No, I didn't misspell 'glory'.

Have you ever fallen asleep wishing you could have last night's nightmare all over again? Check this out. My god, what a long, unbroken string of catastophies the 70's and 80's were for the Packers.

How did any of us fans survive with our green-and-gold glasses intact? Are Packer fans like crocodiles, just too stupid, mean or stubborn to bow to the will of Darwinism and accept our own extinction? Amazing that we're not all rooting for the Steelers and Cowboys.

I used to think that we were all spoiled by the success we've had since 1993. Now I'm starting to remember how well-earned all that karma is.

That's was an interesting read, thanx for posting.

And before any Queen fans chime in...

Good site - painful, but good. These were the GBP teams I grew up with - I was born in 1972, so as a kid I just knew every year GB would be lousy, and never really had the exposure necessary to even internalize what it would be like to be a legitimate contender. I always sort of thought that the playoffs were for teams other than GB. For those of us who lived/suffered through that time, I guess it did pay some benefit during a year like 2005, when I was OK with taking it on the chin for a year or two for the greater good, as I grew up with 20 years just like 2005 in a row, other than the fluky 1982 and 1989 seasons. A site like this should be shown to GBP fans who were either born too late to experience this misery or those who 'became' GBP fans in the early 90's for some other reason, as it provides valuable perspective.

I have some fond memories of the early '80s Packers, actually. The 48-47 and 50-48 games that characterized a couple of those 8-8 years. The playoff games in the strike year, both the win and then the high-scoring loss in Dallas. The time we sent Dickey, Lofton, Jefferson and Coffman to the Pro Bowl.

I guess because annual expectations were lower, my standards for happiness were lower. Plus I was a starry-eyed kid with no grasp of what it was like for my team to win a championship, so I didn't expect it or feel bad when it didn't happen.

6. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 14, Packers 14 -- Oct. 12, 1980 - The Packers had 569 yards of total offense compared to 262 for the Buccaneers, but they could only muster 14 points and settled for a tie. Tom Birney, signed just four days earlier, missed a 24-yard field goal attempt at the end of regulation time and a 36-yard try at the end of overtime. "As a Christian, I have peace within me," Birney explained in the locker room. "I am disappointed for my teammates, though. But I thank God for the good things and I also thank Him for the bad. I thank Him for this, too."

The 70's were worse than the 80's. There were 5 seasons in the 80's where we finished at .500 or better. Other teams have had worse seasons in the 80's and 90's. And those teams with Dickey, Cauffman, Jefferson, Lofton and even Ellis were pretty exciting to watch. The worst part however was always late in the season when they needed 1 more win to clinch a playoff spot and would then lose to the Lions or Vikings or some other team they should have beat. That was painful but the overall seasons weren't that bad.

quote:

Originally posted by Brak:
6. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 14, Packers 14 -- Oct. 12, 1980 - The Packers had 569 yards of total offense compared to 262 for the Buccaneers, but they could only muster 14 points and settled for a tie. Tom Birney, signed just four days earlier, missed a 24-yard field goal attempt at the end of regulation time and a 36-yard try at the end of overtime. "As a Christian, I have peace within me," Birney explained in the locker room. "I am disappointed for my teammates, though. But I thank God for the good things and I also thank Him for the bad. I thank Him for this, too."

Yea I remember those days well (born in 52). Really, really wanted Bart Starr to do well as a HC, then Forrest Gregg after that. But alas, for whatever reason it just did not get done. I was one of those at the time in favor of giving Bart 1 more year to git-r-done. Oh Well

Back in those days every win was to be cherished, because there were not alot of them.

quote:

Originally posted by Since69:
How did any of us fans survive with our green-and-gold glasses intact?

It was easy for me. I lived out of state.

No Internet or NFL ticket back then.

You know, that was a brutal read. I had almost forgotten how dismal things were.

