Green Bay Press-Gazette from Green Bay, Wisconsin • Page 23

Sunday, January 25, 1998 Green Bay Press-Gazette C-3 1 1 7 Ex-Packers stars reaping benefits that all season. The Packers can combat Davis in other ways as well. They have running back Dorsey Levens, a rusher who could keep Davis and Elway off the field if he has a good day. And then there's Favre, the NFL's only three-time Most-Valuable Player who at age 28 is just entering his prime. He's certainly not infallible witness the Packers' loss at Detroit in Week 5 but he gives the Packers an edge every time they take the field because he's the game's best player at its most important position.

"Who do I think is going to win the game?" Angelo asked. "I think Green Bay, because of Favre's ability. But I do think if they don't pressure Elway, Denver has a good shot to win the game." Favre, in fact, has history on his mind. He's made it clear he wants to be remembered as the best quarterback ever, and he knows the best way to do that is by winning. He and the Packers are hopeful that today is not only the successful end to a season, but a second step in a championship run.

"I want to win as many Super Bowls as I can," he said. PACKERS From C-l presents a rarity during that run: The two best teams in the league are meeting in the final game of the season. The Broncos were 12-4 in the regular season, and they got to the Super Bowl the hard way, as a wildcard team that had to win twice on the road: In the AFC Divisional Playoffs at Kansas City, which is one of the hardest places in the NFL for visiting teams to win, and at Pittsburgh in the AFC Championship Game. The Broncos are the sentimental favorites because they have John Elway, a 15-year veteran who will go down as one of the best quarterbacks ever to play the game, but who has failed to win in his previous three Super Bowl appearances. Maybe more important to the outcome of the game than Elway is the Broncos' Terrell Davis, the best running back in the NFL outside of Detroit's Barry Sanders.

Davis gives the Broncos their best chance to win. If Denver can run against the Packers it can gain two key advantages: By controlling the ball, it can keep Packers quarterback Brett Favre off the field, and it can wear down the 352-pound Brown. "It's going to come down to how well Denver can run the football," said Jerry Angelo, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' respected director of player personnel. "That's going to be the key. I think they're going to be able to run the ball on Green Bay.

If they can't it's all irrelevant, because Favre's too good." The Packers' defense struggled against the run the first half of the season and finished the year ranked 20th in the NFL in rushing yards allowed per game and 23rd in yards allowed per rush. But they allowed just 90 yards per game in the last seven, which would have ranked third in the league if they had done i X. I "1 II JS i 4 I'm i By Tom Murphy Press-Gazette SAN DIEGO Only in Wisconsin, Paul Hornung said Saturday, could the heroes of yesteryear revel in the accomplishments of today's Green Bay Packers. "We want them to win for good reasons, obviously, because it was our team. But it benefits us personally, too, because there are some ex-Packers who don't realize all the benefits," Hornung said.

Hornung made his observations during a break in an autograph session. Other Packers in town for various appearances include Ray Nitschke and Bart Starr. "They want us back because of the success of today's Packers," Hornung said. "The Bears of their glory years are not going to harvest any benefits in southern Illinois like Ray (Nitschke) or Willie Wood." Hornung said Green Bay had many good players and some very good ones when he arrived as a rookie in 1957. There were plenty of egos getting in the way, too.

"For instance, there was Billy Howton, who was one of the greatest receivers of all time. But all he wanted to know was where HE stood in number of receptions and yards and that kind of stuff. "We just didn't know what we were doing until Vince (Lombardi) came along." Lombardi certainly gave Hornung a road map. The original "Slash," Hornung was a college quarterback but Lombardi moved him to halfback and let him throw the option pass. Hornung still holds the Packers single-season scoring record: 176 points in 1960 in 12 games.

