Lombardi

I'm eagerly awaiting it myself.

Doesn't matter how many times I see the footage, it still gives me chills to watch the man, and the testimony of his players and family.

Awesome show, I loved it. If you missed it they are showing it again after the HBO boxing matches tonight.

Great show.

Taped it, waiting to watch it with my folks. leader of cheer Future Ms x4?

I had a chance to record it - haven't watched all of it yet- but it was pretty interesting from what I saw.

The league was so much different back then- from the kinship of players and teams, to the fact it was much more about the game than money or marketing or hype.

The other thing I kept thinking about was what if the Giants had offered him the main job and he never had come to GB? Sort of like what if Ron Wolf/Mike Holmgen/Brett Favre never happened?

I often think of that just like I do the Tony Mandarich selection. Literally
4-5 future Hall Of Famers were taken right around him. What if they had taken a guy like Derrick Thomas or Barry Sanders? Or, what if they hadn't won their last game to give away the #1 pick to the Cowboys and they took Troy Aikman instead?

If you look over the last 15-20 years we've been pretty spoiled as Packers Fans, just like the era of the 60's when the Packers were the class of the league. I'm still old enough to remember the 70's and 80's and some of the awful teams.

Excellent program. Good shots of Lambeau and the city GB back in the 60's.

Well, as soon as Dexter finishes up tonite, I'm canceling Showtime. I'll likely pick up HBO. I'd like to see this.

Excellent show. I liked the part when he got to Green Bay, and was asked if he was going to rebuild, and he said the team he had was good enough. He got the most out of his team. I wish MM could get the most out of his team.

Collinsworth had a good comment regarding on what Lombardi would have thought of the officials analyzing almost every catch. These over-officiating jerks are ruining a great game. Nice work Roger

As usual HBO sports did a fantastic job with Lombardi, their 90 minute special about the legendary coach. I didn't know Marie, his wife, was an alcoholic. Hearing the comments from all the ex-packers was very moving and really painted a detailed picture of the many aspects to Lombardi and what made him so special.

This is a must see for all Packer fans, or any football fan.

Just watched this tonite. One of the single greatest documentaries I have ever seen. The word spectacular just does not do Lombardi justice.

I have long been a fan of the Packers, and have had an appreciation for the history of the team. I have a whole new understanding now, and an ever greater respect for the man.

So many things will stick with me about this. It should be required viewing for every member of the Packer organization--player, coach, front office....everybody.

I like when Lombardi's daughter asked where Green Bay was, and Vince pulled out a map, and couldn't immediately find it. His daughter said (paraphrasing) "I'm not moving to someplace that nobody knows where it is. And Vince said "after I'm done there, everybody will know where it is".

I also like how Vince assigned points to every player, for every play. If you did it the right way, if you did it his way, the way it was drawn up, you got zero points. If you did it the wrong way, you got -2 points. Well, the final play of the NFC title game, when Dave Robinson hit Don Meredith, forcing the game clinching interception....Robinson said that he saw Meredith had room to run, and that nobody was going to stop to him. He said something to the effect of how he had to "explode" to Meredith, and make a play. He did, and the Packers won the game. And Vince gave Robinson a -2 points on the play, lol.

So many great things. Every member of Times Four needs to watch this.

10/10 I can't wait to watch it again!

quote:

Originally posted by Tschmack:
If you look over the last 15-20 years we've been pretty spoiled as Packers Fans, just like the era of the 60's when the Packers were the class of the league. I'm still old enough to remember the 70's and 80's and some of the awful teams.

You know it's funny but in a way I'm happy I did watch the Packers in the late '70s and through the '80s because otherwise I may not have appreciated just how good things ended up getting.

I do wish I had been around for the '60s though. I was born in '69 and conceived probably around 10 months after the Ice Bowl. I really timed things badly in terms of being born in terms of being a Packer fan, didn't I? Even though I'm 41 years old, I only witnessed 1 of the Pack's 12 World Championships. Hopefully that 1 will not be the last.

Saving it for Christmas on the dvr.

Opportunities to get back up.

The other thing I came away with after watching it was there is a real human element involved in coaching in the NFL.

