On the football field, Mother Nature can be a force as brutal as any linebacker.
New Year's Eve marks the 26th anniversary of the infamous "Fog Bowl," a freak weather happening that crushed the hopes of the Philadelphia Eagles and would go down as one of the most bizarre games in NFL history.
After a sunny and clear first half of the first playoff game between the Eagles and the Chicago Bears on Dec. 31, 1988, a dense fog drifted over Soldier Field, obscuring the view for everyone from the commentators in the press box to the very players on the field.
"When I think about the last plague when Moses told the people the Death Angel was going to come in, it was like that," Bears linebacker Mike Singletary told Comcast Sports Net in 2013.
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WGN meteorologist Tom Skilling told CSN the fog that blanketed Soldier Field -- which is perched on Lake Michigan -- was "a complete aberration of the weather elsewhere in the city that day."
"There hasn't been another game that was affected by atmospheric conditions quite like this one, I think, in the long history of the NFL," CBS announcer Verne Lundquist told ESPN in 2008.
Announcers couldn't see the field of play, fans couldn't see the players, and players couldn't see each other. Some of the Eagles coaches called for the game to be suspended, even though the NFL had never called a game due to fog.
The game continued, and in the end, the Eagles -- who had never beaten the Bears at Soldier Field, were on a hot streak and were considered the team to beat heading into the playoffs -- lost 12-20. Eagles Head Coach Buddy Ryan was so upset he dashed off the field without even shaking hands with Bears head coach Mike Ditka.
Though Eagles fans may see it differently, Singletary told NFL.com: "The "Fog Bowl" was the coolest game I'd ever play in in my life."
Check out some video of the event:
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