And I have no recollection of this clown:

The draft pick from hell - Perhaps there was no way of knowing how much of a character risk Randy Woodfield was before the
1974 draft, but he was a time bomb of the worst kind. A wide receiver from Portland State, he was selected by former coach Dan
Devine in the 17th and final round that year. Today, he is serving a life sentence plus 165 years in the Oregon State Penitentiary in
Salem, Ore. He was tried in two separate cases in 1981 and found guilty of murder, attempted murder, five sodomy charges and a
firearms charge. One of Oregon's most notorious criminals, Woodfield was known as the "I-5 Bandit" and suspected of 16
murders and 104 rapes, robberies and sodomies. Woodfield was released by the Packers in training camp but hooked on with
the semi-pro Manitowoc Chiefs. Before he was drafted, he was twice convicted of indecent exposure. Crushed over his release by
the Packers, Woodfield boasted about his tryout and saved everything from a helmet to all his correspondence from the brief time
he spent with the team. The Volkswagen bug that Woodfield used to cruise the interstate highway with between California and
Washington during his crime sprees even sported a Packers decal.

quote:

Originally posted by RoyalWulff:

You know, that was a brutal read. I had almost forgotten how dismal things were.

And I have no recollection of this clown:

The draft pick from hell - Perhaps there was no way of knowing how much of a character risk Randy Woodfield was before the 1974 draft, but he was a time bomb of the worst kind.

Hey, it was the 17th round. Why not take a "flyer" on the guy?

The Forrest Gregg era is the most befuddling to me. Those teams were just as bad on offense and defense as the were with character issues. How the guy took Cincy to the Super Bowl I will never know.

quote:

Originally posted by chickenboy:

quote:

Originally posted by RoyalWulff:

You know, that was a brutal read. I had almost forgotten how dismal things were.

And I have no recollection of this clown:

The draft pick from hell - Perhaps there was no way of knowing how much of a character risk Randy Woodfield was before the 1974 draft, but he was a time bomb of the worst kind.

Hey, it was the 17th round. Why not take a "flyer" on the guy?

I guess the bigger question is, "how did this guy get away from the Raiders
and Cowboys?"

quote:

From the article:
That reality was underscored by the fact the Packers would have just two winning seasons (1978 and '82) between the time Devine left Green Bay in 1974 and Mike Holmgren arrived in 1992.

Doesn't 10-6 in 1989 count as a winning year?

I think this has been posted here before. I seem to remember the same mistake.

It's funny, but even in the worst of worst days, I always found something to be hopeful for in the Packers. Probably the lowest point since I've been watching the Packers (started watching the '78 season) was the 1986 season. The team was horrible, Mossy Cade raped his Aunt, James Lofton had to be traded due to backlash over 2 sexual assault charges (which he was acquitted of both). And Forrest Gregg pretty much just gutted the team that year.

Even that year, I found some things to be hopeful for. I still loved watching Packer football as bad as it was then. It took until 1989 until there was REALLY something to cheer about. And then the progress made in '89 was wiped out the next year when Majkowski hurt his shoulder. And then in 1992... well you know the rest of the story.

Talk about a wailing wall.

Can you say "20-20 hindsight"? "The Kramer Family" (whoever they are) surely can. They're whining about guys who never made the team, and then years later they got into trouble. Well, bad on those guys but what the heck do the Packers have to do with it?

The past 15 years or so haven't been perfect either. However about the disasterous decision by Wolf to hire Mike Sherman? Then the even more disasterous decision by Harlan make that clown the GM as well. That set the team back about 7 years and I submit that it was worse than the hiring of Devine or Gregg or Infante.

How about trading Matt Hasselbeck and first-rounder to get Jamal Reynolds? That right there is worth a couple of Bruce Clark's.

Ah yes the Gory Years. Here are a few of my "favorite" memories of that era:

1. One memory that sticks out to me more than any other was the Bart Starr show. I can remember one show the day after the Packers had really gotten smoked, quite possibly the day after the Packers lost to the Bears by something like 60-7. We are watching the Starr show and the only thing positive he could come up with was how high the Packers punter kicked the ball that day.
2. Fran Tarkenton scrambling around for something like 5 minutes and completing a big pass in the 10-10 tie in 78 I think.
3. Bart's brilliant idea of sending old creaky Lynn Dickey on a QB sneak to ice the game. He gets stuffed and yep they lost.
4. Young Heckler crying because his Mom bought him a Packer hat with that big old yarn tassle on the top. I was crying because I knew the kids would pick on me for wearing it.
5. The Hadl trade. I was pretty young when it happened but I thought all of NE Wisconsin wanted a piece of Devine that day.

