Reception Has Been a Little Chilly

ATLANTA —  Welcome to Ice Bowl II.

Surely you remember Ice Bowl I, when the Green Bay Packers beat the Dallas Cowboys in 1967 in what was then the NFL championship game in sub-zero temperatures at Green Bay.

Sunday’s game between the St. Louis Rams and Tennessee Titans will be played in an ideal environment at room temperature in the Georgia Dome.

If only the rest of the week were as pleasant.

Like much of the East, Atlanta has been hit with a cold front that sent temperatures to a low of 20 degrees Wednesday.

Not anticipating such weather, the NFL had designated outdoor practice sites for the Rams, at the Atlanta Falcons’ training facility, and the Titans, at Georgia Tech. The Georgia Dome already had been booked for rehearsals for the entertainment in conjunction with Sunday’s game.

After two days of watching the players shiver through practice, risking the possibility of catching colds and flu, the NFL concluded that perhaps the game was more important than the halftime show.

So the entertainers have been rescheduled and the players get the dome today.

“When you think of the Super Bowl, you think of warm weather and players getting flowers put around their necks when they arrive,” Tennessee Coach Jeff Fisher said. “When we play in the Super Bowl, this is the way it is.”

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More weather: Nobody cares about a bunch of frozen reporters, but a bunch of frozen football players is another matter.

So when the Titans had to hold Wednesday’s news conference in a tent outside their hotel--the hotel didn’t have any ballrooms available--there was concern.

And anger by the Titans. Not only did their interviews have the feel of a live remote from the Winter Olympics, but they later learned that the Rams were indoors at their hotel.

“It’s like pouring gasoline onto the fire,” Tennessee defensive end Josh Evans said. “We were sitting here in the cold. They are in the homey confines of their place.”

Titan quarterback Steve McNair had no complaints. Hobbled by a bruised toe, he felt the refrigerator that served as the Tennessee interview area was just what the doctor might have ordered.

“I think this is a good treatment for it,” he said. “It keeps my toe cold, and that’s what I do in rehab anyway, put it in a cold tub.”

On Thursday, the NFL, insensitive to McNair’s wishes, lined the interview tent with heaters.

*

Tennessee owner Bud Adams said Thursday he’s eager to meet with Fisher about a contract extension. Fisher, who has a year left on his deal, had requested a meeting before the Titans began their playoff run but was put off by Adams.

Now it probably will cost the owner double what he would have paid earlier.

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BY THE NUMBERS

* 0--Super Bowls won by the Tennessee-Houston and Los Angeles-St. Louis Rams franchises.

* 1--Super Bowl appearances combined by Tennessee-Houston and Los Angeles-St. Louis Rams franchises. Los Angeles lost to Pittsburgh in 1980.

* 2--Rookie head coaches who have won Super Bowls. Don McCafferty for Baltimore; George Seifert for San Francisco.

* 3--Teams that have won Super Bowls without winning a division title. Kansas City Chiefs (1970), Oakland Raiders (1981) and Denver Broncos (1998).

* 4--Super Bowls attended by more than 100,000 fans, all at the Rose Bowl.

* 5--Super Bowl victories by Charles Haley, a record.

* 6--Super Bowls played in by defensive tackle Mike Lodish, a record.

* 7--Super Bowl touchdowns by Jerry Rice, a record.

* 8--Super Bowls in the top 15 highest-rated programs in television history.

* 9--Super Bowl appearances by Dan Reeves, two as a player, three as an assistant coach and four as a head coach, a record.

* 10--Super Bowl champions who appeared in the Super Bowl the following year.

--Associated Press

* 11--Super Bowl touchdown passes by Joe Montana, a record.

* 12--Players who have recovered two Super Bowl fumbles.

* 13--Consecutive completions in a Super Bowl by Joe Montana, a record.

* 14--The most points scored in a Super Bowl first quarter, by five teams.

* 15--Average number of dollars spent on food and drink at the stadium during the Super Bowl and the average number of dollars spent on souvenirs.

* 16--First downs rushing by San Francisco against Miami in 1985, a record.

* 17--Average number of people attending a Super Bowl party.

* 18--Most points scored in a Super Bowl by one player. (Roger Craig, Jerry Rice, Ricky Watters and Terrell Davis).

* 19--Starting quarterbacks who have worn the number 12 in a Super Bowl.

* 20--NFL and club officials, writers and photographers who attended the first 33 Super Bowls.

* 21--Fewest points by both teams in a Super Bowl.

* 24--Foreign languages in which the Super Bowl is telecast.

* 25--Super Bowls decided by double-digit margins.

* 28--Super Bowl receptions by Jerry Rice, a record.

* 30--Players who have won Super Bowls with more than one team.

* 31--Most passes completed in a Super Bowl (Jim Kelly, Buffalo, vs. Dallas, 1994).

* 34--Walter Payton’s uniform number and this year’s Super Bowl number.

* 35--Record points in one quarter (Washington, 1988).

* 41--Touchdown passes by St. Louis’ Kurt Warner in the regular season. The Rams allowed 19 TD passes.

* 48--Over-under line for Sunday’s game.

* 50--Companies licensed to produce products bearing the Super Bowl logo.

* 80--Percentage of Super Bowl ticket-holders in executive, management, professional or sales positions.

* 2,429--Number of yards rushing and receiving by the Rams’ Marshall Faulk, a record.

* 3,500--Media credentials issued this week for the Super Bowl.

* 4,000--Tons of popcorn eaten on Super Bowl Sunday.

* 14,500--Tons of chips eaten on Super Bowl Sunday.

* 70,000--Videos of Green Bay’s 1997 Super Bowl victory sold within the city limits of Green Bay, a city of 100,000. The first 65,000 of those videos were sold in the first five days after the game.

* 950,000--Programs sold for the 1997 Super Bowl, more than 250,000 more than the previous record.

* 16,206,640--Attendance at NFL regular-season games in 1999, a record.

* 100 million--Dollars in merchandise sales bearing the Super Bowl logo this season.

* 120 million--Dollars in merchandise sales bearing the Super Bowl logo in 1997, a record.

* 800 million--Approximate number of people worldwide who will watch the Super Bowl.