Sunday, February 6, 2011

Seasonal Sunday: Green Bay Packer facts.

It's Sunday and we all know what's going down tonight. The Super Bowl just in case you live in a hole. Hee hee. My husband is actually there as I type this. GO PACK GO!!! Here are some things you may or may not have known about the Pack.

- Founded on August 11, 1919 Earl "Curly" Lambeau (hence the name Lambeau Field on which the team plays) and George Whitney Calhoun. Did you know that they were high school rivals?
- They joined the American Professional Football Association on August 27, 1921 (the precursor to the NFL).
- The Packers are the only non-profit, community-owned major league professional sports team in the United States.
-  The Packers are also the only American major-league sports franchise to release its financial balance sheet every year.
- Their name comes from the fact that Curly Lambeau's employer sponsored the team.
- The team name is the oldest name still used and unchanged.
- An impressive accomplishment is the Packers' streak of 30 consecutive home games without defeat, an NFL record. This occurred between 1929 - 1931. This record is still held to this day.
- Don Hutson's number was the first retired by the Packers in 1951. He was later entered into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1963.
- A new stadium was resurrected in 1957.
- During training camp young Packers fans can take their bikes and have their favorite player ride their bike to the practice field from the locker room. This is an old Packers tradition dating back to approximately 1957
- Vince Lombardi was hired on February 2, 1959.
- Every Packers game at Lambeau Field has been sold out since 1960.
- In 1961 Green Bay became known as Titletown.
- The first AFL-NFL Superbowl (then known as the World Championship Game) was January 15, 1967 and the Packers took it away.
- The Ice Bowl was played December 31, 1967. The coldest NFL game on record. Ref whistles were frozen solid and the University band couldn't play. Actual temp was -15F. Not including the wind chill.
- Super Bowl II was won by the Packers on January 14, 1968.
- Vince Lombardi died in 1970.
Lambeau Field has had a street address of 1265 Lombardi Avenue since 1968, when Green Bay renamed Highland Avenue in honor of the coach.
- Super Bowl XXI was played on January 26, 1997. The Packers third Super Bowl win.
- A 2007 panel of football experts at ESPN ranked the 1996 Packers the 6th-greatest team to ever play in the Super Bowl.
- Super Bowl XXXII was held January 25, 1998. The Packers went up against the Denver Broncos and lost.
- On January 20, 2008, Green Bay appeared in their first NFC Championship Game in 10 years facing the New York Giants in Green Bay. The game was lost 23–20 on an overtime field goal by Lawrence Tynes. This was Brett Favre's last game as a Packer. His final pass being an interception in overtime.
- In August 2008, ESPN.com ranked the Packers as having the second-best fans in the NFL. The team initially finished tied with the Pittsburgh Steelers (who finished ahead of the Packers) as having the best fans, but the tie was broken by ESPN's own John Clayton, a Pittsburgh native.  This is my favorite fact!!
- On February 6, 2011 the Green Bay Packers won Super Bowl XLV 31-25 :) Just in case you missed it.

*Most of this was taken from Wiki so if it's wrong you can correct me and I will fix it. Promise.

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