Posted on 02/06/2011 8:37:38 AM PST by UB355
By Wright Thompson ESPN.com The house on Sunset Circle looks simple. Four bedrooms. A dining room, a living room, a kitchen, a den. When Lombardi built it, because coaches weren't paid like they are today, it was what he and his wife, Marie, could afford. GREEN BAY, Wis. -- A minor religion has sprung up around the modest brick house at 667 Sunset Circle. It has nothing to do with the family that's lived there for the past four decades, and little to do with the football coach who lived there before them, at least not with the actual man. That doesn't matter. Religions have always been more about faith than facts, and so pilgrims have driven past since the Gehrings first bought the house in 1969, slowing to genuflect as they approach, sometimes stopping to plead for a tour of this holy place.
(Excerpt) Read more at sports.espn.go.com ...
I’ve never forgiven him for the post-SB I arrogant comments.
When you stand on the front porch, you’re compelled to yell, “What the Hell is going on out here....?”
I, too, would like to know what he said.
I remember reading that coaches weren't allowed to "coach" during the game. Everything had to be called by the players on the field. Substitutes weren't allowed to communicate until after a play... Sorta like tennis is now.
I think he said something like:
“I’m not going to Disneyland.Bite me.”
I remember back in the very early 70’s, I was a Radio Shack store manager. We were hauled into the District office periodically for “training” seminars. One such seminar consisted of watching a motivational film starring none other than Vince Lombardi. As a fellow paisan, I paid attention.
The gist of what Lombardi said has stayed with me. Aside from the well known - Winning is everything - he also stated that he never lost a game. He just ran out of time. The implications of this, for me, is that there is ALWAYS hope. ALWAYS a chance to come back. Never give up. NEVER.
It is really the story of a whole generation of Americana.
Very interesting insight. Feet of clay...
Vince Lombardi was from and is buried here in my hometown, Middletown NJ.
All that effort, just to get you to sell more batteries?
Back in those days, we gave most customers a Free Battery Card - good for 1 free battery a month. Not sure if this is still around. Lombardi was more interested in getting us to “Make the Sale” regardless of any conditions to the contrary...
Took me awhile to find it, but as a proud Chiefs fan, this wasn’t an exercise in sportsmanship:
Lombardi declined to answer. He just kept his grin.
He was asked again.
This time he unloaded his pent-up emotions.
“This is an NFL ball,” he said through his teeth. “And it kicks a little bit better, it throws a little bit better and it catches a little bit better.
“Their defensive backs are weak, weaker than I thought they would be. That’s where we beat them. They also didn’t have enough depth.”
Lombardi tried to stop himself there, but we egged him on.
“I don’t think Kansas City compares with the top teams in the NFL,” Lombardi went on. “Dallas is a better team.”
Lombardi looked at us with satisfaction. There were 10 of us, or so, around him a semi-circle.
“There, dammit,” he said, “you made me say it.
“Now I’ve said it.”
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