Curley Lambeau, the founder of the Green Bay Packers, helped establish a game that has become one of the greatest on the planet.
Raymond T. Rivard photograph

Profootballtalk.com has always been innovative in their look at the inner and outer workings of the NFL – and this is brought to light in their most recent delve into probing the minds of pro football fans.

Mt. Rushmore. We all know what it is and what it stands for … it honors four of America’s greatest leaders – Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt.

Vince Lombardi is immortalized in stone outside the Atrium at Lambeau Field.
Raymond T. Rivard photograph

Well, in keeping with that format, profootballtalk.com is surveying fans from each of the 32 NFL teams to nominate their four best representatives. So far, the call has gone out to eight teams, including the Packers, for nominations: Washington Redskins, New York Giants, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, New Orleans Saints, and Philadelphia Eagles.

C’mon, now how easy is it for teams like the Bucs, the Panthers and even the Falcons – teams that have been around for such a short time in comparison to some of the founding franchises like the Packers, Bears, Giants, Eagles, Redskins and so forth – to select their four most influential.

It’s a bit tougher for Packers fans to narrow down 94 years of players, coaches and administrators to such a small number.

But like everyone else, I’ll give it a try and I surely want to you to respond with comments below, leaving your four selections on our Facebook page, or to leave them by following us on Twitter.

There’s just one rule – everyone gets their kick at the can and there will be no comments that belittle the choices of others … understand? Everyone gets their opinion heard on this one. Keep the comments clean and to the point – thanks.

So, without belaboring the point, here’s my selections to be on Mt. Rushmore Packers. Explanations follow:

• Curly Lambeau

• Vince Lombardi

• Jerry Kramer

• Brett Favre

Jerry Kramer leads the Green Bay Sweep.

Curly Lambeau is a no-brainer – founder of the franchise; player; coach; the man who made it all possible through tough times. Without Lambeau and George Halas, there would be no National Football League. An innovator, Lambeau is the rock of the franchise. They named the greatest stadium after him for cripes sakes.

Vince Lombardi, like Lambeau, is a no-brainer. If Lambeau was the rock of the franchise, Lombardi was the foundation that was laid upon the rock. He led the resurgence of not only the Green Bay Packers, but of the entire NFL during the 1960s – a pivotal time when the league gained respect exponentially. Without his leadership, imagination, heart and desire, this league simply wouldn’t be what it has become today – the greatest game on the face of the planet.

Jerry Kramer – Most would say Bart Starr, Forrest Gregg, Ray Nitschke or even Herb Addlerley, but to me Kramer is the best representative of the Packers from the 1960s and the epitome of the Packers Way. He played his entire career for the Packers, was named to the All-First 50 Year Team, made the block that defined the Packers, and did it all without blowing his own horn. Why he isn’t in the Pro Football Hall of Fame is a mystery we all wonder about. He represented a generation and is still seen as the man who helped make Lombardi’s teams what they were – a dynasty.

Brett Favre is one of the top players ever in Green Bay.
Raymond T. Rivard photograph

Brett Favre – Ok, put the torches and pitchforks down all you Brett-haters out there. The simple fact of the matter is that without Favre, there would be no Packers resurgence of the 1990s that propelled the team into the 2000s and has continued to this day. Favre is the standard-bearer of the modern Packers team. He has broken every record known to mankind and put Green Bay back on the NFL map. Simply put, he’s in the top three players in all of Packers history. He deserves a place on Mt. Rushmore Packers.

I told you this would be difficult. There are so many names not making the cut: Starr, Nitschke, Adderley, Taylor, Hornung, White, Canadeo, Blood, Hutson, and even Rodgers – among hundreds more.

Take your shot. What’s your choice?

Vince Lombardi is immortalized at Lambeau Field, as are his ideas within the NFL culture.
Raymond T. Rivard photograph

The NFL is brutal … it’s a multi-billion dollar “what have you done for me lately” business that takes no prisoners. To succeed in today’s game, your veins have to run ice cold and one must be ready to move on to tomorrow in a moment’s notice.

This banner that flew outside Lambeau Field a few years ago says it all.
Raymond T. Rivard photograph

While today’s league has grown by leaps and bounds, it was the trend-setters of a half century ago that built the foundation of what the league has become – and one of the most influential was the one and only Vince Lombardi.

He patented the no-nonsense, this-is-a-business mantra that led not only to the Green Bay Packers coach’s success in teaching the game, but in helping to establish a model from which everyone copied a template that continues to this day.

That’s why Vince Lombardi would have been successful in the NFL today – he understood that being the best meant sacrificing and dedicating oneself to the team concept. Those who fail in today’s game fail not because they can’t deal with the prima donna, it’s because they fail to follow the basic tenets that Lombardi helped establish decades ago.

Here’s what Lombardi had to say back in late April 1968 (courtesy of the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame):

“I may have a different philosophy on personnel than others, but in my book I expect a player to improve from his rookie year on. If he doesn’t, we’ll find somebody to take his place.”

What successful general manager and coach doesn’t follow those simple guidelines? If they don’t, they don’t last long in the league.

Lombardi said those words while in Milwaukee to be honored by Alpha Sigma Nu (the national Jesuit honor society at Marquette University). At the time he was explaining a recent trade he made of  tackle Steve Wright and linebacker Tommy Crutcher to the Giants for tackle Francis Peay.

Lombardi said about the trade and any other moves he made as the head of a team: “A team is never set.”

Those words ring strongly in the shadow of this past weekend’s 2013 NFL Draft. Teams selected anywhere from a half dozen to more than a dozen players from the college ranks to come in and compete for jobs. Many will make it, many will not.

Vince Lombardi

But the ever-evolving team is what makes the NFL fresh and exciting. It’s the way teams operate that was established by the early movers and shakers in the league. Lombardi cemented it all with his views and modus operandi with the Packers. Teams continue today in their attempts to replicate what he started.

