Green Bay Packers

The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are currently members of the North Division of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL) and are the third-oldest franchise in the NFL.
The Packers are the last vestige of "small town teams" that were once common in the NFL during the 1920s and 1930s. Founded in 1919 by Earl "Curly" Lambeau (thus the name Lambeau Field in which the team presently plays) and George Whitney Calhoun, the Green Bay Packers can trace their lineage to other semi-professional teams in Green Bay dating back to 1896. In 1919 and 1920 the Packers competed as a semi-professional football team against clubs from around Wisconsin and the Midwest. They joined the American Professional Football Association (APFA) in 1921, the forerunner to what is known today as the National Football League (NFL).
The Green Bay Packers have won twelve league championships (more than any other team in the NFL) including nine NFL Championships prior to the Super Bowl era and three Super Bowl victories in 1967 (Super Bowl I), 1968 (Super Bowl II) and 1997 (Super Bowl XXXI). The team has a fierce rivalry with the Chicago Bears, whom they have played in over 170 games.
The Packers are currently the only non-profit, community-owned major league professional sports team in the United States.
Beginning with the 1992 season, the Packers had 13 non-losing seasons in a row (their worst record being 8-8 in 1999), two Super Bowl appearances, and one Super Bowl win (Super Bowl XXXI). The Packers' 13 consecutive non-losing seasons was an active NFL record until the team finally suffered a losing campaign in their 2005 season. They returned to have an 8-8 season in 2006 and a 13-3 regular season in 2007, both under new head coach Mike McCarthy.

1959-1967
The Packers of the 1960s under coach Vince Lombardi won five league championships over a seven-year span that culminated with victories in the first two Super Bowls. During the Lombardi era, the stars of the Packers' offense included quarterback Bart Starr, running-backs Jim Taylor, Carroll Dale and Paul Hornung (who also kicked extra-points and field-goals), and #64 right guard Jerry Kramer; the defense included Henry Jordan, Willie Wood, Ray Nitschke, Dave Robinson, and Herb Adderley.
In their first game under Lombardi on September 27, 1959, the Packers shut out the Chicago Bears at Lambeau Field. The Packers got off to a 3-0 start, but lost the next five and won the last four games, to achieve their first winning season since 1947.
The next year, the Packers, led by Paul Hornung's 176 points, won the NFL West title, and played in the NFL Championship against the Philadelphia Eagles at Philadelphia. In a see-saw game, the Packers trailed the Eagles by four points late in the game, when Chuck Bednarik tackled Jim Taylor just nine yards (8 m) short of the goal line as time ran out. They claimed that they did not "lose" that game; they were simply behind in the score when time ran out on them. The Packers would never again lose the NFL Championship game under Lombardi.
The Packers returned to the NFL Championship game the following season and faced the New York Giants. The Packers scored 24 second-quarter points, as Paul Hornung, on special "loan" from the Army, scored an NFL Championship record 19 points (one touchdown, four extra-points and three field-goals), and the Packers beat the Giants (of also legendary-fame Y.A.Title and Frank Gifford), to win their first NFL Championship since 1944. See NYTimes article of January 15th, 2008
The Packers stormed back in the 1962 season, jumping out to a 10-0 start, on their way to a 13-1 season. This consistent level of success would lead to Lombardi's Packers becoming one of the most prominent teams of their era, and even to their being featured as the face of the NFL on the cover of Time on December 21, 1962, as part of the magazine's cover story on "The Sport of the '60s". Shortly after Time's article, the Packers faced the Giants in a much more brutal championship game than the previous year, but the Packers prevailed on the surprising foot of Jerry Kramer and the determined running of Jim Taylor. The Packers defeated the Giants, 16-7.
The Packers returned to the championship game in 1965 following a two-year absence, when they defeated the Colts in a playoff for the Western Conference title. That game would be remembered for Don Chandler's controversial field goal in which the ball allegedly went wide right, but the official raised his arms to grant the three points. That disputed win earned the Packers a trip to the NFL Championship game, where Hornung and Taylor ran through the Cleveland Browns, helping the Packers defeat the Browns to earn their 3rd NFL Championship under Lombardi.
The 1966 season saw the Packers being led by NFL MVP Bart Starr. The Packers went 12-2, and in the NFL Championship, with the Packers leading 34-27, the Dallas Cowboys had the ball on the Packers' 2-yard (1.8 m) line, threatening to tie the ballgame. But on fourth down, the Packers' Tom Brown intercepted a Don Meredith pass in the end zone to preserve the victory. The Packers went in to win Super Bowl I 35-10 over the Kansas City Chiefs.
The 1967 season was the last one for Vince Lombardi as the Packers' head coach. That year's NFL Championship game, known universally as the Ice Bowl, is one of the most famous football games (college or professional) in the history of the sport. With 16 seconds left, Bart Starr's touchdown on a quarterback sneak brought the Packers their third straight NFL Championship - a feat no other team has matched since. The Packers then won Super Bowl II with a 33-14 victory over the Oakland Raiders. Lombardi became the General Manager of the Packers in 1968, and Phil Bengtson was named as Head Coach. Lombardi left Green Bay in 1969, and was named Head Coach of the Washington Redskins.
After the death of Vince Lombardi in September 1970, the Super Bowl trophy was renamed the Vince Lombardi Trophy, in recognition of his, and his team's, accomplishments. The road that goes by Lambeau Field, which is also one of Green Bay's major thoroughfares, was named Lombardi Avenue in honor of the coach.

