The Green Bay Packers have been playing professional football in the city since 1919, and in that time have become one of the most legendary dynasties in all of sports. Founded on two men’s shared idea – George Calhoun and Curly Lambeau actually first tossed the idea around on a street corner before deciding to pursue it – the Packers began from somewhat humble origins. In fact, the team’s owners had to solicit money from Curly’s bosses at the Indian Packers Company just to purchase uniform jerseys. And though the team played their first games soon thereafter, and even sought an NFL franchise, it was not until 1922 that Lambeau was finally able to secure the team’s future rights to NFL membership with an investment of two hundred and fifty dollars.

Building a dynasty
The Packers have definitely earned the right for the city of Green Bay to be called Titletown. With twelve National Football League titles to its credit, the franchise has established itself as a dynasty. Throughout the thirties, the sixties, and again in the nineties, the “Pack” demonstrated the pride of a championship unit. Still, the mightiest Packers dynasty of them all was without a doubt the one that Vince Lombardi built in the decade of the 1960s.

Restoring the glory
Lombardi inherited anything but a cohesive and productive football team when he took over as Coach in 1959. In fact, the team won only one of twelve games in 1958. Lombardi, who was hired away from his assistant’s role with the Giants, wasted no time or effort in changing the tone and tenor of the team’s approach to the game. The results were dramatic, as the 1959 Packers had a seven-win season, followed by their 1960 appearance in the western championship game against Philadelphia. Though they lost that 1960 postseason contest, the stage was set for the team to win titles in 1961 and again in 1962. Then in 1965, the team began a championship run that lasted for three years and three titles – two of which were the first two official Super Bowl contests.

The ultimate football dynasty
From 1960 until Lombardi left in 1967, his Packers never finished in a position lower that second in their division. At the time considered the team to beat each season, the Lombardi Packers’ five titles over a span of seven years proved that belief to be quite accurate. Lombardi had brought an efficient system of discipline to the team that enabled his players to win ninety-eight of their one hundred and thirty-two games during a nine year run that still ranks among the best all-time. That record pales in comparison to Lombardi’s Packers success during the postseason: out of ten games played, the Packers lost only the first postseason matchup in 1960.

The real Lombardi
Lombardi has come to be known as a great innovator, and there is some truth in that. He is also remembered as the man who once said that nothing mattered but winning, which leads many to believe that he and his teams won games with that premise in mind. His real goals were always reached through a much more easily understood methodology: preparation. The Packer Sweep option, for instance, was consistently emphasized in practice to the point where the team executed it so perfectly that even teams that were anticipating the Sweep could do little to stop it.

Author Bio: Ivan Jamison is a big sports fan. You can check out his Green bay Packers Watch or his Philadelphia Phillies Watch or his Atlanta Braves Watch

Category: Sports
Keywords: Green Bay Packers