Many say that Lombardi’s approaches would never work today in the world of the mulit-millionaire players. I disagree for all of the reasons above, but even more importantly, I disagree because all players in the league – no matter how well set they are financially – play the game for the same reasons that players 50 years ago played – they love the game and will do whatever they can to win. That’s what it’s all about and that, in essence, is what Lombardi established when he was still with us.

His presence and influence will never leave the game.

I guess that’s probably why the game’s ultimate trophy and symbol bears his name.

Clay Matthews is a classy guy …
Raymond T. Rivard photograph

Amid the vast coverage of the recent contract extension of Green Bay Packers All-Pro outside linebacker Clay Matthews, Packers fans may have missed his humility shining through.

Matthews was signed to a 5-year, $65 million contract that for the time being makes him a Packer for the foreseeable future. This is obviously great news for Packers fans who have been eagerly waiting for both Matthews and superstar quarterback Aaron Rodgers to sign contracts with the team.

With the cornerstones in place for the coming years on both offense and defense, the Packers can continue to sustain excellence and even build around that championship duo.

Clay Matthews will be a Packer for at least the next five years.
Raymond T. Rivard photograph

However, what some fans may have missed when Matthews officially signed was Matthews’ tweet in honor of the people affected by the Boston Marathon bombings.

Trivial amongst the recent tragic news, but happy to continue my career in Green Bay! twitter.com/ClayMatthews52…

— Clay Matthews III (@ClayMatthews52) April 17, 2013

This is a guy who had just signed a contract that should guarantee him financial security for the rest of his life. Most people would expect an NFL player to tweet a picture of himself celebrating or even a totally understandable “thank you to the organization” post. Instead, Matthews chose to put his contract news secondary to the people hurt by the recent tragedy.

This display of humility is one that paints a picture of the type of players the Green Bay organization has continued to pursue. The Packers have always been known as a community-driven organization, and with that expectation comes a responsibility to the community.

With the signing of Matthews to a lucrative contract, Green Bay is continuing the model of outstanding players on and off the field representing the city and its fans. When Rodgers signs, (most likely soon) the Packers will have All-Pros leading both units, and they will be fortunate enough to have incredibly humble guys as leaders.

The team is in good hands, and with young guys like Randall Cobb and Jordy Nelson ready to continue that model, the Packers can look forward to another generation of Packers for which Vince Lombardi would be most proud.

That is, until now.

The NFL is introducing an aptitude test to be given in conjunction with the Wonderlic. This new test – a 60-minute examination – will be given in a classroom setting, as is the 12-minute Wonderlic – and will be scored by its developer, Harold Goldstein, a professor of industrial/organizational psychology at Baruch College, City University of New York.

By the way, should you be interested in taking the Wonderlic, here’s your chance – it’s brought to you courtesy of our friends over at Walterfootball.com, one of the signature football and draft sites around. You might want to take the test and spend some time looking over the site. It’ pretty amazing.

But I digress …

Nobody, at least as far as I know, has gotten their hands on this new test. It will be interesting to follow the reactions of those who take the test or have any inside information about it. While it’s not pegged as a replacement to the Wonderlic, the writing is on the wall and it will probably be a matter of time before it becomes the industry standard and the Wonderlic goes the way of Tom Landry – a developer of that test.

According to the experts, here is how this new test will be administered:

• It will be administered the same way the Wonderlic tests are — in a classroom environment.

• Unlike the Wonderlic, which is a 12-minute test, the test will be a 60-minute exam.

• There is “no way” players can study or prepare for the test.

• The test results will be shared with “one or two” team executives in order to protect confidentiality. That said, there isn’t a perfect score because the test is designed to determine strengths and weaknesses in different aptitude and psychological categories.

According to NFL.com, Goldstein has developed several other versions of the test for various industries to help human resources departments in evaluating potential personnel.

One of the key evaluation focus points of this new test is determining how potential players learn and what coaching strategies they best learn under.

Here’s what the NFL had to say about the implementation of its newest measuring tool – it was released as part of a memo:

“At this year’s combine we will introduce a new and expanded player assessment tool designed to offer a much more robust and comprehensive assessment of a player’s non-physical capabilities, aptitudes, and strengths.

“… this new test measures a wide range of competencies, including learning styles, motivation, decision-making skills, responding to pressure or unexpected stimuli, and core intellect.

“This is an exciting innovation that brings updated best practices from corporate America to the NFL football operations. By giving clubs new and more relevant information, it offers additional information to supplement your decision-making in the draft. One of the most interesting aspects is that new information on player learning styles can potentially help our coaches’ work more effectively with young players.”

I wonder what Vince Lombardi would think about all this? Maybe it’s best the coach isn’t around to tell us.

My guess it would be an earful … just sayin’ …

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Jan 15, 2012; Green Bay, WI, USA; A general view of the Vince Lombardi statue outside before the 2011 NFC divisional playoff game between the Green Bay Packers and the New York Giants at Lambeau Field. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Mills/THE-STAR LEDGER via USA TODAY Sports

We all know that Green Bay Packers legendary Coach Vince Lombardi decided to step down from his coaching responsibilities after the 1967 season and following his Super Bowl II victory over the Oakland Raiders.

What we don’t know is that his father was really ticked about his decision to do so.

In today’s release from the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame (one of my favorite Packers sites, by the way), we find out that on this day in Packers history Lombardi told the story at the Dapper Dan Dinner in Pittsburgh. ”For what have you given up coaching,” the senior Lombardi asked his son. Lombardi said at the dinner that he told his father what he had told everyone – that the job of coach and general manager had gotten too big to handle.

Isn’t it funny how history has a way of repeating itself? How many coaches over the past decade have experienced similar issues? Those with Packers ties - Mike Holmgren and Mike Sherman come quickly to mind – suffered the same issues.