"We went through the same thing with the legacy of Don Hutson and Tony (Canadeo)." Until Lombardi started raising championship banners at Lambeau Field, the Packers had been mired in mediocrity since the 1944 title won by Hutson Co. In 1960, just his second season, Lombardi put the Packers in the NFL Championship Game. They lost to the Eagles, but revisited the title game with a vengeance. The Packers took it all in 1961, '62 and '65. They also went beyond the NFL titles in 1966 and '67 to win Super Bowls I and II.

Holmgren, too, put the Packers in the playoffs in his second year. And he kept them there until they won Super Bowl XXXII and won the right to return for today's game. Bart Starr, quarterback for all of those 1960s championship teams, said the situation Holmgren inherited was similar. "They had some good players around, but it all started with the hiring of Ron Wolf who, in turn, hired Mike Holmgren," Starr said. "Then they built the solid foundation by acquiring Brett (Favre) and Reggie (White) and good drafting and free-agent signings." Starr was in San Diego to present the 10th annual Athletes In Action award to Irving Fryar of the Philadelphia Eagles and Brent Jones of the San Francisco 49ers.

The award is named after Starr for his commitment to family values. Press-Gazette file photo Directing a dynasty: Bart Starr, shown here behind center Ken Bowman in 1965, quarterbacked the Packers to NFL titles in 1 961 1 962, 1 965, 1 966 and 1 967. Years I mm4m Why can't non-fans catch a break? Want a roc 5-ycar iTjcsrcsfity on parts a labor? Purchase any selected Bryant nigh-emciency gas furnace and get a free 5-year warranty. You'll also get a lifetime limited heat exchanger warranty on our most energy-efficient models, including the Plus 90i, the most totally efficient gas furnace in the world. ma TECH Of N.E.W.

INC. Heating Air Conditioning 2441 South Broadway Green Bay, WI 54304 Office (920) 435-8525 Offer available to homeowner and occupants only Warranty available only on selected A.R.I, listed Bryant systems. All models are not available in all areas. See participating dealers for details. Offer ends 331 98.

Parts and Service For most Brands Kerosene and LP. 760 Hansen Road GREEN BAY 498-9119 LJ vJ I NO interst! 3 rnQn ATTENTION: AUTO OWNERS! Import Auto Service Is available in Green Bay at your Bosch Authorized Service Center. Bosch-trained technicians Parts in stock We guarantee our work Established in 1981 "We Fix It Right The First Timer PAGE AUTO inc. IMPORT AUTO REPAIR "Service the Way You Expect It" 1 1 09 N. Military Ave.

496-0496 (Open Monday thru Friday MOWER 11 tH TRACTOR US an na Z-j V. I i I nf mpdinnritv WWVJ fcW Wl IWWI faced off in the NFC Championship Game. It was, by accounts of most of those who earn their living handicapping pro football, the real Super Bowl. After all, the American Football Conference hasn't done much more than show up at kickoff for Roman numeral games for 13 years. A chance to win a second consecutive Super Bowl (for the second time) is a momentous occasion for those of us who suffered through the latter years of Curly Lambeau and the decades of disaster in the 1950s, 1970s and 1980s under the mantles of Gene Ronzani and Lisle Blackbourn, Dan Devine and Bart Starr, Forrest Gregg and Lindy Infante.

Only the iron-fisted, driven-days of Vince Lombardi were a respite, an oasis in 40 years of mediocrity: Watching Nolan Luhn and Clyde Goodnight, "The Touchdown Twins." The pair of Tulsa University receivers (194549) were supposed to return Lambeau's teams to greatness. Instead, the Bears outscored the Packers in those five seasons 222-131 and the team's composite won-lost record was 23-33. Listening to a barely audible Russ Winnie of WTMJ in Milwaukee, in a fourth-floor dormitory in South Bend, as Detroit's Bobby Layne and Doak Walker (and even Jug Girard) pounded the Packers 52-17 and 44-24 in 1952. Watching from Section 18, Row 34 in Lambeau Field when Baltimore's Lenny Moore, Alan Ameche and Johnny Unitas shellacked Green Bay repeatedly from 1956 through 1959. Suffering externally but admiring internally while Walter Payton ran for 100 yards or more at Lambeau Field six times.