1968-1991
For about a quarter century after Lombardi left the Packers, they had comparatively little success compared to the 1960s. In the 24 seasons from 1968 to 1991, the Packers had only five seasons with a winning record (above .500), one being the shortened 1982 strike season. They appeared in the playoffs twice during that period, with a record of 1-2. The period saw five different head coaches - Phil Bengtson, Dan Devine, Bart Starr, Forrest Gregg, and Lindy Infante - two of which were former Packer players in Lombardi's era (Starr and Gregg), and one of which was a former coach (Bengtson). Examples of poor draft choices shaping seasons are often mentioned in the context of this time period. Examples include the 1974 draft, in which coach Dan Devine sent five draft picks (two first-rounders, two second-rounders and a third) to the Los Angeles Rams for aging quarterback John Hadl who would spend only 1 1/2 seasons in Green Bay. Another came in 1989, when players such as Barry Sanders, Deion Sanders, and Derrick Thomas were available, and the Packers chose offensive lineman Tony Mandarich. Though rated highly by nearly every professional scout at the time, Mandarich's performance failed to meet expectations. ESPN has rated Mandarich as the third "biggest sports flop" in the last 25 years.

1992-2005
The Packers' performance throughout the 1970s, 1980s, and early 1990s led to a shakeup in which new General Manager Ron Wolf was hired to take over full control of the team's football operations during the 1991 season. In 1992, Wolf hired San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator Mike Holmgren to be the Packers' new head coach.
Soon after hiring Holmgren, Wolf acquired quarterback Brett Favre from the Atlanta Falcons for a first-round pick. Favre got the Packers' their first win of the 1992 season, stepping in for injured quarterback Don Majkowski and leading the Packers to a comeback win over the Cincinnati Bengals. Favre started the following week with a win against the Pittsburgh Steelers, and has not missed a start since. He has started 271 consecutive games (including playoffs), which is an NFL record for a quarterback.
The Packers had a 9-7 record in 1992, and began to turn heads around the league when they signed perhaps the most prized free agent in NFL history in Reggie White on the defense. White believed that Wolf, Holmgren, and Favre had the team heading in the right direction with a "total commitment to winning." With White on board the Packers made it to the second round of the playoffs during both the 1993 and 1994 seasons. In 1995, the Packers won the NFC Central Division championship for the first time since 1972. After a home playoff 37-20 win against Atlanta, the Packers defeated the defending Super Bowl champion San Francisco 49ers 27-17 on the road to advance to the NFC Championship Game, where they lost to the Dallas Cowboys 38-27.
In 1996 the Packers' turnaround was complete. The team posted a league-best 13-3 record in the regular season, dominating the competition and securing home field advantage throughout the playoffs. After relatively easy wins against the 49ers (35-14) and Carolina Panthers (30-13) in the playoffs, the Packers advanced to the Super Bowl for the first time in 29 years. In Super Bowl XXXI Green Bay defeated the New England Patriots 35-21 to win their 12th world championship, which is still an NFL record. A 2007 panel of football experts at ESPN ranked the 1996 Packers the 6th-greatest team to ever play in the Super Bowl.