Thanks for the link. It should be required reading for every Packer fan to read at least 4 times a year. Because no matter how bad things you may think things are you can always be reminded they aint that bad.

quote:

Originally posted by southOfTheLine:
Talk about a wailing wall.

Can you say "20-20 hindsight"? "The Kramer Family" (whoever they are) surely can. They're whining about guys who never made the team, and then years later they got into trouble. Well, bad on those guys but what the heck do the Packers have to do with it?

The past 15 years or so haven't been perfect either. However about the disasterous decision by Wolf to hire Mike Sherman? Then the even more disasterous decision by Harlan make that clown the GM as well. That set the team back about 7 years and I submit that it was worse than the hiring of Devine or Gregg or Infante.

How about trading Matt Hasselbeck and first-rounder to get Jamal Reynolds? That right there is worth a couple of Bruce Clark's.

How old are you? Nothing comes close to Devine in terms of damaging the Packers. Sherman was not good as a GM, OK as a coach, but to say hiring him as the GM set us back 7 years doesn't really make much sense. He was the coach three seasons ago, and GM four seasons ago. We hosted the NFC Championship game one season ago. You can submit it all you want, but nothing approaches the damage that Devine did to this franchise.

Remember what a great season 1989 was? The come from behind wins of the Cardiac Pack! The bears still suck game. Beating the niners in San Fran was exceptionally special for me. All the hope that we had at the start of every season finally came true that year. The maybe this is going to be the year optimism that was September, and progressed to the drunken we're going to do it next year. The bloodbaths between the Pack and bears in the eighties were always something to get excited for. Living in Platteville at the time and personally knowing what a complete ahole MacMahon was, I took great joy in watching Charles Martin giving pinkeyes what he deserved. Of course, some of that may have been fueled by imbibing in copious amounts of alcohol, that and placing blame on what happened to Tim Lewis on the bears as well. It always seemed as Lynn Dickey was the best quarterback between the twenties, but the red zone offense always came up short. I remember hope in the eighties, that turned into expectations in the nineties. Maybe it was youth, but hope seemed a lot more fun than expectations, at least after the superbowl win. You knew the true fans in the eighties because they wore their gear regardless of the outcome. The nineties there was a lot of Packer gear around, but a lot of the people that wore the bears gear in the eighties in Platteville, were all of a sudden Packer fans, especially after a win

This year with a new quarterback, the maybe feel is coming back a little. Uncertainty may be a good thing. It will help the kids from the seventies and eighties remember the joy of winning a game as an underdog, the little guy beating the evil empire. It may actually be really fun going into the unknown.

quote:

Originally posted by PackOly:
Remember what a great season 1989 was?

this always comes up but i still say, i had my greatest time being a packer fan that season. my first year in college, the cardiac pack, tha majik man...great fun.

quote:

Originally posted by Brak:

quote:

Originally posted by southOfTheLine:
Talk about a wailing wall.

Can you say "20-20 hindsight"? "The Kramer Family" (whoever they are) surely can. They're whining about guys who never made the team, and then years later they got into trouble. Well, bad on those guys but what the heck do the Packers have to do with it?

The past 15 years or so haven't been perfect either. However about the disasterous decision by Wolf to hire Mike Sherman? Then the even more disasterous decision by Harlan make that clown the GM as well. That set the team back about 7 years and I submit that it was worse than the hiring of Devine or Gregg or Infante.

How about trading Matt Hasselbeck and first-rounder to get Jamal Reynolds? That right there is worth a couple of Bruce Clark's.

How old are you?

I'm going with a birth date of 1988.

My first year following the Pack was 1978, and that was a truly memorable season. It didn't end well, but those first few months were amazing.

As for Bruce Clark, he wasn't a bad pick. The guy was a tremendous college player who went to a Pro Bowl with the Saints. The fact that he preferred to play in Canada rather than Green Bay says a lot about the state of the franchise in the 70s and 80s.

Lynn Dickey, Coffman, Lofton, Jefferson. It was a wild time knowing that it was gonna be a shoot-out every week. The run of 8-8 seasons. It was fun and frustrating growing up with that version of the Packers. My brothers favorite player at the time, and still one of his all time favorite's was "Mad-Dog" Mike Douglas.
We used to go to a lot of the County Stadium games. Even got a ball Jan Stenerud kicked for a PAT. As disappointing as a lot of those seasons were growing up, I remember very few of the bad parts.