But back in the day, Lombardi saw the writing on the wall and decided to give up coaching and stay on with the Packers as general manager. That lasted one season. When he realized he loved coaching too much and wanted to get back into it he left Green Bay and headed out to Washington, D.C., to coach the Redskins. He was there a single season, turning that franchise from a losing proposition into a winner in that single year. We can only guess what he may have accomplished in Washington had he not died before the start of his second season there.

“Dad wanted me to stay on forever as coach of the Packers,” Lombardi told those at the dinner. “He thinks that coaching the Packers is the greatest position going, and I agree with him.”

We also heard those same words from Mike Holmgren before he left Green Bay for a big contract and more power in Seattle.

The elder Lombardi must have been a very wise man.

Vince Lombardi, on this date in 1959, became head coach of the Green Bay Packers after signing a 5-year contract.
Photograph courtesy of the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame

It’s only appropriate on this Super Bowl weekend that the man who won the first two bowls and whose name is stamped on the championship trophy signed his first contract with the Green Bay Packers on this day in 1959.

The National Football League was just becoming America’s game, television had just begun its foray into broadcasting games and it was Lombardi who would usher in the modern era. When he arrived at Austin Straubel Airport in Green Bay with his wife in 1959, he was greeted by the team’s president, Dominic Olejniczak, two executive committee members and the media.

There were no throngs of fans, no hoopla. It was only Lombardi and his plan.

He told the media he was in the process of forming his coaching staff and expected to have it complete within the week. He said he was going to hire a coach to handle the offense and one to handle the defense and that he would have his “finger in the whole pie.”

He certainly did.

The Vince Lombardi Trophy

That first coaching staff built with Lombardi the powerhouse that was to become the Dynasty of the 1960s. Because of his success in Green Bay and the fact that Lombardi won the first two Super Bowls after the merger of the National Football League and American Football League, his name is forever inscribed on the trophy awarded to the winner of the Super Bowl each year.

The Lombardi Trophy will once again be awarded Sunday, Feb. 3, to that winning team – either the San Francisco 49ers or the Baltimore Ravens.

Donald Driver looks toward his future away from football.
Raymond T. Rivard photograph

Being a fan of the Green Bay Packers means more than rooting for your team.

It represents a deep connection to all things Green and Gold. It is about the relationships that we build with the men who battle on the frozen tundra every Sunday (and Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays, too). One of our favorites has decided to call it a career.  Donald Driver, arguably, one of the greatest wide receivers to play for the Packers is doing something very few players ever do, finish with the team with which they began.

Twenty-fours hours after the initial announcement, many fans are on an emotional roller coaster – happy for the man, yet sad to see it end.  But as with anything in life there comes a time when all things end.  I have spent as much time as possible reading everything that I have seen about Donald Driver and there is no way for me to be impartial in my thoughts or words when I think back about what he has given Packers Nation and what we feel for him.

Vince would have had great things to say about Donald Driver.

So I decided that it would be better to find out what others have to say about Donald Driver retiring.  So I hooked up the  old Texas Instrument computer and routed it through my flux capacitor, via the 1967 olive green electric mixer I got at a yard sale and was able to reopen the worm hole in my basement.  I figured it was time to see what others have to say about Donald Driver.

My first stop was the office of one Vincent Thomas Lombardi.  I asked the Coach what he thought of Donald retiring and the career that he had.  Lombardi replied, “Teamwork is what Donald Driver was all about.  He did not play the game for individual glory.  He did it because he loved his team and his community.”

I then asked Coach Lombardi if he could give any advice  to Donald what would it be.  Coach then took a deep breath and looked across at his chalkboard littered with X’s and O’s and answered, “After the cheers have died down and the stadium is empty, after the headlines have been written and after you are back in the quiet of your room and the championship ring has been placed on the dresser and all the pomp and fanfare have faded, the enduring things that are left are the dedication to excellence, the dedication to victory, and the dedication to doing with our lives the very best we can to make the world a better place in which to live.  It is these things that I see Donald succeeding at.”

After thanking Coach Lombardi for his time, I decided that it would be interesting to get a more worldly view on our favorite receiver so I zapped over to the Shandong peninsula in northeastern China to speak with Master Kongfuzi (Confucius).

What would Confucius have said about Donald Driver?

I asked the Master what he thought about Donald Driver and he said, “A superior man is modest in his speech, but exceeds in his actions.”  But was the time right for Driver to retire was a question that many people were wondering and I implored him for his wisdom.  Confucius said, “If you look into your own heart, and you find nothing wrong there, what is there to worry about? What is there to fear?”

Finally, the Great Master imparted these final thoughts about what waited for Donald, “The superior man cannot be known in little matters, but he may be entrusted with great concerns.”

So it was evident that two of the greatest minds, Lombardi and Confucius saw great things for Donald as he moves forward in his post-football career. But I needed  another perspective, one more in step with Donald the Dancer.  So I located the great Fred Astaire.

I asked him what he thought of Donald’s dancing and what the future might hold for him and he replied, “He was just simply wonderful, the way he danced on the field and off it.  He danced beautifully, learned beautifully.  He was very adept at whatever he did on the dance floor, really in fine form.  I would love to do a picture with him.”

No doubt, President Barack Obama would have to bring in a reference to the Chicago Bears when complimenting Donald Driver.

So I felt pretty good that those of the past saw Donald in the same light we saw him in but what about some of our contemporaries, what did they think about Donald retiring.  So I touched base with the Commander in Chief, President Obama.  I asked him what his feelings were about Donald ending his career and he said, “I’m just gonna come out and say it,” this hurts a little bit. This is a hard thing for a Bears fan to do. It doesn’t hurt as much as the NFC championship game hurt, but it still hurts to say I am going to miss that man, his play on the field and his dancing off of it.

