Remembering The Coldest Super Bowls On Record

The National Football League's biggest day of the year is of course the Super Bowl, and it has a long tradition of being hosted in locations where pleasant weather is a given.

However, back in the early days of the Super Bowls, some of the big games were played in frigid temperatures or bad weather. Fortunately for those who prefer sunshine and warmth, the league turned away from that, and it just made for better football for the players and the fans.

Here's a look at a few Super Bowls that were played under cold conditions.

The first chilly Super Bowl belongs to New Orleans. The Crescent City is usually known for its heat and humidity, but a cold front came in on game day. At kickoff, the temperature was 39 degrees Fahrenheit. The Dallas Cowboys and Miami Dolphins were ready to battle, and it would end up being the Cowboys' first Super Bowl win.

The weather didn't help the pass-heavy Cowboys' offense or the great Dolphins running game. The game was mostly a defensive grind, and even though the cold probably helped with the low-scoring game, it was more due to the fact that Dallas had a "Doomsday Defense" going for them. The Cowboys won the game 24-3.

It only took two years before the Super Bowl landed in another cold game. The game took place in an open-air college football stadium. It was the fourth-coldest Super Bowl kickoff at 50 degrees Fahrenheit. The Dolphins were making their third straight Super Bowl appearance and went on to dominate the Minnesota Vikings 24-7.

The cold weather didn't affect the Dolphins' game plan because they had one of the best ground attacks in the game. Running back Larry Csonka rushed for a then-record 145 yards in the game. This matchup was mostly about extra strength, and the Dolphins had it, no matter the weather.

Miami's Orange Bowl location was the sixth-coldest Super Bowl, which is hard to believe, considering the warm reputation that South Florida has. The temperature at kickoff was 57 degrees Fahrenheit. Unlike the other two cold Super Bowls, this matchup was a close one from start to finish.

The Pittsburgh Steelers went on to beat the Cowboys 21-17. Both teams passed the ball very well, showing that the weather didn't slow down the passing offense. It was also the Steelers' "Steel Curtain" defense that made some key plays. 

The final and most recent Super Bowl that was played in the cold was in the Bay Area, in Northern California. It was the fifth-coldest Super Bowl at kickoff with a temperature of 53 degrees Fahrenheit. This game featured two of the best quarterbacks in the game, with the San Francisco 49ers' quarterback Joe Montana and the Miami Dolphins' Dan Marino. The Niners won the game 38-16. It was all about "Joe Cool" Montana playing well, and the cool weather not being much of a factor for the point production.

Around 1985, the NFL shifted site selections to fit the criteria of warm-weather cities or teams that have state-of-the-art domed stadiums. The league wanted the Super Bowl to be played at a reliable and comfortable stadium that fans, sponsors, and players would enjoy. The money behind planning the big game is simply too high to risk having a snow or freezing rain delay happen. Host cities must have consistently nice weather and a good location for tailgates and other pregame events.

The popular places have been Miami Gardens, Florida, and Tampa, Florida, because of the solid weather, as well as domed venues, like the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans and NRG Stadium in Houston. Even Glendale, Arizona, and Inglewood, California, have hosted because of their warmer winter climates and/or indoor, weather-controlled stadiums.

The NFL is now more prepared for teams to play in ideal playing conditions for the Super Bowl, mostly thanks to the warm-weather rule. This rule states that the host stadium location must have an average temperature of at least 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Also, for cold-weather cities, they can still host, as long as the enclosed stadium is climate-controlled or has a retractable roof, just in case the weather gets bad. The league appears hesitant to go back to a cold Super Bowl, and they love having a high-quality playing environment for the championship game.