The most was 205 yards in 23 carries in 1977; the least, 105 yards in 22 carries in 1981 doesn't count the seven times Payton topped 100 yards vs. the Packers in Soldier Field.) From 1981 to 1991, when Ron Wolf arrived and hired Mike Holmgren, there were another 10 years of professional mediocrity in Green Bay. Somehow we endured when such pedestrian players as Eric Hippie, Willie Gault and Jay Schroeder regularly took the Packers to the cleaners. So, Paul, if cheers come from the press box in Qualcomm Stadium (ugh!) at Jack Murphy Park in San Diego today, it's because we paid our dues. Go Packers! Tom Murphy is a business reporter for the Press-Gazette.

Write to him in care of the Press-Gazette at P.O. Box 19430, 435 East Walnut Green Bay, WI, 54307-9430. I 0) I I By Tom Murphy Press-Gazette No cheering in the press box. That's been the unwritten law for covering sports events, including Packers games, for the past 35 years or so. Prior to that, hometown sports-writers were more huckster than impartial observer.

They caroused, cajoled and consoled with management and players. They traveled with the team at its expense and put enough spin on 'game stories to make Erlichman and Haldeman blush. It's tough, sometimes, for a diehard, 50-year Packers aficionado, Ijke yours truly, to muffle the mounds of enthusiasm when there's a press box pass looped through a button hole. But it's a piece of cake for colleague Paul Srubas, co-columnist in this package of stories on the day Green Bay takes on Denver in Super BowlXXXn. Srubas, you see, is not a Packers fan.

In fact, he's not a football fan. We'll leave it to him should he desire to explain the whys and wherefores. He is, however, a heckuva guitarist, flute and recorder tootler, devotee of music in general and Pavarotti in particular. A pretty darned good and hard-working reporter, too, who takes on the mundane police beat with the same zest as he tackles a touchy-feely story $bout a sick child. But when it comes to Packers Sundays and Monday morning post mortems, Srubas is an aggravating anti-Christ.

A heathen. A pagan. An agnostic. A sampling: "I only caught a glimpse of (the telecast) as I walked through the family room," Srubas said on Nov. 24, when asked about his reaction to the long-awaited Cowboys-Packers game at Lambeau Field (Green Bay 45, Dallas 17).

'Z "Who won?" came the needle after the Packers dispatched Tampa Bay 21-7 on Jan. 4 to earn a tripo to the NFC Championship Game in $an Francisco. The blood boils. The vignettes hint at why Paul and his long-suffering bride, Ruth JPllen, had tickets to Luciano Pavarotti's concert at Chicago's United Center two weekends ago. T.

No problem if you're a Chicago Bears fan, say we who bleed green and gold. George Halas' descendants folded their tents sometime in October and the arts are the beneficiaries. But need we remind you that two Sundays ago was the day the Packers and San Francisco 49ers Sr LrLr( By Paul Srubas Press-Gazette It's time for me to come out of the closet. No, I am not Ellen DeGeneres. I'm just confessing here and now, for all to see, that gasp! I am not a Packers fan.

On this Super Bowl Sunday, the pressure from the fans has mounted every week, pushing me against the wall, crowding me to the brink and forcing me to admit I'm a non-fan. I have no intention of watching today's game, and if I never see another one, that would be just fine with me. I know I'm not alone in this. There are more of us non-fans around than Packers fans realize. That's because we're generally a quiet bunch quiet for reasons of self-preservation, mostly.

We're tired of the strange looks we get when we fail to dress in green and gold on game days. We're tired of being regarded as freaks of nature when we have to answer "no" to the perpetual Monday morning question: "Didja catch the game?" That's the thing I hate. Fans can tell me, "If you don't like it, don't watch." But there is no escape. In this Packers-crazed town, fan fanaticism is everywhere. The media bombards you with it.

