Forecast for Sunday's NFC Championship Game

Last Saturday the Pack beat the Seahawks in the Snow Bowl, "a winter wonderland" as Coach Mike McCarthy called it. Indeed, the temperature wasn't bad and neither was the wind. But the forecasters were all wrong, saying there would perhaps be a half-inch of snow by the end of the game. As viewers were able to see for themselves -- especially by viewing the snow-laden hat of Seattle coach Mike "The Snowman" Holmgren and having to squint at times to see the players through the falling snow -- the forecasters were just a weeeee bit off.

So, what's the forecast for this Sunday's game? Temperature forecasts that range from 8 above to 4 below...and that's not counting wind chill. According to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, "The wind at game time is expected to be about 10 mph from the west. 'It shouldn't be all that bad,' said weather service meteorologist Phil Kurimski, but will be enough to drop the wind chill to about 10 degrees below zero." Some forecasts indicate the wind chill will be colder than that. As Brett Favre mentioned in his press briefing today, whichever team makes the fewest mistakes in these conditions will be the team that comes out on top. He said that everything you do in a game like this, even something as simple as a handoff, needs to be done with thought, with concentration.

Last weekend's game was positively balmy compared to what's expected for this Sunday night's game. But this game will still not compare to the legendary Ice Bowl between the Pack and Cowboys back in the Glory Days of 1967. This could very well be a close second, though. What can we call it? The Frostbite Bowl? The Brrrr Bowl? The Frozen Bits Bowl? (If any of these get picked up, remember I hold the copyright and trademark! You read it here first!) I'm sure lots of creative variations will emerge.

But if you're attending the game, the recommended attire is at least 5 or 6 layers of everything. And no, that is not a joke. What will be funny is seeing 70,000+ fans crammed into the stands all looking like the Michelin Man...except for the guys without the shirts, of course.