Wanting to be partisan, I then sought out Rush Limbaugh for his thoughts and he had this to say about Donald, “Wouldn’t it be great if our country had standards as high as Donald Driver’s?” So it was obvious that Rush felt the love we all feel for Donald.

So I finished up my jaunt across time and space and returned home.  It was evident that Donald Driver is  more than a football player.  He is one of those rare types who transcends those boundaries that separate us as individuals.  He has worked for the greater good of the community and he has elevated those around him.

Really nothing more can be said about the man that has not already been written, except that when it came time to call it a career, he did not think about himself or his team.  Rather, he thought of the people that supported him and loved him and wanted to do it right for them.  He thought of us, the fans and for that we can only say, “Thank you.  Thank you for being Donald Driver, football player, dancer and our friend.”

The thing is I knew all about Bart Starr, Jerry Kramer, Vince Lombardi, and the rest of the 60s teams long before I moved to Neenah, Wisconsin in 1972. I played football on the same field that Fuzzy Thurston’s son played on, met and ran into Packers players all over the area, and in general lived and died with the Packers. Punishment for me was being grounded…from watching the Packers on Sunday.

Things have improved dramatically since Ron Wolf and Mike Holmgren took over and brought the team back to respectability. Now Ted Thompson and Mike McCarthy seem to be able to keep the good times going. It’s great to be a Packers fan today. But in the 70s, there was a lot more dying than living with the Packers. Still, I was glad to be a Packers fan-even then. Still am in fact.

Being a Packers fan hasn’t always been easy, but it’s been easier than being a fan of most of the other NFL teams.

Bears fans have to deal with a petulant though sardonic quarterback, defenses that have always been over-hyped (except maybe for 1985), and inconsistent play as a matter of course for generations. Some great ones have played there, but few have won anything there. Their stadium used to be one of the classics, but now all that’s left of the classic is the columns they couldn’t figure out how to demolish with the rest of the original Soldier Field. One Super Bowl win says it all.

Vikings fans have to deal with the sting of being zip for four in Super Bowls, a stadium that should have been condemned long ago with a convertible roof, love boat scandals, horrible trades, and purple as a primary uniform color. No thanks. Oh, and being completely two-faced about Favre. They hated him playing for Green Bay, but they sure did love him in purple. Maybe they’ll add him to their Ring of Honor.

Lions fans are saddled with a “fiery” (read intensely mercurial) head coach, players who like to tell everybody they’re high-character guys but act like thugs both on the field and off it, and though historically they have won four championships none have occurred since 1957. Great ones have played there too, but precious few have won anything there either. Thanksgiving usually means getting to watch some team beat the Lions on the Lions’ home field.

Nov 18, 2012; Arlington, TX, USA; Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo (9) signals to quiet the crowd while at the line of scrimmage against the Cleveland Browns at Cowboys Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-US PRESSWIRE

Outside the division, let’s examine Cowboys fans. Now living in Texas as I do and observing them in close proximity, there is no mammalian species as cunning, blindly loyal, or shameless as the common Cowboys fan. The team has been to more Super Bowls than any other team in the NFL. They’ve won more or less consistently throughout their entire existence. But they couldn’t get past Lombardi’s Packers. When they have been bad, they’ve been really bad. Their stadium is a monument to excess and their owner is not really the owner. He’s the owner/general manager/coach/scout/general mucker-about. And the whole America’s Team thing is so self-importantly untruthful that I can barely get my head around the concept. C’mon man! The Packers are America’s Team!

You can’t be a Redskins fan because the Redskins are…too political.

The Patriots are…to Belichick-ical. And they cheat.

The Eagles are…well, they have too many ties to the Holmgren-era Packers. There’s 4^th down and 26. And they beat Lombardi’s first Championship team. Forget about it.

The Browns are…well, they’re not really the Browns.

The Ravens are…well, they’re really the Browns. Or the Colts.

The Colts…well who really knows who they are? But it’s good their coach is holding his own in his fight against leukemia. Chuckstrong!

The New York teams (both of them) are…too big-market with too much baggage.

The West Coast teams are…too close to the next natural disaster. Or one particularly egregious officiating disaster. But thanks 49ers for pounding the snot out of the Bears so well on Monday night!

All of these teams have had success at one time or another. All have had great players come and go. Most have been consistently good for at least one period during their existence. They’ve all had their doormat periods too.

All of which brings me to the Packers. The Packers are unique in many ways.

The Packers are publically owned, by me and about 362,000 of my closest friends.

The Packers play in by far the smallest market (or DMA) in the NFL. The 18 largest markets in the country all have NFL teams. Twelve of the next 35 markets have teams. The next smallest market area, New Orleans, is ranked 53. Green Bay is ranked 70. Only about 106,000 people actually live in Green Bay.

Historically, the Packers are the third-oldest team in the NFL, behind only Arizona (as the Racine Cardinals) and Chicago (as the Decatur Staleys). Fans have kept the team alive when times were tough.

The Packers have won far more Championships (13) than any other team.

Green Bay is the only team to have won three Championships in a row, having done it twice (1929, 1930, 1931, and 1965, 1966, 1967).

The Packers have sold out every home game since 1960, including all those tough-to-watch games in the 70s and 80s when the Packers were, with rare exception, in their doormat mode.

The season ticket waiting list is so long that my grandchildren might make be able to buy them someday. But it’s highly likely that the team will still be in Green Bay and will still play in front of sold-out crowds when Bill II gets to the head of the line.

The Packers of today are a team with few of the personality problems with which other fans have to deal. Oh sure, once in a while somebody adroitly finds their mouth with their foot, but on balance there is far less turmoil associated with the Packers than most if not all other NFL teams. Tebow anyone?

