Had a debate with a co-worker on what game made you think that the Pack was back. I said it was the wild card game at Detroit when Farve hit Sharpe with a 40 yard bomb with under a minute to play. Co-worker said it was the playoff win vs. the 49ers in 1995. Curious what other people think?
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First thought to me was that Niner victory in the playoffs on the road. We had them punked particularly with our D.
For me it was 1992 when Favre came in to replace Magic vs the Bengals and launched that TD pass to Kitrick Taylor to win the game. I knew we had a QB with moxie and a rifle. You could feel it, smell it, taste it in the stands that day.
I really wasn't convinced until that win in SF. Those first couple years with Favre were a bit erratic and it was hard to believe he could fit that ball in the spots he was putting it. I had never seen a QB throw like that. Certainly not in GB in my lifetime.
Packers were a double-digit underdog in SF and that win served notice on the whole league.
When the Packers beat the Vikings 23-7 in Minnesota at the end of the 1972 season to win the division. This was the Vikings team that had been in the Super Bowl just a couple of years earlier and would not only go on to dominate the division throughout the '70s, but would represent the NFC in 3 of the next 4 Super Bowls. So this Packers win was an incredible upset at the time. That Packers '72 team had a devastating running game with John Brockington and MacArthur Lane, and a great, great defense -- #1 in the NFC that year, #2 in the NFL behind only the Super Bowl champion Miami Dolphins. They were young and hungry, with John Brockington the Rookie of the Year the year before, and both CB Willie Buchanon and PK Chester Marcol picking up those same honors in '72. If not for Devine's ego overruling Bart Starr's calls in the '72 playoffs vs. Washington, that Packer team might very well have won that Super Bowl over the Dolphins. Devine had an excellent team to build on, but destroyed it with his inability to find a better QB than Scott Hunter and in his disastrous trade for John Hadl basically doomed the franchise to mediocrity for the rest of that decade. But that win over the Vikings was probably the highlight of the entire '70s. I thought that day the Pack was truly back. And they were -- but could have been for years after. Great clip of that '72 Packer team win over the Vikings:
Devine was a tool.
The game when Bob Harlan took over.
For me it was 3 games that finally made me think that it wasnt a tease and they were really back. The game against the Falcons in late 1994 when Favre ran the ball in for a TD and the Christmas Eve game against the Steelers in 1995.
But the one game I truly and finally believed the Packers were truly back was the divisional playoff game at home against the 49ers in the snow, rain, ice, and mud. I KNEW after they won that game they were truly back and were going to actually win it all.
michiganjoe posted:Packers were a double-digit underdog in SF and that win served notice on the whole league.
...and Boris made a whole lotta money in Nevada on that game.
But I agree with OP - playoff win over Detoilet was when I KNEW - the rest of the league - Who cares
There are different viewpoints on what is meant by "Pack is Back".
I think that gutty playoff win at Detoilet was it. The Pack in the playoffs with a win on the road!
However, if you mean "back" as a contender year after year...then, Yeah....the upset win at the Niner's. Even though the refs helped Dallas win the NFCC the next week....we were never looking back.
For me personally, the separation point between "the dark ages" and what came after was the 1992 game vs. Pittsburgh. In hindsight it was probably the Cincinnati game in week 3, but at the time, I felt a definite shift in my own sense of optimism after a double-digit win over the Steelers in week 4 I believe.
That game vs. Pittsburgh, the Packers just looked like a really solid operation all around. I hadn't felt that way about the Packers since... well, ever. Favre looked good, they looked well coached (they were, we had no idea at the time how many future head coaches were on that staff), the rest of the team looked good, they beat a pretty good team solidly. I remembered thinking after that game that maybe after years of torture that things were turning around. They truly were and man did things get good after that!!!
I probably don’t have all of my facts straight here and I’m too lazy to google for accuracy but here’s what I recall:
’96 MNF in Denver. Favre long pass to Bebe. It was called a completion but the replay showed that the ball hit the ground...or maybe his knee hit the ground and he should have been called down. I don’t remember. But this was before challenges so it stayed a completion. We caught a break.
I already felt like the Packers were the best team in the league that season but sometimes the ball bounces funny ways and calls don’t always go your way even if they should.
After that play, I remember thinking, “It’s our year!”
I thought that was the MNF game vs. the Niners at home?
I thought the '96 game against Denver was a late-season game where Denver already had the #1 seed wrapped up and sat a bunch of players so they lost badly, and it affected them against Jacksonville.