Fans bombard you with it. Every way you turn, there's a picture of Brett Favre drinking a Mountain Dew or Reggie White selling a car or Mike Holmgren bragging about his cellular phone reception. Fans are always waving Packers flags at you from their front porches and their passing cars. They wear their pride on their sleeves, lapels, backs, hats you name it, they wear it. It's crazy living in a world where we pay our bills with Packers checks and Packers credit cards; mow our grass with Packers riding mowers; dress our newborns in Packers hats; and bury our dead in Packers coffins.

Packers music pours from our radios, our church services are rescheduled to match game schedules, our restaurant food is dyed green and gold, and even our bosses come to work in Packers jerseys. Can a man even order a cup of coffee around here without being 'rlt HI IV VVi i asked, "Packers or regular?" Packers fans measure the passing days by the team's last or next opponent, the passing months by whether it's pre- or post-season, and the passing years by identifying the team's head coach or win-loss record. For example, instead of telling you their son is getting married Sept. 28, they might say, "Little Johnnie, who was born in Devine's first year, is getting married on the weekend of the Lions game." OK, maybe I'm exaggerating. But football is a way of life here.

During the "bye week" this fall, an out-of-town friend asked me, "What do you Green Bay people do when there isn't a game?" I thought about it for a while, then gave the best answer I could think of: "We wait." I don't really mind football. I'm not opposed to the violence of the sport, for example. I just think the whole NFL season could and should be reduced to a 20-minute highlight film. That I'd watch. Maybe.

If only they'd spare me the pregame show, the pre-pregame show, the postgame analysis and the post-postgame analysis, the preseason draft, the pre-preseason draft forecast, the postseason wrapup and on and on. Then I'd watch. Maybe. Mostly, I just don't care about football. EI had a choice between watching a game and washing the floor, I'd wash the floor because, at least when it was over, I'd have a clean floor.

When you watch football, what do you end up with? Glazed eyes, 500 excess calories and a final score. The silver lining to this cloud for us non-fans is having a free run of the city every Sunday afternoon. We get crowd-free shopping, traffic-free driving. We can get the best seats in the house at any restaurant or theater. But why must we hear about it all the time? Why is there no escape? Packers fans like my colleague Tom Murphy will tell you they bleed green and gold.

My answer to them is, "Please do. Just be quiet about it, can't you?" Paul Srubas is a general assignment reporter for the Press-Gazette. Write to him in care of the Press-Gazette at P.O. Box 19430, 435 East Walnut Green Bay, Wl, 54307- 9430. MM I cSSfe --ess AMIciieSIri I Clearance Sole 18570R13MXVB.k, 17575814 XA4 WW 17575R14XHWW.

18570HR14MXV4 Was $54.61" $106.30 $111.38 Sale $45.59 $36.13 $42.19 $52.76 $91.21 $78.44 $104.95 $95.81 $70.86 $85.30 $139.40 $136.00, $129.50 $103.29 20575R1 5 XW4 Trv'Seaf -20560HR15MXVBik' 21565HR15MXV4BlkB 21575R151TXATBI 23575R15XC-ATBI1" 1 EAST SIDE 1123 CEDAR 435-8301 1 block north of Main between Webster and Roosevelt Plus Achy More MCAVH MWM It tlDHW ON TOW TttU WEST SIDE 1203 LOMBARDI 497-2526 Comer ot Military and Lombardi 5:30 Experience MASSAGE TKSRAPY and see what a difference it makes! Laura Dockendorff ST ilPODTO III American Massage Therapy over 2200 hours of education Offering over 100 different treatments from accident, sport and work-related injuries to stress relief and more. Association Member 434-2221 8 a.m.-noon In the Howard Chiropractic Clinic DE PERE 699 LAWRENCE DR. 339-9101 Hwy. 41 South 2331 Vain Green Bay 8 n.m.-7 p.m.. Sat HOURS: 7:30 Friday, Saturday.