He really wasn't there for his family, and Vince Jr. and his sister were pretty open and honest about it. To that extent, I think it shows just how much these coaches sacrifice to live their dream.

The part I liked best was how Vince treated everyone the same- he didn't care if you were black or white, talented, opinionated, partyer, etc. If you performed he treated you well and if you didn't perform you were gone. He also got the most of out of his guys.

I watched it late last night. I'll watch it again. His understanding of the psychological make-up of his players was amazing! It was fascinating to me how he broke down his players and then built them back up. He was so rough with his players in telling them their weaknesses and then patted them on the back and told them they would be great. They performed and loved him for it. It was a different era. I can't help but wonder how to translate that into something applicable today.

The other thing that struck me was his confidence in himself and what he taught. He definitely studied and knew what he was doing.

Haven't seen it yet, although HBO was supposed to list me in the credits and send me the DVD for for furnishing them with the Paul Harvey Lombardi eulogy.
They said it'd be around the first of the year.

Watched it last night on the DVR. Absolutely amazing.

The Harvey Lombardi Eulogy is awesome, I have heard it before, and it never gets old.

I agree with many of the comments, that the game is so different now, and the amount of work that he put in to become "perfect".

One of the stories, I didn't realize is that he coached basketball, and his success at that. He truly was one of the best coaches/motivators in all of sports.

I hope HBO does something like this on John Wooden as well, it would be great to see the parallels.

Finally, you should catch the 24/7 series on the Hockey game between the Caps/Pens. Awesome stuff, to see the day to day life of professional athletes.

http://www.hbo.com/sports/the-ucla-dynasty/index.html

"The UCLA Dynasty". It's on HBO demand right now, PackerRuss. I have not yet seen it. Enjoy!

"Gentlemen, we are going to relentlessly pursue perfection, knowing full well that we will not catch it. We are going to relentlessly chase it, because in the process we catch excellence."

Great line.

quote:

Originally posted by lambeausouth:
http://www.hbo.com/sports/the-ucla-dynasty/index.html

"The UCLA Dynasty". It's on HBO demand right now, PackerRuss. I have not yet seen it. Enjoy!

Did you, or anyone you know record the UCLA dynasty? If so, I'd like to have a copy. Lombardi had his 7 blocks for success, Wooden had his pyramid of success. Actually, I don't really recall what Wooden named it, but I remember the pyramid. But Lombardi did motivational speeches with his 7 blocks for success as his theme. I read that in a book - I just don't remember which one. Half-hiemers kicking in again.

I have my own disk of the HBO Lombardi documentary - thanks to a friend.

Is there any way to watch this if you don't have HBO?

Just watched it. One of the better documentaries I've seen, period. It didn't sugarcoat the fact that his obsession cost his family a great deal, but in the grand scheme of things he led a tremendous life. The Packers were extremely lucky to have Vince Lombardi fall into their lap.

They had just enough nuggets from folks like Bud Lea and David Maraniss to add some weight, but you really got a sense for how much the people around him really loved him. The footage of Starr, Hornung and Taylor at his funeral was heartbreaking.

I made my kids watch it... they came away from it better people, I think. I can honestly say that it is a wonderful affirmation for a parent to teach their children of the value of hard work, perseverence, and determination.

As someone else mentioned, the line about the pursuit of perfection is something to live by.

Made me proud to be not only a Packer fan, but also proud to be from the state of WI. I'm sure this wasn't its goal, but it accomplished both.

quote:

Originally posted by phaedrus:
Is there any way to watch this if you don't have HBO?

I expect that this will be out on DVD at some point.

Here's the page for HBO Sports that you can buy presently:

http://store.hbo.com/index.php...ogramming_hbo-sports

The documentary is only available on demand until early January. I would be very surprised if it couldn't be purchased some time shortly thereafter. When it comes out, I'm buying it!

quote:

Originally posted by GreenBayLA:
Taped it, waiting to watch it with my folks. leader of cheer Future Ms x4?

She's really cute From UW Green Bay if my memory serves me correctly?

quote:

Originally posted by Tschmack:
He really wasn't there for his family, and Vince Jr. and his sister were pretty open and honest about it. To that extent, I think it shows just how much these coaches sacrifice to live their dream.

