THE FREEZER BOWL The Cincinnati Bengals played the San Diego Chargers on January 10 1982 in the conference championship game The temperature in Cincinnati that day was minus 9 degrees Fahrenheit minus 23 Celsius The wind chill made it feel like minus 59 degrees Fahrenheit minus 51 degrees Celsius It was the second coldest game in National Football League NFL history Cincinnati fans braved the freezing cold conditions to cheer on their Bengals
FAST FACT Cincinnati added black tiger stripes to its orange helmet in 1981 The helmets previously said Bengals in black letters Some Bengals players weren't bothered by the cold and even wore short sleeves in the Freezer Bowl game
FAST FACT The Bengals played at Riverfront Stadium from 1970 to 1999 They shared it with the Cincinnati Reds baseball team Cincinnati took a 10 0 lead in the first quarter San Diego scored to make it a 10 7 game The Bengals went on to score 17 unanswered points Quarterback Ken Anderson threw for 161 yards and two touchdowns Pete Johnson ran for 80 yards and a touchdown Cincinnati intercepted Chargers quarterback Dan Fouts twice Quarterback Ken Anderson 14 was named NFL Most Valuable Player in 1981
