"Hey kid, why are staring at me? I mean I know we just won the first Superbowl so it is ok if you are excited."
"But not that excited."
"Put that away. You don't want to Howard Cosell in front of the TV where your mom can catch you."
"Not that it is wrong you know. I mean that's why the Giants got rid of Coach Lombardi and Tom Landry when they caught them doing that in the locker room. But I just don't want to see that."
"What's your name? Garage? What kind of fuckin' name is that? Jeeez. I am gonna call you Fuzzy. You know why."
"Now cut that out and go study if you want to earn six figures someday."
12 comments:
lol
I missed the six-figures thing. I heard others bring it up here.
I'm sort of starting to like garage.
Brett Favre's back in uniform, and the Vikings would like people to know that he really wants to win another Superbowl, so all you other teams, don't hit him, please, 'cause he's old. To sum up, you can tackle everyone else, except for Favre. Because he's old, and he wants to win the Superbowl.
Oh my, Ray Nitschke. Number 66 is one of only five numbers that the Green Bay Packers have retired.
I watched Nitschke play when I was a kid. Man, he was a tough guy on the field. Fearless. Played with frostbitten feet. Played three days after an appendectomy. Prowled the backfield, snarling, growling, waiting for a runner to dare trying to pass him.
He was a quiet, gentle, unassuming guy off the field. He lived in a 1,200 square foot home; had his number listed in the phone book so people could call him. He and his wife adopted mentally challenged kids, and spent a great deal of their income founding and building Green Bay's first women's shelter.
If you were polite, you could knock on Ray's front door and he'd invite you inside. He was gracious and open. He served the same thing to visitors as he did at house parties - Dr. Pepper and popcorn.
I'm getting a bit teary eyed as I write this.
Nitschke was a true hero. He played hard, he treated others respectfully. He would never fail stop to give an autograph to a kid, no matter the circumstances.
And it wasn't just an autograph - Ray would talk to each kid about school, grades, living a good life, being honest and honorable. And he'd listen to whatever the kid might want to talk about. He'd do this for hours on end, especially after games.
I had the honor of meeting Mike Ditka a couple of years ago. I stopped for a cocktail at Ditka's Bar in Chicago on a quiet Tuesday. I was the only one at the bar and Ditka came over to shake my hand.
He asked where I was from; I told him Wisconsin. He asked if I was a Packer fan, I told him I was, especially the Glory Years teams.
He sat down and started talking about the games his Bears played against the Packers, and the players he played against. Nitschke's name came up and Ditka said Nitschke was the best player he'd ever watched, period, and that none of today's chest-beating players could hold a candle to Ray Nitschke.
Ray Nitschke is in the Green Bay packers hall of Fame and the NFL Hall of Fame. He was named to the NFL's 50th and 75th Anniversary All-Time Teams. he was listed as number 18 on Sporting News list of 100 Greatest Football Players.
Ray Nitschke delivered the luncheon speech at the NFL Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony every year, beginning the year after he was inducted up to the year of his death. That ceremony is now named the Nitschke Luncheon.
The Green Bay Packers practice field is named the Ray Nitschke Practice Field.
Ray died of a heart attack in 1998 at age 61.
I'm sort of starting to like garage.
Politics aside, I'm starting to think garage is my stunt double.
Wasn't Nitschke the guy who went insane before he died and also went around saying that Paul is dead"?
Am I getting him cornfused with somebody else?
El Pollo - You may be thinking of Lionel Aldridge, a GBP glory years player who had terrible bouts of schizophrenia after his career ended. Story.
Aldridge died in 1998. NYT Article.
What a great story, Michael.
Wasn't Nitschke the guy who went insane before he died and also went around saying that Paul is dead"?
Still laughing as I cut and paste.
Love it Troop. Thanks for this.
BTW, El Pollo and Windbag, I did get the allusion to Nietzsche saying that God was dead.
I didn't want to get off the Packers groove I was on.
@Haz
That was a wonderful remembrance of Ray Nitschke. I certainly wasn't trying to harsh your mellow.
I didn't want to get off the Packers groove I was on.
In your original reply to me you provided even more information, which just proves how groovy are.
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