Monday, January 27, 2014

Hawaii Five-Oh, My Eyes.

For anyone who still cares, the Pro Bowl was held yesterday at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii.

The teams were different this year; instead of AFC versus NFC, the players were tossed into one large pool and drafted, playground-style, to play on teams captained by (and named for) Hall of Famers Jerry Rice and Deion Sanders. Those two teams, shed of the traditional AFC Red and NFC Blue color schemes, were outfitted in neon superhero costumes from Nike.

It didn't help that the Packers had but one lone representative, running back Eddie Lacy.

He was certainly deserving of the general honor, shame that it had to be wrapped up in this clown suit.

To be honest, I can't remember which neon color was assigned to which team. Team Rice won the "game", although I don't have any idea if that was Lacy's team or not.

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

1934 Wadham's team photo

Well, the Packers have started their off-season a little early again. At least we can comfort ourselves by wallowing in the team's rich and glorious history.

This 1934 photo seems as a good place as any to start.

Back row:—Coach Lambeau, Jorgenson, Bultman, Kurth, Dilweg, Rose, Seibold, Peterson, Jones, Norgard, Asst. Coach Earpe.
Middle row:—Witte, Evans, Laws, Herber, Michalske, Goldenberg, Bruder, Schwammel, Perry.
Front row:—Monnett, Gantenbein, Barrager, Hinkle, Grove.
Beautiful team photo by Stiller, and I love the Art Deco numbers on each side.

The Packers are pictured in the plain blue jerseys they adopted in 1931; their first green jerseys were still four years in the future.

On the back, a schedule for the 1934 season and an ad for Wadham's Oil, a Milwaukee-based oil and gasoline company which at the time had over one hundred filling stations across Southeastern Wisconsin.

Wadham's sponsored "Sports Reports" on WTMJ in Milwaukee, covering news of the Packers and the American Association's Milwaukee Brewers baseball club.

1934 was not a great year for the Packers, who finished 7-6-0, third place behind the 13-0 Chicago Bears (who themselves went on to lose to the New York Giants in the second NFL Championship Game, now known as "The Sneakers Game". Scant consolation, I suspect, for fans of the Blues back in 1934.

Monday, January 6, 2014

Saying Goodbye to 2013

And that'll do it for another year.

San Francisco 49ers tight end Vernon Davis (85) can't hang on to the ball as Green Bay Packers strong safety Morgan Burnett (42) defends late in the fourth quarter of their Wild Card game at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, WI on January 5, 2014. The 49ers beat the Packers 23-20. (Todd Rosenberg/NFL)
The Packers' quest for a fourteenth World Championship ended on the Frozen Tundra last night, as the visiting 49ers did just enough to win.

Uniform-wise, it was another very good-looking game. San Francisco has a classic look that compliments the Packers'. Loads of Braisher stripes to go around (although the Niners don't have the "steroid stripe" problem).

Green Bay Packers fullback John Kuhn (30) dives into the end zone for a touchdown during the second half of an NFL wild-card playoff football game against the San Francisco 49ers, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2014, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Mike Roemer)
Despite Saturday's report, there were many bare arms on display at Lambeau Field.

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick (7) runs against Green Bay Packers inside linebacker Brad Jones (59) during the first half of an NFL wild-card playoff football game, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2014, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Mike Roemer)
One other interesting uniform note came up during this game:

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (12) scrambles during the first half of an NFL wild-card playoff football game against the San Francisco 49ers, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2014, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Mike Roemer)
Aaron Rodgers is in his fifth consecutive year as a team captain, which means he's the first Packer ever to wear the all-gold version the silly "C" patches introduced in 2009. Rodgers has been a captain in every game he's played this year, but the Packers only wear the patches in post-season play, so this is the first time we've seen the solid gold version in Green Bay. Makes me wonder what the NFL will come up with for sixth-year captains to wear.

Well, thanks again for another season. Tough loss to take, as I was holding out hope that I'd get to see the Packers in my local Super Bowl. But this is not our year.

I'll continue to be here throughout the playoffs and then the off-season. An end to 2013 still leaves us with nine decades of Packer glory to explore.

Saturday, January 4, 2014

"Considering Sleeves"?

Major uniform news for tomorrow's game. I just received this alert from my NFL Mobile app:

Guess it takes a polar vortex to make even the linemen feel the cold.

Thursday, January 2, 2014

49ers "Quest for Six" Wild Card Infographic

The 49ers have a very clever promotional campaign on Facebook right now. This is their look at this weekend's Wild Card game:

Nicely done.