 degrees.

This was even more of a downer when fans considered the fact the game was originally supposed to be held in the Louisiana Superdome.

This had to change though when it was determined that construction on the dome would not be finished in time, so the game was relocated to Tulane Stadium, home turf for Tulane University.

While the game was low scoring (The Steelers won their first title by a score of 16-6), weather was really a minor factor.

Both defenses played up to expectations, but the difference maker was then-Steelers starting running back Franco Harris, who ran for 158 yards and a score.

Harris actually had more yardage than the entire Vikings offense combined, more than enough to earn him the games MVP award.

Meanwhile, Bradshaw’s quarterback play was nothing flashy, yet efficient, going 9-for-14 for 96 yards and a TD.

On the other hand, Tarkenton had one of the worst games of his pro career, going 11-for-26 for 102 yards, three interceptions, and no touchdowns.

While the weather affected the game plans of both teams, relying on a more run oriented offense, this Super Bowl still went down in history as an epic game.

Super Bowl XLI

Football fans caught a nice break as 32 years went by before the next time a Super Bowl was played in undesirable weather.

Misfortune fell on the heads of the Indianapolis Colts and the Chicago Bears in 2007 as they endured a Super Bowl that featured pouring rain for the entirety of the game.

The aforementioned Peyton Manning was hoping to grab his first Super Bowl ring after two MVP awards, and it was hard to argue that he did not have the weapons to do so.

Peyton had one of the premiere receivers in the league in Marvin Harrison, as well as an exceptionally reliable number two guy in up and comer Reggie Wayne.

Furthermore, the Colts had one of the best one-two punches on the ground in running backs Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai. Also worth noting are defensive ends Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis, who had earned the reputation of the most potent pair of pass rushing ends in the league.

On the other side of the coin, the Bears had possibly the worst quarterback to ever make a Super Bowl in Rex Grossman.

Grossman’s propensity to turn the ball over was so bad (20 interceptions, 5 fumbles lost during the regular season) that a few analysts had begun to refer to him as “Turnover-saurus Rex”.

Clearly, the quarterback matchup featured polar opposites.

So if the Bears were not blowing opponents away with their passing game, how did they make it to the big dance?

Well, the Bears had a tough as nails defense led by linebackers Brian Urlacher and Tommie Harris, and it did not hurt that starting cornerbacks Ricky Manny Jr. and Charles Tillman grabbed 5 interceptions each in the regular season.

The Bears real ace in the hole was return man Devin Hester.

The young special teams superstar gained 600 yards on returns alone and set a league record with 6 return touchdowns, making him a nightmare for opposing coaches to plan for.

Additionally, running back Thomas Jones had quietly had a 1,000 yard season and continually maintained a healthy per carry average.

Cedric Benson also remained a competent complementary back, with over 600 yards and six touchdowns on the season.

For those who thought the rain would take away from the quality of the game, Devin Hester had a 92-yard kick return touchdown on the first play of the night.

While Grossman was performing at a level far higher than anyone expected of him for just about two quarters of play, he fumbled a snap late in the second quarter that was recovered by the Colts.

He then threw two interceptions, one returned for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter to give the Colts a comfortable 29-17 lead.

Grossman and the Bears could never find their rhythm after this costly miscue and the Colts essentially ran away with the game after this.

Thomas Jones again went under most people’s radars due to a losing effort, but he actually had 112 yards on just 15 carries, as well as 4 catches for 18 yards.

Peyton Manning was the games MVP, going 25-38 for 247 yards, with one touchdown and one interception.

While Reggie Wayne only had 2 catches, one was a 53 yard score to answer Hester’s return TD.

Rhodes and Addai carried their weight as well, combining for 190 yards on the ground, with

Rhodes scoring on a one-yard run in the second quarter.

This game finally established the Colts as one of the undisputed premiere teams in the league, and ushered in an era where teams with an elite quarterback reigned supreme.

It is hard to argue that the weather had any negative impact on this monumental game.