When you ’re a champion, you get special treament. So, when the Packers won Super Bowl XXXI over the Patriots 35-21, they not only got their third cover appearance in a row (see yesterday’s posting), they got a whole “Special Commemorative Edition” devoted solely to them.
This special publication was in addition to the weekly Sports Illustrated issue. Among the many special features it has are: an article summarizing the history of the Packers, a Reggie White story, a Brett Favre milk ad (Favre complete with a “milk mustache”), a review of the 1996 season, spotlights on various players, a Keith Jackson article, summaries of both NFC playoff games, a Mike Holmgren feature, a story on Lambeau Field, a summary of Super Bowl XXXI, a Brett Favre story, and several ads promoting Packers’ Super Bowl champion merchandise.
A few interestring quotes from the issue:
“In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth and the Green Bay Packers. At least that’s what the true believers think, given their team’s storied past. But the genesis of the franchise that begat Lombardi, Lofton, and the Leap was not quite that divine. Truth is, the Packers — the only pro football team that plays in the same city it did 75 years ago, the team that has sent 20 players to the Hall of Fame and won more championships (12) than any other — came into being because a guy named Curly had an awful case of tonsillitis.” (Lambeau was home on Christmas break from Notre Dame, got sick, and decided to stay rather than go back to school. He then, with others, founded the Packers the next year in 1919).
“Before Super Bowl XXXI, Brett Favre remarked, ‘I’ve always said that until we win a Super Bowl we’ll hear [about the Lombardi years], although I think we’ve done a lot in the last couple of years to offset the old talk. I don‘t think we’ll have to live in that shadow very much anymore.’ ”
“Less than two months after arriving in Green Bay, (Ron) Wolf tabbed San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator Mike Holmgren as his coach. No one took much notice of the first trade pulled off by the Packers’ new regime: Green Bay sent a first-round draft pick to the Atlanta Falcons for a strong-armed backup quarterback from Southern Mississippi named Brett Favre, who had been the Falcons’ second-round selection in 1991. Four Pro Bowls, two (later three) league MVP awards, and one Super Bowl title later, the deal is considered the steal of the decade.”
“Despite the meat-grinder nature of his position, Reggie White hasn’t missed a non-strike NFL game until last season (with a hamstring injury). Before the Packers’ 1995 NFC divisional upset of the 49ers, White told his teammates that he would hand out cash bonuses for big plays such as interceptions, fumble recoveries, and bone-jarring hits. ‘I wound up paying out almost $9,000,’ White says with a comical grin. ‘You’d be amazed how guys who are making hundreds of thousands of dollars will get up and go after $100.’ ”
“Brett Favre’s party of 14 — extended family, mostly — dined at the Oneida Country Club two nights before the NFC Championship Game. They left in two vehicles for the 15-minute drive to the quarterback’s west Green Bay home, a long Favre aerial from the Vincent T. Lombardi Middle School. Favre crammed eight folks into his Land Cruiser. He gave the keys to the Blazer to a reporter out with the clan. With a 90-second head start, the reporter began racing toward Favre’s house, a good 15 miles per hour over the speed limit, trying to beat Favre home. ‘You’re not much for the speed limit, are you?’ Irvin Favre, the player’s dad, asked the reporter. Nearing Favre’s home, everyone in the Blazer got a good chuckle out of how Brett wouldn’t be happy to finish second, even on a trip home from dinner. The Blazer was now turning into Favre’s new development, and 100 yards ahead, on a looming cross street, the Land Cruiser jetted by. ‘I knew it!’ Irvin Favre said. ‘That boy don’t like finishing second in anything!’ Irvin Favre’s son later admitted he was out for blood. “I wanted to kill you,’ he told the writer. ‘I’m really weird that way. Even in the car ride home, I want to win.’ ”
We wouldn‘t want it any other way.
