People who attended yesterday’s football game against Dickinson (there weren’t many) or watched it on TV2 or on streaming video might be surprised to know that it wasn’t the first time the Mules played in such adverse conditions.

In 2002, Muhlenberg ended its regular season at Moravian in a game that came to be known as the “Mud Bowl.” Rain most of the week leading up to the game and freezing rain/ice during the game left the field a mess, and it only got worse. The Mules won the game, 8-0.

We asked two men who were on the sidelines for both games, Mule head coach Mike Donnelly and photographer Bill Johnson, to compare the Mud Bowl and the Snow Bowl.

“Both games were the same in the following respects: The defense didn’t allow a point, the kick game was mistake free (no small accomplishment in extremely bad weather), and the offense dominated up front for 60 minutes,” said Donnelly. “The player enthusiasm level was the same in both – excited to be playing in the game.”

Donnelly also noted that the 2002 game had more riding on it. The win, combined with a Johns Hopkins win against McDaniel, gave Muhlenberg its first NCAA Tournament berth and the opportunity to host two playoff games.

“The Mud Bowl was fun because you could move around,” said Johnson, who took all the great photos below. “Yesterday the snow got so bad, about 6-8 inches deep, that you couldn’t move around. It was very difficult to get from one spot to another.”

The pictures show one obvious difference between the games. “You could see the field better [in 2002]. There were lots of people in the stands, but you couldn’t see player numbers,” said Donnelly. “Yesterday there was no mud, but you couldn’t see the players on the field, or for that matter the field, from the sideline.”

“In the Mud Bowl you couldn’t read jerseys,” said Johnson, who was faced with the task of identifying the photos after the game. Some players were identified by their silhouettes. “Yesterday at least you knew who you were shooting.”

Although the field got dark with mud in 2002 and white with snow yesterday, in the sky it was the opposite. “It was more difficult to focus the camera yesterday because of how dark it got,” said Johnson. “And everything was so wet there was a little bit of haze on the lens.”

Postgame presented its challenges both years. “After the game the bus drivers wouldn’t let our team on the buses because of the mud on their uniforms,” recalled Donnelly of the 2002 game. “We didn’t bring a change of clothes, so all the kids that played showered in their uniforms just to remove the mud.

“Yesterday we couldn’t shower after the game because of a water problem in the building caused by the snow and power loss to campus.”

Part of the legend that is the Mud Bowl went unnoticed to fans who left right after the game. The buses got stuck in the mud, so the team had to wait for one bus to take a load of players back to campus, then return for a second load. It took a couple of hours, and by that point Moravian had locked the locker room. So the freezing players stood in the entryway of a bank across the street while Donnelly went to a gas mart to buy snack food for a postgame picnic.

Both men relished being part of the experience, both times.

“From a photographer’s standpoint, the games were a lot of fun,” said Johnson. “Opportunities like that come very infrequently. When you shoot as many games as I do, you don’t get a lot of diversity. In these games you get a lot more different views. Things happen more unexpectedly than in a normal game.”

“The 2002 game was famous and unforgettable,” said Donnelly. “The 2011 blizzard game will be equally famous, although our equipment men will not have to wash the uniforms five times after soaking them in enzymes.

“Both were wild, unforgettable games and awesome to be a part of.”