Early November 1988 - almost exactly 24 years ago today. It was Saturday night and we were warming up for our second round playoff game against Clifton Central, a very good 9-1 team. We were 10-0 and had just won our first round playoff game the previous Wednesday night, 20-0 against University High School from Normal. Yep, we had just played Wednesday night and here we were on Saturday playing again. That's how we did it in the early days here in Illinois. In order to get a 32 team bracket decided by Thanksgiving, we had to play two games the first week. (It has since changed) Wednesday night had been a beautiful night for football. Forty-five degrees at game time with no wind. You could see your breath and it just hung in the air. Perfect! Now, just three days later it was completely different.
It was 35 degrees with a stiff 25 mph wind blowing out of the northwest. The precipitation was going from a freezing rain to sleet, to snow flurries, then back to sleet. It was cold and miserable. OK, you guys from North Dakota, Wisconsin, and Minnesota have better stories but believe me, it was cold. The wind and sleet was making it numbingly cold. I remember our guys jogging out of the locker room and most of them were bare armed. No under armour, it hadn't been invented yet, no sweatshirts under the jerseys, just t shirts and short sleeved jerseys. The guys obviously wanted to show how tough they were and that the weather didn't bother them. Well, I was bundled up. It was going to be my job that night to be the coach in the pressbox on the walkie talkie. But I wasn't IN the pressbox, I was going to be on the roof. After warm ups I headed up to my post.
The football field sat right next to I-57. There was nothing to block the wind. Over my coat I also put on one of those old fashioned long parkas like the Packers used to wear in Green Bay. I don't remember much of what I told the coaches down on the field that night. All I remember is that we won a hard fought game that night 10-0. And I was cold. When the game was over I took off my parka and it stood up. My back had been against the wind and there was an inch thick coating of ice on my parka. That's why it stood on it's own. I wish I remembered more of the game but mostly I rember how cold it was on that pressbox just off the interstate. Cold and sleet coming down so hard it hurt. But you know what? It actually made a great memory. Now we look back and say, "Hey remember the Clifton game of '88? Man that was a miserable night but our guys toughed it out and won a battle.They were in short sleeves". Then we laugh. "Yeah and we had carry you down," they kid me.
Memories. When you coach long enough you have a lot of them. And even the bad memories are good. Like a frozen night on the press box. Chiefpigskin.com
I like the theatre and no, I'm not talking about the movies, although I like them too. I'm talking about the theatre, Broadway type play on the stage. And yes, I like musicals too, but that's another story. Anyway, about a year and half ago I first read about a play coming to Broadway called "Lombardi". Sports Illustrated wrote an article about it and included a small conversation between Vince Lombardi, Paul Hornung, and Jim Taylor when Lombardi was first hired for the head coaching job of the Green Bay Packers. The conversation was classic Lombardi and I knew right then I just had to see the play. Heck, I was tempted to drive out to New York City when it opened just to see it. Well, not really, but I thought about it. Once it opened I read nothing but great reviews. I figured eventually it would be in Chicago and I would go see it there.
Now it just so happened that my wife and I were headed up to Door County, Wisconsin to close up our daughter and son-in-law's cabin for the winter. Door County is an old fashioned tourist attraction area that covers the entire Wisconsin peninsula. We've always enjoyed spending some time there. There is an outstanding summer theatre there called Peninsula Players Theatre with very high quality stage. Guess what was playing? Yep, Lombardi. I told my wife, "We're going." When we got to Door County on Friday I bought tickets for Saturday night. Saturday night was cold and windy but we were dressed for it. The theatre is enclosed but it's still described as open air. It was very comfortable inside. The place was full by opening curtain (about 800) and you could sure tell we were in Packer country. Packer ball caps, stocking caps, jackets, sweatshirts - Packer apparel all over the place. These cheese heads love their Packers.
The play focuses on a week of Lombardi's life as he is being interviewed by a cub reporter from New York. There are flashbacks as well and we learn how Lombardi got the Green Bay job. I really enjoyed the play and would recommend it to any football coach and his wife. But you don't have to be a football guy to enjoy this play. My wife liked it and she's not exactly crazy about football. (She was a football widow for thirty years) It really shows how things have changed. Lombardi couldn't coach the pros today. He wasn't just old school, he was old, old school. I can just hear him now, shouting, "What the hell's goin' on out there?" when he sees all the dancing going on out there in the NFL today. But that's another story too.
If you get a chance, see it. Chiefpigskin.com
