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With this Super Bowl ring I thee…briefly panic
With an impressive combination of German precision, Irish luck and Catholic fertility, my parents managed to produce exactly four NFL championship rings and exactly four children. For most of my...
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Lombardi’s defensive captain for life
When he described a true friend as someone who “advises justly, assists readily, adventures boldly, takes all patiently, defends courageously, and continues a friend unchangeably,” William Penn might...
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The jersey boys: a circle of Lombardi inspired friendship
A late and unexpected Christmas gift celebrated two key factors in my father’s life — football and friendship. The gift, given to my son Vinnie this week by his godfather, John Olson, mirrored an...
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Lombardi built champions and friends
Of all the lessons Coach Lombardi taught his players — pursue excellence, never settle, honor the uniform, respect god, eat nutritionally, prepare thoroughly — one of the richest remains this: value...
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A Lombardi friendship fit to a (Delaware Wing) T
Just weeks into my first job as professional sports writer 27 years ago, an arrogant high school football coach hurt my feelings as I interviewed him for a season preview. He told me his team would be...
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And with the 26th pick the Packers select…
In some ways the most memorable NFL draft my family experienced happened in 1999 when 12-year old Charlie, who loved a good practical joke, re-set the password on our cable box, blocked ESPN and left...
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William Henderson — Portrait of a Pickup Artist
On Monday, before God, the world and my amused husband, former Packer running back William Henderson picked me up. Literally. Turns out the impulsive and thankfully buff athlete makes a habit of...
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A tip of the hat to the ladies of the Lombardi era
We toasted the Glory Years this weekend, a nearly decade long run during which Green Bay won two Super Bowls and three NFL titles. That this celebratory time in Green Bay occurred during the 1960’s, a...
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Great Roby at the Mic
It looked a little rocky for the Lambeau team that day. The score stood 21 -10 with but one half left to play after Witherspoon lumbered 70 yards to pick an awkward six. A pall like silence filled the...
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From Lambeau field, where glory stays
A poignant article in last week’s Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reminded me of two powerful lines from To an Athlete Dying Young. “Smart lad, to slip betimes away From fields where glory does not stay.”...
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Let’s be like Champions!
You don’t need Google to understand the history of the Green Bay Packers. It’s written on their unsponsored stadium, celebrated in their recently renovated Hall of Fame, honored among their alumni and...
View ArticleWalk of Legends
Somewhere in the city of Green Bay lies a brick honoring Ron and Peggy Kostelnik. We know it's there because one day someone posted a picture of it on my Facebook wall. If you have seen this brick, or...
View ArticleThat time Aaron Rodgers Angels-in-the-Outfielded us and we won the football game
On an afternoon in which Aaron Rodgers raised his powerful arms, flapped them like that cute Angels in the Outfield kid, and hushed a 78,000+ crowd, I thought about all the history that glorious...
View ArticleFair weather friends
The best kind of fair weather friends are the ones who will tailgate with you in the rain. They'll rock borrowed camo ponchos and raise wet solo cups. They'll stand cheerfully under dripping tents....
View ArticleCoach Lombardi was a Hall of Fame GM
You could fill a library with books about legendary Packer Coach Vince Lombardi and wallpaper a stadium with his quotes. So ubiquitous are the images of him stalking the sidelines in his trench coat...
View ArticleSuper Bowl and Civil Rights Champions
It seemed to me that the laughter, crossing 2,000 miles and bubbling up over 52 years, is one of the best indications of Vince Lombardi’s success as both a Super Bowl and civil rights champion. After...
View ArticleA quarterback and a gentleman
Three times in my own life legendary quarterback Bart Starr showed up in classier-than-he-needed-to-be ways and I am just one periphary person in his very big life. In the coming days as we all mourn...
View ArticleTips from a Lombardi legend to bring that trophy home
If you want some insight into what it’s like to play for a 13-3 team heading into the last round of the playoffs, ask a guy who’s been there. NFL Hall of Fame cornerback Herb Adderley knows all about...
View ArticleThe best reunion of them all
Among the hundreds of Paul Hornung photos circulating the globe, I believe my friend Suzanne Jordan has the best. In it, the NFL superstar rests cheerfully in a familiar chair while his teammates’ tiny...
View ArticleTable talk and a really kind soul
As long as I can remember, we have tried to sit at one of two particular tables at the Clubhouse inside the Red Lion Paper Valley Hotel, because they had pictures of my dad on them. Each table in that...
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