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Thirty Sundays to NFL football: 30 reasons why we love the Green Bay Packers

By Raymond Rivard

Don Majkowski with the guy who succeeded him as Packers quarterback. Raymond T. Rivard photograph
Don Majkowski with the guy who succeeded him as Packers quarterback. Raymond T. Rivard photograph /
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LeRoy Butler is the originator of the Lambeau Leap, having enthralled fans with the first one Dec. 26, 1993. Raymond T. Rivard photograph
LeRoy Butler is the originator of the Lambeau Leap, having enthralled fans with the first one Dec. 26, 1993.Raymond T. Rivard photograph /

LeRoy Butler

For those of you too young to remember (and those of you who were watching live at the time), it was a frigid day on that Dec. 26, 1993, at Lambeau Field. The Packers were playing the Los Angeles Raiders on the day and were sitting at 8-6, with the chance to clinch a playoff spot with a win.

And because the Packers hadn’t qualified for the playoffs since 1972 at that time, it was a huge day at Lambeau.

The score at that point in the game was 14-0 Packers. With Vince Evans the quarterback for the Raiders, a blitzing LeRoy Butler forced a fumble that was picked up by the late great Reggie White who began rumbling down the left sideline.

As he was being pushed out of bounds, Reggie turned and lateraled the ball to Butler who, without hesitation, ran untouched the last 25 yards into the end zone.

From there is where the magic happened … he said it was spontaneous.

LeRoy explained the moment in his autobiography – he wrote:

"“Because I had pointed, the fans knew what they had to do. I go up into the green padding … and when I’m halfway up, a guy starts pulling me up the rest of the way. Everyone right behind him grabs on. Everyone is screaming and yelling. Some are complimenting me with ‘Awesome’ or ‘Good job.’ It only lasts 2 or 3 seconds, and I’m back down."

That was LeRoy Butler at his best.

Why he isn’t at least in the discussion for the Pro Football Hall of Fame is beyond me.

It’s been a pleasure having him continue to represent the franchise.

Next: Reggie White

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