All that was missing was Vince himself, huffing and puffing in the frosty air and flashing his famous gap-toothed grin.
When it was over, Green Bay and tradition had beaten second-year Carolina 30-13 in the NFC championship game, and the Packers were headed for the Super Bowl for the first time since Lombardi's Packers beat Dallas in the ''Ice Bowl'' 29 years ago.
None of the Packers' heroes Sunday -- Brett Favre, Dorsey Levens, Antonio Freeman and Gilbert Brown -- was even born when Lombardi's last team gave ''Titletown, USA'' its fifth NFL championship in seven seasons.
''All of us were dreaming about this game all week. It was like we were being tormented,'' said defensive end Reggie White, whose dream of getting to a Super Bowl has been the Packers' inspiration all season. ''Now we can go home and have pleasant dreams.''
The Packers, a consensus pick to win it all after losing this game in Dallas last season. were so confident in training camp that coach Mike Holmgren banned ''Super Bowl'' from their vocabulary. ''That game'' is what he called it all season.
Holmgren could finally utter the words on Sunday.
''It's very special. The locker room is a warm place to be right now,'' Holmgren said.
''When I talked to the team, I couldn't get the words out because I am very close to them. We have a handful of players who are near the ends of their careers. And that's very special, to have an opportunity to get to the Super Bowl, because not everybody gets there.''
One of those heading there for the first time is the 35-year-old White, the NFL's career sack leader. He took a victory lap around the field, then told the fans, known as Cheeseheads: ''Green Bay, I hope you're proud of us, because we're proud of you.''
Nostalgia was everywhere, especially in the locker room afterward, where several players from Lombardi's championship teams gathered.
Said Willie Davis, the Hall of Fame defensive end: ''We can all enjoy it. Reggie White getting his first championship has to be the greatest thing in the world. We can all identify with it.''
Said a jubilant Ray Nitschke, star middle linebacker of that era: ''They deserve it. This is the year of the Pack.''
Lambeau came through again for the Packers, who improved to 9-0 in the playoffs at their storied stadium and won their 18th straight overall there.
Carolina, a second-year expansion team, was obviously outmatched but had nothing to be ashamed of.
''Obviously, we weren't at championship level yet,'' said cornerback Eric Davis, who earned a Super Bowl ring with San Francisco two years ago. ''But we're going to get there. We'll get there.''
''The best team won,'' wide receiver Willie Green said. ''That's the bottom line. We can't make excuses. But we're proud of what we've done. You can't take that away from us.''
''The Packers were the best team we played this year,'' said coach Dom Capers, whose team beat San Francisco twice and then knocked out Dallas last week.
Favre was 19 of 29 for 292 yards, including touchdown passes of 29 yards to Levens and 6 yards to Freeman.
Levens had 205 total yards -- 88 yards on 10 carries and 117 yards on five catches, including a 66-yard ramble with a screen pass that set up Edgar Bennett's 4-yard touchdown run.
''Someone questioned where he came from,'' Favre said of Levens, a fifth-round draft pick in 1994. ''He's always been here. He's an amazing player.''
''I can't believe I had a game like this,'' Levens said.
Meanwhile, Brown sealed the middle, shutting down the Carolina run and forcing Carolina to do what it would prefer not to do - pass.
The weather wasn't as big a factor as expected.
It was 3 degrees at gametime with a wind-chill of minus-17 - 20 degrees warmer than that New Year's Eve day in 1967 when Bart Starr's quarterback sneak behind Jerry Kramer put the Pack in the second Super Bowl.
The score was about what was expected, but it took almost a half for the Packers to get going after two Favre turnovers helped Carolina to an early lead.
But the Packers scored 10 points within 38 seconds in the first half's final minute to turn a 10-7 deficit into a 17-10 lead, and then completely dominated the second half.
The Packers ran for 201 yards -- the most against the Panthers this year. Carolina had only 45 yards and quarterback Kerry Collins was 19 of 37 for 215 yards.
Early on, Sam Mills' interception off Favre put the ball at the Green Bay 2 and led to Collins' 3-yard TD pass to Howard Griffith that made it 7-0.
But on the final play of the first quarter, Levens caught Carolina's zone blitz defense stunting the wrong way and broke a 35-yard run to the Panthers' 29. On the next play, the first of the second quarter, Favre found Levens behind Eric Davis for the touchdown that tied it at 7-all.
Mike Fox forced a fumble by Favre that set up John Kasay's 22-yard field goal that put Carolina ahead 10-7.
Then the Packers took control.
First they drove 71 yards in 15 plays, chewing up 7 minutes and 52 seconds, scoring on Favre's 6-yarder to Freeman with 48 seconds left in the half.
''We felt that with a couple of plays we could get back in it,'' Mills said. ''But that drive helped them out tremendously. That gave them the boost they needed.''
On Carolina's next play, Green Bay's Tyrone Williams made a one-handed interception of Collins' deep out. Favre came back and hit Andre Rison for 23 and Freeman for 25 to set up Chris Jacke's 31-yard field goal that made it 17-10 at halftime.
It was 20-13 after Jacke and Kasay exchanged field goals. Then Favre and Levens again fooled the Carolina blitz with a screen that carried to the Panthers' 4. Bennett took it in with 1:58 left in the third quarter and it was 27-13.
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