The Snow Bowl was a National Football League

National Football League

The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

 game played on December 1, 1985 between the Green Bay Packers

1985 Green Bay Packers season

The 1985 Green Bay Packers season was their 65th season in the National Football League. The club posted a 8–8 record under coach Forrest Gregg, earning them a second-place finish in the NFC Central division.-NFL Draft:-Staff:-Regular season:...

 and Tampa Bay Buccaneers

1985 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season

The 1985 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season began on a hopeful note, with the hiring of Leeman Bennett as the team's head coach. A massive turnover of personnel occurred, which included the offseason career-ending injury of Lee Roy Selmon, the trade of Hugh Green, and the early-season signing of Steve Young...

 at Lambeau Field

Lambeau Field

Lambeau Field is an outdoor football stadium in Green Bay, Wisconsin, the home of the NFL's Green Bay Packers. Opened in 1957 as City Stadium, it replaced the original City Stadium as the Packers' home field...

 in Green Bay, Wisconsin

Green Bay, Wisconsin

Green Bay is a city in and the county seat of Brown County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, located at the head of Green Bay, a sub-basin of Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the Fox River. It has an elevation of above sea level and is located north of Milwaukee. As of the 2010 United States Census,...

. It is known for its heavy snow. Only 19,856 were in attendance, with over 36,000 "no-shows," the most in Packers history (though due to the game selling out well in advance, it was not blacked out on local television, nor has any Packers home game since 1973 been blacked out, due to a sell-out streak dating back to the early 1960s). About 2/3 of the stadium was empty. Twelve inches of snow fell before the game and another four to five inches fell during the game.

The game itself saw the Packers dominate the Buccaneers en route to a 21-0 victory. Despite four turnovers

Turnover (football)

In American football, a turnover occurs when the team with the ball loses possession of the ball, which is then gained by the other team. The two events that are officially classified as "turnovers" are fumbles or interceptions In American football, a turnover occurs when the team with the ball...

, the Packers offense gained 512 total yards on 31 first downs, with the Buccaneers recording only 65 yards on 5 first downs. Packers wide receiver

Wide receiver

A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...

 James Lofton

James Lofton

James David Lofton is a former American football player and coach. He is a former American football coach for the San Diego Chargers but is best known for his years in the National Football League as a wide receiver for the Green Bay Packers , Los Angeles Raiders , the Buffalo Bills...

 received passes totaling over 100 yards from quarterback

Quarterback

Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...

 Lynn Dickey

Lynn Dickey

Clifford Lynn Dickey is a retired National Football League quarterback, who played for the Houston Oilers and the Green Bay Packers in the 1970s and 1980s.-High school:...

 by halftime. Packers defensive end Alphonso Carreker

Alphonso Carreker

Alphonso Carreker He attended Columbus Marion Franklin High School. He is a former defensive end who played seven seasons for the Green Bay Packers and the Denver Broncos in the National Football League. He started in Super Bowl XXIV, recording 1 sack and 1 tackle....

 sacked Buccaneers quarterback and future Pro Football Hall of Fame

Pro Football Hall of Fame

The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of professional football in the United States with an emphasis on the National Football League . It opened in Canton, Ohio, on September 7, 1963, with 17 charter inductees...

 enshrinee Steve Young a then team record four times. It was Young's second game in the league after he left the USFL

United States Football League

The United States Football League was an American football league which was in active operation from 1983 to 1987. It played a spring/summer schedule in its first three seasons and a traditional autumn/winter schedule was set to commence before league operations ceased.The USFL was conceived in...

.

Game conditions

Green Bay player Preston Dennard

Preston Dennard

Preston Jackson Dennard is a former professional American football wide receiver in the NFL for the Los Angeles Rams, the Buffalo Bills and the Green Bay Packers. He played college football at the University of New Mexico....

 described getting to the game,

"There was a big, heavy snow 4-5 inches on the ground. Roads in my neighborhood were packed — I couldn’t get out.

"My neighbors came out of their houses and dug about an eighth of a mile so I could get out and go to the stadium; the main roads were plowed,” he recalled. “There were about 20 people out there — I’ll never, ever forget that."

Tampa Bay wore their white "away" team jerseys, which were difficult to see during the whiteout

Whiteout (weather)

Whiteout is a weather condition in which visibility and contrast are severely reduced by snow or sand. The horizon disappears completely and there are no reference points at all, leaving the individual with a distorted orientation...

 conditions. Coaches and commentators had difficulty seeing the field. Between plays, grounds crew workers swept snow off the lines marking the field.

Dennard, a wide receiver

Wide receiver

A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...

, described catching the football,

"I think it was pretty close to 20-below. It was snowing — you could barely see past 15 yards. All you knew is coming out of the mist of the snow and the white mist, you would see the ball come out of the white. You knew what the route was and you knew the direction of the ball."

See also

• Ice Bowl (disambiguation)
• Fog Bowl (disambiguation)
• Mud Bowl (disambiguation)