The team and its stadium are both built to win for the long-haul. Lambeau Field is the oldest NFL stadium, but it has been renovated and improved to give the fans a great experience. The facility has the classic feel and historic look of a stadium in which a team like the Packers should play.

Nov 4, 2012; Green Bay, WI, USA; Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (12) was all smiles after the Packers beat the Arizona Cardinals 31-17 at Lambeau Field. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-US PRESSWIRE

The quarterback is one of the finest in the league and could end up being the finest ever.  Just sayin’.

The management and coaches are all working toward the same goals. No coach-on-coach sniping or media-based tempestuousness in Packerland.

There are Packers fans all over the place. When the team travels there are more often than not enough Packers fans at road games to drown out the home team’s fans.

Perhaps best of all, the Packers don’t have the “fiery” coach or the owner who can and just might move the team elsewhere. I’m fine with that.

No, the Packers aren’t perfect. But what team in sports is? I’ve done the research, crunched the numbers, and analyzed the data. If you’re a Packers fan you already know I wasted my time.

Thankful I’m a Packers fan? As a matter of fact I am!

Happy Thanksgiving! Go Pack GO! And go Texans in Detroit!

DISCLAIMER: Absolutely no sensitivities were damaged during the writing of this article. However, reader sensitivities may have been damaged during the reading of this article.

They know what it was like to play for the greatest coach the NFL has seen. And because they have insight into what it was like playing in Green Bay during that time and what it was like to play in the National Football League they have joined forces with co-author Royce Boyles in putting out the newest Packers book: “Lombardi’s Left Side.”

The authors will be attending several book signings to promote the release of the book starting Nov. 1.

Here is the schedule:

Thursday, Nov. 1
1-2:30 p.m. — Festival Foods, W3195 Van Roy Road, Appleton
6-8 p.m. — Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame, 1265 Lombardi Ave., Green Bay (tickets required for this event)

Friday, Nov. 2
4-5:30 p.m. — Festival Foods, 2250 W Mason St., Green Bay

Saturday, Nov. 3
2:30-4 p.m. — Packers Pro Shop, 1265 Lombardi Ave., Green Bay

Sunday, Nov. 4
10-11 a.m. — Lambeau Field, Club Level (game tickets required)

The book is currently available at book stores across the state, as well as the Packers Pro Shop and on Amazon.

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August 3, 2012; Green Bay, WI, USA; The name of former Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi on the ring of fame around Lambeau Field prior to the Family Night scrimmage in Green Bay, WI. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-US PRESSWIRE

Football is a timeless game – a game of fundamentals that have changed very little over the past 90 years.

This is evident by this video I came across tonight that features the one and only Vince Lombardi talking and teaching these fundamentals.

While there have been some rules changes in the past 20-30 years that have changed how the game is played along the line of scrimmage, the skills that Lombardi teaches in this video are still viable even today.

What’s cool is watching the great coach talk about the game he loved. What’s clear in this video is that fact.

Judge for yourself. I think you will enjoy this.

Adderley, a Hall of Famer, and Robinson, a senior finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, had joined together with Boyles in previously publishing “The Lombardi Legacy.”

Now they join forces again in their most recent effort, “Lombardi’s Left Side,” that is supposed to be published late this month or next.

Though it includes football-related themes, this new book is supposed to also include much more … including what players endured when it came to race relations.

The Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame posted a notice about the new book, which you can see here or by scrolling below.

Herb Adderley, Dave Robinson Prepare New Book

Former Green Bay Packers linebacker and current Hall of Fame finalist Dave Robinson is no stranger to the publishing world, having co-authored The Lombardi Legacy with Royce Boyles.

Now, Robinson and Boyles are back with a new book and a new co-author, former Packers cornerback Herb Adderley, whose voice is prominently featured in Lombardi’s Left Side.

The book is so titled because Adderley and Robinson both played on the left side of Vince Lombardi’s great defenses. Even though the title suggests football, the book is about a lot more than that.

Lombardi’s Left Side not only touches on the coach, but teamwork and, perhaps most interestingly, the barriers that race presented in the 1960s and how those were overcome.

“There’s a lot of interest in Dave Robinson and the Packers of the ’60s because of his nomination for the Hall of Fame. Lombardi’s Left Side will certainly give readers a glimpse inside the Packers dynasty, but there’s more to the story than that,” Boyles said. “Herb Adderley has been under the radar for years and he has some very controversial things to say.”

Lombardi’s Left Side is expected to hit shelves in late September/early October.

The post below was provided today by the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame and details one’s retelling of a story told by the late great Vince Lombardi’s wife, Marie, way back in 1975. However, it’s one that I’ve never heard and doubt that you have either.

Take a short moment to give it a read. Packers fans everywhere are sure to understand exactly what Vince meant at the time he uttered his final remembrance of Green Bay.

Vince Lombardi’s Final Remembrance of Green Bay

This remarkable memory is courtesy of Jim DeWees. Jim is a Hall of Fame Executive Committee Member on the Board of Directors for the Packers Hall of Fame, Inc.

As a long-time member of the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame Board of Directors and Executive Committee, I have my own personal collection of Packers stories.

One I’d like to share one with you today stands out in my mind as truly unique.

Several years ago, the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame Induction Banquet was held at the Riverside Ballroom in Green Bay. It was 1975, the year that Vince Lombardi and several of his players were inducted into the Packers Hall of Fame. This group included Don Chandler, Willie Davis, Paul Hornung, Henry Jordan, Jerry Kramer, Ron Kramer, Max McGee, Jim Taylor and Fuzzy Thurston. The banquet, of course, was sold out, and packed with admirers and fans.

Marie Lombardi was there to accept the award on behalf of her husband. It was an emotional time, as it was a short time after he had passed away. She told the audience about a conversation she had with Vince a couple days before he died.

She said, “I was sitting on the edge of the bed and Vini (as she always called him) was so sick and semi-conscious. He awoke and said, “Marie, honey, I want to go home.”