The following year the Packers won their second consecutive NFC championship, returning to the Super Bowl as an 11 1/2 point favorite, defeating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 21-7 and San Francisco 49ers 23-10 in the playoffs. The Packers ended up losing to John Elway and the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXXII, by the score of 31-24.
In 1998 the Packers went 11-5 and were eliminated in the first-round of the playoffs by the San Francisco 49ers, the team Green Bay had beaten in the playoffs the previous three seasons. This game turned out to be the end of an era, as Mike Holmgren would leave the team days later to become Vice President, General Manager and Head Coach of the Seattle Seahawks. Much of Holmgren's coaching staff went with him. Reggie White also retired after the season (but later played one season for the Carolina Panthers in 2000), and the team struggled for an identity after the departure of so many of the individuals who were responsible for their Super Bowl run. In 2001, Ron Wolf also retired. Packers' President Bob Harlan credited Wolf, Holmgren, Favre, and White for ultimately changing the fortunes of the organization and turning the Green Bay Packers into a model NFL franchise.
The Packers had never lost a home playoff game since the NFL instituted a postseason in 1933. They were 13-0 -- 11 of the wins coming at Lambeau and two more in Milwaukee. That ended January 4, 2002, when the Atlanta Falcons defeated the Packers 27-7 in an NFC Wild Card game.

2006-present
Green Bay Packers released Mike Sherman after the 2005 season, because of having the Packers going 4-12. They went on the hunt soon after, and picked up Mike McCarthy, the former offensive coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers. He was also the former quarterbacks coach for the Packers in 1999.
After missing the playoffs in 2006, Brett Favre announced that he would return for the 2007 season. Favre and a young squad led the Packers back to the postseason after a 13-3 regular season finish. In the divisional playoffs, Green Bay defeated the Seattle Seahawks by a score of 42-20 in a snowy game at Lambeau Field.
On January 20th 2008, Green Bay appeared in their first NFC Championship Game in 10 years facing the New York Giants in Green Bay. This would also mark the final game of Brett Favre's career. The game was lost 23-20 on an overtime field goal by Lawrence Tynes. The sudden death kick was set-up by a Corey Webster interception, the final pass of Favre's career. Favre's last completed pass was a 5 yard toss to Donald Lee with 2:36 remaining in the 4th quarter.
Mike McCarthy coached NFC team during the 2008 Pro Bowl in Hawaii. Al Harris and Aaron Kampman were also picked to play for the NFC Pro Bowl team as starters. Donald Driver, and Chad Clifton were scheduled to play as reserves as well. Brett Favre was scheduled to be in the Pro Bowl, but he was replaced by Tampa Bay Buccaneers' quarterback Jeff Garcia.
In December 2007, Ted Thompson was signed to a 5-year contract with the Packers, while it was announced on February 5, 2008 that head coach Mike McCarthy has signed a 5-year contract with the Packers organization as well.
On March 4th, 2008, Brett Favre announced his retirement, but has since then said that he would leave the doors open in case Aaron Rodgers suffered an injury.

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