I don't think Vince sacrificed much of anything. That was made clear in Marraniss's book, and even more clear by seeing Susan and Vince Jr. in this show. Just by the way they talked and acted (that's quite a nervous tic Vince Jr. has in his eyes), you can tell Lombardi gave everything to his profession and nothing to his family except his paycheck. He was a legend as a coach and an absolute failure as a family man. The kind of success he achieved always comes at a price, and in his case it was paid by Marie and his kids.

quote:

Originally posted by lambeausouth:

quote:

Originally posted by phaedrus:
Is there any way to watch this if you don't have HBO?

I expect that this will be out on DVD at some point.

Here's the page for HBO Sports that you can buy presently:

http://store.hbo.com/index.php...ogramming_hbo-sports

The documentary is only available on demand until early January. I would be very surprised if it couldn't be purchased some time shortly thereafter. When it comes out, I'm buying it!

Hey cool, LS, thanks, and Merry Christmas!

It was Lombardi when Reggie told Keith Jackson to just get up here long enough to get a ring.

I wasn't around when Lombardi was coaching the Packers, so I've never been all that fascinated with the 60s. But I agree, this was a terrific documentary. In fact, I know people who aren't even football fans who enjoyed it.

FYI, it can be downloaded from tenyardtorrents. Not HD but decent quality.

http://tenyardtracker.com/details.php?id=13186

I'm getting a DVR this week, in time to tape it before it's taken off of on demand this Sunday. I've watched it 4 times, it's that good.

quote:

Just by the way they talked and acted (that's quite a nervous tic Vince Jr. has in his eyes), you can tell Lombardi gave everything to his profession and nothing to his family except his paycheck.

I didn't get that at all. All he gave them was a paycheck? That's total BS, IMO.

I took from the film that he instilled in them the same values that he lived by. He sacrificed his time because football was his obsession, and his love was not outwardly expressed but understood.

It was very clear to me that while he was never a classic "family man" that doted over his kids and showered them with love and support in every moment, he did give them the love he was able to give and they were grateful for that. It seemed to me that his family knew where his heart was, even if he wasn't particularly good at showing it.

His love and his values nothing but a paycheck? Preposterous. His example was worth every minute of time he had to sacrifice because he achieved greaness as a leader of men. He touched lives in ways that transcends cryptic terms like "family man".

That was what I saw, anyway.

The Packers gave Lombardi the realization of his dream, on top of his paycheck. Nobody else would give him a shot at being head coach. Green Bay did.

quote:

quote:
Just by the way they talked and acted (that's quite a nervous tic Vince Jr. has in his eyes), you can tell Lombardi gave everything to his profession and nothing to his family except his paycheck.

I think in any family, the parents make mistakes, wife and kids suffer, and the effects can be lifelong. I also think at the time Vince and Marie were raising their kids, there were a lot of, how would you say it, taboos(?) as far as how to deal with certain issues, for instance Marie's overdose/hospital stay. It was common for parents to shield their kids from that kind of thing, many times to their detriment. Rather than facing things head on, many people chose to never speak of incidents of such a nature.

When I was 7 or 8 years old, there was a suicide in our family, and my dad instructed my mother that they would never speak of it again. In my estimation it was his way of protecting his wife and family, although looking back it was probably something that should have been spoken about as a teaching tool and to help the grieving process.

People make mistakes, and I'm pretty sure if Vince were around today, he'd look back and have some regrets about the way he dealt with the people closest to him and those who supported him.

As far as his children, I believe Vince Jr. put it best at the end- if he had to do it all again, he'd sign off in a heartbeat. His sister seems a bit more affected, but I look at it this way- if you go through trials and heavy issues in your childhood, and you come out with your health and well being, and a sane mind, you are fortunate enough to look back, and learn from those mistakes your parents made, and do your best not to make them yourself. Many kids have had it much much worse than Vince and Marie's.

quote:

Originally posted by Music City:
I didn't get that at all. All he gave them was a paycheck? That's total BS, IMO.

I believe he was referring to Maraniss' book, in which this sentiment is very clearly inferred, by a number of folks who knew Lombardi.

Good read. You should pick it up.

Great documentary. I finally saw it. Worth the wait.