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"Last Day At Lambeau" premiered on April 18 at the 2012 Wisconsin Film Festival in Madison, WI

It’s been nearly four years, but the memories came rushing back like they were yesterday.

That sums up what was going through my head while viewing “Last Day At Lambeau” at the Wisconsin Film Festival on April 18 at Monona Terrace in Madison. It’s a film I honestly have been looking forward to seeing since the first teaser hit the internet months ago.

To give a brief synopsis of the film, it documents the fall of Brett Favre through the eyes of a Packer fan. Director Michael Neelsen grew up in Wisconsin and was raised a Packer fan and idolized Favre like so many Wisconsin youth at the time. It’s this same personal attachment to Favre that the director had that makes the film so powerful.

The film truly had it all. At the beginning, brief highlights of Favre’s time as a Packer are shown and then the film delves right into Favre’s final game at Lambeau as a member of the Packers—the 2008 NFC Championship Game against the New York Giants.  Read more... (2200 words + 1 image, estimated 8:48 mins reading time)

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“I’m convinced the articles I’ve seen like this are written by guys who have no actually gone through the trade value charts.  The Packers are going to be in a tough spot trying to trade up and will have to really overpay in number of selections to do it.”  

- Jeremy, April 14^th, 2012 12:27; in reference to the Packers trading picks to move back up into the 1^st.

Challenge accepted!

1. Would you believe me that overall, Ted Thompson isn’t very good at trading draft picks?
2. Would you believe that Ted Thompson has been suckered in by other teams that have called and accepted less than he originally had?
3. Would you believe that the single biggest mistake Ted Thompson has made on draft day was trading up for Clay Matthews III?

You’d think I was full of it, but its all true.

In reality, the trade value chart has become a staple of NFL draft fandom.  Some people swear by it while other people think its stupid to put a number on talent or potential.   But should we trust the chart and perhaps more importantly, does the chart make any sense in the modern era of football?  Read more... (1833 words + 2 images, estimated 7:20 mins reading time)

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Last Day at Lambeau Premieres April 18, 2012, Wisconsin Film Festival

The man’s been retired for over a full year now and yet we can’t stop talking about him.

I speak, of course, of one Brett Lorenzo Favre.  With him finally (hopefully) settled into his post-football life, most would think eventually he’d fade from the spotlight.

That hasn’t been the case.  He was rumored multiple times this past season as a mid-season replacement for an injured starter whether it was in Houston, Kansas City or Miami.  Whether not he is officially on Twitter has even become a hot point for debate.  It seems like there is no escaping Favre even when he isn’t (supposedly) actively seeking the spotlight.

Which brings me to filmmaker Michael Neelsen’s new film “Last Day at Lambeau.”  The film chronicles Favre’s divorce from the Green Bay Packers and its aftermath, and it is currently a topic of discussion amongst Packer fans all over the internet.

Our own Al Bracco received an advance copy of the film and already shared his thoughts.  I have yet to see the film, but I will be attending its ‘world premiere’ this Wednesday at the Wisconsin Film Festival on the UW campus in Madison.  Read more... (1476 words + 1 image, estimated 5:54 mins reading time)

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Last Day at Lambeau Premieres April 18, 2012, Wisconsin Film Festival

When I first heard about the film project called “Last Day at Lambeau,” my initial reaction was, WHY? Why re-open Packers fans’ wounds when the scars have been healing so nicely? After watching the film, I learned the answer to that question (but we’ll get to that a bit later).

I received an advance press copy of the film in the mail last week. I resisted the temptation to watch it right away, instead deciding to wait for the weekend, when I would have more time to devote to it and watch it more than once, if needed (I watched it twice).

Saturday night came along and the time to watch had arrived. I popped the DVD into my DVD player with a certain level of trepidation. I didn’t really need to go back there, and was sure I knew everything there was to know about the events of that offseason.  I was wrong on both counts.

The name of the film is quite catchy, but doesn’t give the film justice, as this documentary covers the entire period from Favre’s last game as a Packer to his last season with the Vikings (specifically, his final game at Lambeau).  Read more... (947 words + 1 image, estimated 3:47 mins reading time)

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Packers WR Donald Driver might be a cut Ted Thompson makes this offseason. (Photo: Getty images)

It didn’t take long into Ted Thompson’s reign as Green Bay Packers GM for the unwavering 52-year-old to firmly establish that football moves under his direction would be made without the cling of emotion, void of any sentimental feelings that could effect a given decision one way or the other.

Among Thompson’s first moves as GM in 2005 were the releasing of guard Mike Wahle and safety Darren Sharper and declining to re-sign guard Marco Rivera, three players that were stalwarts for Packers teams that had won consecutive NFC North titles from 2002-04. Despite their undisputed contributions, each was shown the door both because of age and Thompson’s need to manage the Packers’ out of control salary cap.

Wahle was 28 years old and had played in 103 straight games when Thompson released him, but the move saved over $11 million in cap space. Axing Sharper, a 29-year-old All-Pro safety, saved another $4.3 million. Rivera went on to sign a five-year, $20 million contract with the Cowboys after Thompson let him walk at the age of 32.  Read more... (1236 words + 1 image, estimated 4:57 mins reading time)

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It’s not exactly the hair of the dog that bit you, but maybe a jog down memory lane will help us cure our “Super Bowl expectations that feel short” hangover that we have all been experiencing since the Green Bay Packers’ season ended three weeks ago.

There have been a lot of memorable moments in the five Super Bowls the Packers have played in, so narrowing the list to five moments was a daunting task.  This is by no means a definitive list, so you may have something else in mind. That’s fine. This was meant to be a fun post, not necessarily one for totally serious debate.

Keep in mind I am 28, so Super Bowls XXXI and XLV will be fresh in my head.  I have seen highlights of the first two Super Bowls but never viewed them in their entirety.

That said, here’s my top five:

5. Max McGee’s performance in Super Bowl I

Paul Hornung went down and McGee came in. Problem is McGee was hungover.

Thinking he wasn’t going to play much, McGee skipped curfew the night before the game and went out drinking. Personally, I would not have between so stupid with Lombardi around but it is what it is I guess.  Read more... (736 words, estimated 2:57 mins reading time)

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For a younger generation of Green Bay Packers fans, Wayne Larrivee is the only man they know as the voice of Packers.

For everyone else, Jim Irwin is the play-by-play broadcaster who, from 1969 to 1998, helped place the Packers Radio Network among the best in the NFL.

And after a year-long battle with kidney cancer, the Hall of Fame announcer died Sunday at the age of 77.

His voice extended throughout Wisconsin, as Irwin was also the play-by-play for University of Wisconsin football and Milwaukee Bucks basketball.  But it was the voice he provided for Packers games that will be forever remembered for generations of Packers fans, both in good times and bad.

Irwin became the Packers play-by-play man after six years as a color commentator. From 1975 to ’98, Irwin became the voice that Packers fans routinely chose over television broadcasts. Teamed with personalties such as Lionel Aldridge, Max McGee and Larry McCarren, Irwin was the man that called so many memorable moments in Wisconsin history before retiring in 1998.

He was inducted into the Packers Hall of Fame in 2003.

Here is his Super Bowl XXXI call of Brett Favre’s first touchdown pass to Andre Rison:  Read more... (284 words + 1 image, estimated 1:08 mins reading time)

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