I said, “You are home.”

And Vini said, “No, I mean I want to go home to Green Bay.”

This was a tear-jerking moment for everyone.

There was never a question about how the city of Green Bay felt about Vince Lombardi.

Now we know how Vince Lombardi really felt about Green Bay.

Green Bay Packers head coach Vince Lombardi's name should be the only name affiliated with the trophy. Malcolm Emmons-US PRESSWIRE

I could never figure out why the NFL Network hired Michael Irvin as a commentator for its programming.

He talks like a hood; he looks like hoodlum; and we all know his past behavior is nothing short of criminal.

Today, any modicum of respect that I had for him (which was nil) was washed down his toilet like the turd he is.

He suggested in an interview today that the Lombardi Trophy should be named to include the hoodie man himself, Bill Belichick – or Bill Belicheat as many have come to know him.

Yes, he’s won a few Super Bowls and has been a perennial winner with the Patriots.

But to suggest that Patriots’ coach’s name be attached to the trophy that has become the highest symbol of excellence in all of sports is ridiculous, it’s stupid, and just plain idiotic.

Here’s what he had to say to the Boston Herald:

“I think the world of Belichick. I told him this, ‘Man, if it was up to me, that (Super Bowl) trophy would be called the Lombardi/Belichick.’ I don’t care what they think. It would be called the Lombardi/Belichick. That’s how good he is to do what he’s doing in this day and age, what the league is now. I would call it the Lombardi/Belichick.”

Obviously, the reaction was immediate and severe.

Here are some of the comments that I pulled off www.facebook.com/apackphan:

• Paula Rick No way.. No how Never.

  9 hours ago · Like
• 

  Cory Grassell other known facts: water is wet.

  9 hours ago · Like · 1
• 

  Patrick W. Steele People have no ability to put things in perspective… Chuck Noll won FOUR super bowls with Pittsburgh and did not lose one… Belichek is only 3-2 in the super bowl…. and he is a douche

  9 hours ago · Like · 1
• 

  Donnie BoeSr ABSOLUTLY NOT!!!!!!!!!!!!

  8 hours ago · Like
• 

  Sten Cantwell not only never, but never ever, billicheat should b e out of football forever and all his cheating wins erased! irvin should be fired, doper womanizer

  8 hours ago · Like · 1

  Need I say more? Consider this idea idiotic and done …

  Irvin is a singular enemy of the NFL.

  Michael Irvin, go back to the hood and take your stupid ideas with you.

Watch the video ... we're ready for 2012

Training camp is under way; expectations are soaring; July turns to August and will turn to September.

The 2012 National Football League season is around the corner. Are you ready?

If you’re not, you’re comatose.

Dale Decker, who just released his newest video is ready and he expresses it loudly and clearly in this video – see it below. He uses the words of Vince Lombardi over the images of Packers plays and players. It’s awesome and will not only get you ready for the coming season, but will probably get you so ready you’re set to run through any brick wall to get control of the remote, get set with your favorite beer and yell, “GO PACK GO!”

Heck, you may be even ready to go online to find some tickets to that opening day game against the 49ers or the matchup in week two against the Bears.

But before you do, watch the video. This is definitely going to be a fun ride this year … the year of “Redemption.”

Jan 14, 1968; Miami, FL, USA; FILE PHOTO; Green Bay Packers head coach Vince Lombardi during Super Bowl II against the Oakland Raiders at the Orange Bowl. The Packers defeated the Raiders 33-14. Mandatory Credit: Malcolm Emmons-US PRESSWIRE

Compiled by his wife, Marie, these photos have been posted by the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame.

Check them out. As always, anything with Vince’s image on it are a hot commodity.

You can see the posting below, but go here to see all the photos.

The Young Vince Lombardi

The following images are taken from a scrapbook compiled by Marie Lombardi, the wife of former Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi. They show the legendary coach in his younger years, primarily during his time at West Point, where he coached until 1953.

In 1954, Lombardi accepted a position as the New York Giants offensive backfield coach. He would take over as head coach of the Packers in 1959 and win six NFL titles.

Vince Lombardi

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Herb Adderly: One of the best

Herb Adderly.

The name brings back memories – usually in black and white – of one of the greatest, if not THE greatest cornerback in Green Bay Packers history – Herb Adderly.

He played his greatest games with the Packers as part of the Vince Lombardi-led squads of the 1960s, though he also moved on to the Dallas Cowboys where he was also a Super Bowl champion.

But take a look here of some of the best photographs of Adderly during his days with the Packers.

And check out the posting at The Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame website pasted below or go here.

You won’t be disappointed.

Like Lombardiave.com on Facebook

and follow us on Twitter.

Herb Adderley: Candid and In Action

Green Bay Packers and Pro Football Hall of Famer Herb Adderley has provided us with a collection of his photos. The collection offers a candid glimpse behind the scenes, from Adderley’s time as a star at Michigan State through his fantastic Green Bay Packers career.

The gallery also contains plenty of action shots, including Adderley’s interception return for a touchdown in Super Bowl II. To hear Adderley discuss the play, along with a number of other things, check out our interview with him here.

Herb Adderley returning an interception in Super Bowl II

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Lionel Aldridge's story is that of a spiraling demise and rise back.

Brain injuries caused by persistent blows to the head is the topic of the times. Dozens of former NFL players have filed a lawsuit against the league for not helping them understand and deal with these injuries.

However, for one former player, the late great Green Bay Packers defensive lineman Lionel Aldridge, his suffering was brain-related, but not football-related.

Aldridge began suffering from the effects of  paranoid schizophrenia in his early 30s, a chronic mental illness that would eventually cause him to spiral into despair and a life on the streets. He lost everything, his family, his money and even his Super Bowl ring.

