Forget snow days … here’s the best sports weather games

After several days thawing out in the comforts of my home, I am out of hibernation today with a message I’d like to share to my weekly audience.

I officially hate cold weather.

I’m over it – completely done.

Any day with temperatures below 40 degrees is officially a wretched, rotten day.

It’s just uncomfortable and too new for this Louisiana native to get acclimated to.

I can’t stand that uncomfortable feeling of pain when the tips of my fingers are frozen solid. Likewise, whether I wear one pair of socks or six, the end result remains the same: a foot that is frozen solid and hardly able to move.

But perhaps the worst is the sound of water running from every faucet in the house to protect the pipes. How miserable. It’s like Chinese water torture. It’s impossible to hear that creepy drippy sound and not get the urge to continually use the restroom over and over again throughout the night.

I may never drink water ever again. I’m that horrified.

So as we have now established, cold weather and I do not get along – we’re longtime enemies.

But when featured in the world of sports, Mother Nature can provide great theater.

Some of the best games in the history of mainstream athletic competition were epic because of the ways that weather impacted the event.

Whether snowfall, wind or rain, seeing great athletes overcome opposition and nature is sometimes really awesome to see.

So with my mind now defrosting, I decided to gather a list of these rare occurrences and rank them for fun.

Here are the best weather-altered games in my 26-year memory of watching games, both live and on television replays.

Shoot me the ones I missed on Facebook or Twitter.

I’m a young pup. I know I haven’t seen as many games as a lot of you all have.

The best “Weather Games”

 in sports history

5. 2008 SEC Tournament madness

It’s not very often that weather steals the headlines of a basketball game. But in the 2008 SEC Tournament for men’s basketball, a tornado became the exception to that rule. With severe weather sweeping throughout the Atlanta area on the night of March 14, tornado watches were in effect for the entire metropolis area. Those watches switched to tornado warnings as Mississippi State tangled with Alabama in the third game of the basketball day. As the teams headed to overtime, it became apparent that something wasn’t right. A tornado had surfaced around the Georgia Dome, blowing portions of the roof off the stadium. The teams were still on the court as the melee took place, leaving lasting images of whipping winds and puzzled players wondering what might happen next. The Bulldogs and Tide postponed their game for about 35-40 minutes before returning to the court to finish the game. The rest of the SEC Tournament was played in another Atlanta arena because of the damage the storm did to the Georgia Dome.

4. Super Bowl XLI’s rainy day  Sunday’s Super Bowl marked the second time New Orleans native Peyton Manning played the big game while battling the conditions. In Super Bowl XLI, the Indianapolis Colts and Chicago Bears locked horns in supposedly sunny South Florida. Forecast to be a shiny day, the weather tilted right around kickoff, as an afternoon shower soaked the game. Not wanting to lose its place in history, the rainstorm lingered throughout the game, sometimes falling in a downpour. Manning and the Colts took home the title comfortably, winning 29-17. But the unexpected rain event impacted the quality of play on the field. The Colts and Bears combined for eight turnovers in the game. Many historians tout that Super Bowl XLI is among the worst in league history because of how poorly each team played throughout the game.

3. The ‘Tuck Rule Game’

 The 2001 AFC Divisional playoff game between the New England Patriots and Oakland Raiders is one of the most memorable games in NFL history for a multitude of reasons. But it all starts with the snow. Playing through a driving winter storm, the Raiders took a 13-3 lead and seemed poised to knock Tom Brady’s Patriots out of postseason play. But after a touchdown run, New England sliced the lead to 13-10 and then got the football back down three points with just a few minutes to play. And then the fun stuff started to happen. With New England driving the ball down the field, Brady was hit by Raiders’ defensive back Charles Woodson. The force of the shot knocked the ball from the quarterback’s right arm, and the Raiders hopped atop the pigskin. But through an instant replay review, the play was changed to an incomplete pass via the ‘Tuck Rule,’ which says that no fumble can be caused on a quarterback when his arm is moving forward in an attempt to pass the football. New England remained in possession and kicked a field goal to send the game to overtime. While there, they won the game en route to the Super Bowl XXXVI title.

2. The NFL’s ‘Fog Game’

In the 1988 NFL season, the Philadelphia Eagles and Chicago Bears were scheduled to meet up in a headline game that served as a battle of opposites. On one side of the spectrum were the offensive-minded Eagles, who were led by young quarterback Randall Cunningham and a fleet of elite receivers. On the other side of the field were Mike Ditka’s Bears – an elite defensive team that earned a Super Bowl ring just years before because of their ability to keep opponents out of the end zone with ease. But what made the game memorable was the fog. Thick cloud cover blew into Chicago’s Solider Field in the second quarter of the game. The cover was so thick that visibility on the field was just 10-15 yards throughout the game. Without today’s modern technology, the game was virtually unwatchable on television because of CBS’s inability to get a reliable camera shot to show the action. The Bears won the game 20-12, despite allowing 430 total yards in the disgusting Chicago day.

1. The ‘Ice Bowl’

 Lots of people were up in arms about this year’s Super Bowl being played in wintry New York conditions. But Sunday night was a walk in the park compared to the cold weather endured in the 1967 NFC Championship Game between the Green Bay Packers and the Dallas Cowboys. On New Year’s Eve and with the winner earning a right to play in the Super Bowl, the Cowboys ascended to Green Bay to challenge Vince Lombardi and the Packers. But when they arrived, Dallas soon learned that they’d also be grappling the weather. After a cold front dipped through America’s Midwest, the game-time temperatures at kickoff for the game were -15 degrees Fahrenheit. As the referee blew his whistle to symbol the start of the game, the whistle froze to his lips – a fitting start to a memorable day. With wind chills on the field recorded at -47 degrees, the Packers punched their way into the Super Bowl on a one-yard quarterback sneak by legendary quarterback Bart Starr. Green Bay went on to earn the Super Bowl title and the glory of winning the Ice Bowl.