But his life didn’t end tragically. He eventually got the diagnosis and help he needed to turn his life around. When he died at age 54 in Shorewood, Wisconsin in 1998, he had come full circle and was helping others.

The story of his life was chronicled on the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame website by Scott Schalin, who gives an honest recounting of the man known as a giant teddy bear. Read it here or below.

The Mad Ride of Packers Hall of Famer Lionel Aldridge

Sometimes you have to go through hell to get to heaven. In the case of Lionel Aldridge, he took the reverse path.

Aldridge was born on February 14, 1941, in Evergreen, Louisiana, and was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the fourth round of the 1963 draft after a standout college career at Utah State.

While Packers coach Vince Lombardi was always wary of starting rookies, Aldridge cracked the vaunted Green Bay lineup in his first professional year. He quickly became a cornerstone of the staunch and stingy defenses of the 1960s playing right defensive end opposite fellow Louisiana native and future Pro Football Hall of Famer Willie Davis.

Although the NFL didn’t log official stats for tackles during Aldridge’s era, he was renowned throughout the league as a solid tackler that helped anchor that stout Packers’ defensive line.

With the Packers, he played prominent roles in three straight NFL championships with wins over Cleveland in 1965, and Dallas both in 1966 and ’67. Perhaps it was that 23-12 victory in the 1965 title game that epitomized the smothering Green Bay defense of the era, as the Packers held legendary Browns’ running back Jim Brown to just 50 yards rushing in what would be the future Hall of Famer’s final game.

Aldridge continued contributing to the team’s historical run of championships, helping Green Bay to victories in Super Bowl I (a 35-10 dismantling of the Kansas City Chiefs) and Super Bowl II (a 33-14 shellacking of the Oakland Raiders).

Aldridge enjoyed an 11-year pro career, playing his first nine seasons in Green Bay and his final two with the San Diego Chargers. The six-foot-three, 255-pound beast was named an All Pro in 1964 and was inducted into the Packers Hall of Fame in 1988.

Still, even a physical shell as imposing as Aldridge’s could not protect life’s most fragile wonder: the brain.

After retiring in 1973, Aldridge turned to broadcasting. He became an analyst for the Packers and then for NBC, where he would work Super Bowl VII following the 1973 season.

Things were seemingly going as well off the field as they had on it.

But then, something changed. Something suddenly didn’t seem right.

His longtime friend Jim Irwin, who had broadcast Packers games for 29 years before retiring after the 1998 season, told the New York Times, “Lionel was a terrific success story that had some holes in it. He was a big, friendly teddy bear,” who experienced mood swings as a player. “He’d be ‘up’ one day and then the next day he’d snap at everybody.”

Irwin recounted an instance after Aldridge retired and was doing the color commentary on a Packers’ broadcast. “I asked him the first question of the day, and he stared straight ahead,” Irwin recalled. “He never took his eyes off the 50-yard line for the next three and a half hours and never said another word.”

Unbeknownst to Aldridge, his family or his friends, the former defensive star for the Packers was experiencing the beginning phases of paranoid schizophrenia. The Mayo Clinic describes paranoid schizophrenia (PS) as a chronic mental illness in which a person loses touch with reality.

The most prominent PS symptom is auditory hallucinations or “hearing voices” along with severe delusional behavior, the fear of persecution and sensing usually irrational things that others don’t. There is no specific cause as to what triggers PS in adults, but both genetics and environment likely play roles. Football has never been blamed for Aldridge’s PS.

PS symptoms are more common and severe primarily because they attack a person in the later years of life, usually after the age of 30.

Aldridge was barely into his mid-30s when the episodes began. By the early 1970s, he began to hallucinate. Then, the voices started echoing through his brain.

On the website Guideposts (www.guideposts.org) Aldridge wrote frankly and frighteningly of his illness.

One of the most frightening signs that there was something seriously wrong with me was the voices I began hearing in 1974.

At first, they were just stray, nagging worries that dogged me through the day; self-doubts that we all have from time to time. They seemed to rise up out of nowhere—vague thoughts with an accusing edge, ‘You really don’t work very hard, do you?’

The voices were very scary and confusing. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t want anyone to find out the terrible things happening inside my head. As an athlete, I’d been trained to be tough; it was not my nature to seek help. I wanted to be strong.

At first I tried to ignore them. But the voices grew more belittling and threatening; more real. I’d be standing in front of the mirror shaving when I’d hear from the next room, ‘You don’t take very good care of your family.’ “That’s bull!” I’d shout. I’d search the house for my tormentor. I’d mutter, as my wife, Vicki, shook her head in dismay. There never was any intruder.

His marriage, which had produced two daughters, Michelle and Angela, collapsed. So did his job. Quickly the situation grew worse.

Aldridge chronicled the events on Guideposts.

Rumors flew around town that I was on drugs. That was completely false, but I was in no shape to prove otherwise. I was getting worse.

Soon that feeling of being watched wouldn’t let up, even on the air. Looking into the camera, I could barely hold my composure as I reported the nightly sports scores. The wide camera lens zooming in on me was a glistening, all-seeing eye that could plumb the farthest, most hidden reaches of my soul. Everyone who was watching on their TV sets, I was convinced, could see right inside my brain, where laid bare for all to look on in disgust were the grimmest secrets of my life.

I was sure there was a far-flung conspiracy to destroy me. I fought with total strangers on the street. I lost my job, (my family) and my friends. There was nothing left but the voices shouting in my head, as real to me as an opposing 260-pound pulling guard on a goal line stand back in my playing days.

My life spun out of control.

Aldridge was convinced by voices that he needed to leave his Milwaukee home.

He crisscrossed the country in an unruly wilderness of twisted interstates, sleeping in hotels and ultimately seedy flophouses. Once his savings were mostly exhausted, he started living in his car. In Florida, he ditched the car for a $100 and hit the streets with nothing more than a battered satchel on his shoulder.

Occasionally I hung around a town for a while doing odd jobs, living on the streets and eating at soup kitchens. Quite naturally, people would stare at me, and that would only make my delusions of persecution worse. I never held a job for long… I’d become one of those lost, devastated souls. There were a lot of them out there with me, crippled by mental illness, but as I wandered the country I was only aware of my own haunted, unhappy world a million miles from the life I once had.

One night I slept in a field off an interstate near the Great Salt Lake. I didn’t notice when I woke up, but, while I was sleeping, my jewel-encrusted Super Bowl ring must have slipped off. Those rings are not easy to come by, and I’d hung on to mine as a kind of symbol of who I’d once been.

When I discovered the ring missing, it was as if I’d been stripped of one final link with my past. I sat in the middle of a sidewalk and wept into my hands.

‘Help me!’ I cried out. The sweat and tears streaked my dust-caked face. ‘Help! I’ll accept help from anyone.’

Turning to a well-worn Bible for guidance, he found the strength and courage to return to Milwaukee where, while still living on the streets, he was brought back into contact with old friends. He was, not without difficulty, committed to a hospital where he was diagnosed with PS.

“Slowly the doctors hit upon some drugs that helped,” he rejoiced. “Little by little my condition improved, and the voices gradually subsided. At first it was horrifying. It was an awful thing to face, like seeing a crazy man on the street and suddenly realizing that you are looking into a mirror.”

Although there is no cure for PS, Aldridge was able to recover and learn to live with the debilitating disease.

“I did recover,” he admitted. “Not without setbacks and relapses, not without moments when I thought I could never again face life, but I did get well with the help of friends, doctors who found the right medication to help me and the voice of a loving God.”

He discovered new strategies to cope with the world, including turning the voices around and convincing himself that, instead of negative things, the voices were actually preaching positive attributes about him. “I figured, maybe they’re saying good things like, ‘Hey, there’s Lionel Aldridge. He used to play for the Packers and then he got sick. Look how good he’s doing now.’ ”

In time, the voices went away thanks to medication and his faith in God’s master plan. He began traveling the country speaking to groups about mental illness and recovery. “It’s vital,” he said, “for patients, families and even doctors to see someone who has actually made it back.”

In January 1985 — the 18th anniversary of the Packers’ first Super Bowl win – Lionel received yet another gift. A group of his old teammates had commissioned an exact replica of the Super Bowl victory ring that Aldridge had lost.

“I knew that day that I had returned,” he surmised. “Even when you think you’ve lost everything in your life, there is always hope of finding a way back, sometimes to an even better place.”

Aldridge passed away on February 12, 1998, in Shorewood, Wisconsin, of congestive heart failure at the age of 56.

After a meteoric rise to fame and glory, and then a whiplashing plummet into darkness and despair, this gentleman of the game and Packers’ legend can now, finally, rest in peace.

Scott Schalin is the former editor of PackersHallofFame.com and is currently writing a book with NFL on FOX insider Jay Glazer.

Wally Cruice – every hear of him?

Nope, me either.

However, he was a valuable scout for the Green Bay Packers who worked under eight different Green Bay Packers coaches, from Lambeau to Starr.

On this day in Packers history, Cruice retired from his scouting job with the team to spend even more time on his full-time business – sounds like a pretty ambitious guy.

The Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame provides a bit of information about him in their daily “history” piece about the team … you can also find out more about Cruice at this Wikipedia page.

Packers Scout Cruice Retires

June 14, 1977 – Wally Cruice, a game-day scout who served under eight Packers head coaches, announces he is winding up a 31-year career with the team. Cruice, who reported on the opposition for Curly Lambeau, Gene Ronzani, Lisle Blackbourn, Scooter McLean, Vince Lombardi, Phil Bengtson, Dan Devine and Bart Starr, will devote more energy to his full-time business – Pohlman Studios in Milwaukee – where he is company president. “I want some free time to myself. I want to be able to go to a football game in the fall, enjoy myself and not be working,” Cruice says.

St. Vince is helping to promote an effort to add a plaque at the gravesite of Vince Lombardi. Raymond T. Rivard

Vince Lombardi’s gravesite is simple, probably as the great coach would have wanted it.

However, for those passing by his gravesite, they may not understand the greatness that was the man named Lombardi. That’s because the simple site includes only a headstone with the coach’s name.

To remedy that situation, an effort being led by the man named Saint Vince was announced on his Facebook page May 25. It’s a chance to contribute to a fund that will place a plaque similar to the one mounted on his statue at Lambeau Field.

Here’s what Saint Vince has to say:

“Other than the headstone, there is no
indication as to who this man was and
what he did for the Green Bay Packers
and the NFL! We can change that!

This permanent bronze plaque
will teach & inform all future generations
of Coach Lombardi’s accomplishments
and will properly honor him for all time!

With your help, this plaque will be
formally dedicated on the 100th anniversary
of Vince Lombardi’s birth – June 11, 2013!”

If interested in checking out the effort or donating to the effort, check out the address

Personal checks should be addressed and sent to:

“Vince Lombardi Memorial Project”
Associated Bank
2403 S Oneida Street
Green Bay, WI 54304-5201

Packers head coach Vince Lombardi didn’t mince words back on this date in 1963. On this date the legendary Packers coach announced the Packers were dropping out of the annual Thanksgiving Day game held between the Packers and Lions in Detroit.

We all know that decision held firm for decades before the league finally decided to schedule the Packers and Lions, with the most recent game being held this past Thanksgiving. Though it won’t be an annual event, watching the Packers and Lions again on Turkey Day has been somewhat of a joy because the Packers have had the upper hand most recently.

We wonder if Vince is rolling in his grave.

For a look back, see what Vince had to say below in this piece brought to you by the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame.

Here's a video of the great one you may like viewing