There was a thrilling MNF game against... SF? I think? Favre led the team down the field to force OT and then Jacke hit a big FG in OT to win.
[off to look it up on Wikipedia]
OK, Wikipedia didn't have it, but Pro Football Reference does. Week 7, GB d. SF 23-20 (OT). Favre drove the Packers down the field in the final two minutes to get a Jacke FG and force OT, and then Jacke hit a 53-yarder on the Packers' first possession in OT (SF got the ball and went three and out).
Slobknocker posted:Had a debate with a co-worker on what game made you think that the Pack was back. I said it was the wild card game at Detroit when Farve hit Sharpe with a 40 yard bomb with under a minute to play. Co-worker said it was the playoff win vs. the 49ers in 1995. Curious what other people think?
Definitely the playoff win against those cocky 49ers. We shocked the hell out of them. Still my favorite Packers game ever.
bdplant posted:I probably don’t have all of my facts straight here and I’m too lazy to google for accuracy but here’s what I recall:
’96 MNF in Denver. Favre long pass to Bebe. It was called a completion but the replay showed that the ball hit the ground...or maybe his knee hit the ground and he should have been called down. I don’t remember. But this was before challenges so it stayed a completion. We caught a break.
I already felt like the Packers were the best team in the league that season but sometimes the ball bounces funny ways and calls don’t always go your way even if they should.
After that play, I remember thinking, “It’s our year!”
That was against the 9ers. The Chris Jacke game.
For me it was a playoff game that was a loss. The game at Dallas where they went toe to toe with Dallas and i was sure they were going to win until the Cowboys cheap shotted and took out John Jurkovic with a chop block. After that the Packer D could not stop the Cowboys rushing game. Reggie White was very upset after the game and vowed the Packers would win it all next year. And they did.
I can't recall any particular game but whenever it was it brought into the vernacular a great saying..."The Pack is Back". Still used worldwide today.
Loved the music in those 72 highlights. Better yet Ray Scott calling the Vikings hapless and stodgy
Not a game, but the '89 season we saw a glimpse of the future. Then just a few key moves in '90 & '91, followed by a bold move in '92... The rest is history.
PACKIDERM, the actual Packer '72 highlight film captured all the very best NFL music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAurNaD4a8I&t=35s
I think a lot of this is hindsight, as there were many false alarms. I think many of us thought the Pack was back with Majkowski until he got injured the first time.
Kenny Bowman was a heck of a center.
ammo posted:For me it was a playoff game that was a loss. The game at Dallas where they went toe to toe with Dallas and i was sure they were going to win until the Cowboys cheap shotted and took out John Jurkovic with a chop block. After that the Packer D could not stop the Cowboys rushing game. Reggie White was very upset after the game and vowed the Packers would win it all next year. And they did.
same here, and I remember that play like it was yesterday, one of those big fat ugly linemen for the girls, I think it was Eric Williams, that worthless piece of gobbliegook hit Jurkovic in the back of his knees 
, after his BACK was turned .
Although the "real" glory wouldn't return until Favre became our starter, the game when the Majkowski led Packers were down 42-0 at halftime to the LA Rams led by Jim Everett. The Packers ended up losing 45-42, but I felt they had what it takes in them, to win. Majkowski deserves a lot more credit than he gets for leading the Packers.
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sschumer - Packer Fan HoF'r posted:When the Packers beat the Vikings 23-7 in Minnesota at the end of the 1972 season to win the division. This was the Vikings team that had been in the Super Bowl just a couple of years earlier and would not only go on to dominate the division throughout the '70s, but would represent the NFC in 3 of the next 4 Super Bowls. So this Packers win was an incredible upset at the time. That Packers '72 team had a devastating running game with John Brockington and MacArthur Lane, and a great, great defense -- #1 in the NFC that year, #2 in the NFL behind only the Super Bowl champion Miami Dolphins. They were young and hungry, with John Brockington the Rookie of the Year the year before, and both CB Willie Buchanon and PK Chester Marcol picking up those same honors in '72. If not for Devine's ego overruling Bart Starr's calls in the '72 playoffs vs. Washington, that Packer team might very well have won that Super Bowl over the Dolphins. Devine had an excellent team to build on, but destroyed it with his inability to find a better QB than Scott Hunter and in his disastrous trade for John Hadl basically doomed the franchise to mediocrity for the rest of that decade. But that win over the Vikings was probably the highlight of the entire '70s. I thought that day the Pack was truly back. And they were -- but could have been for years after. Great clip of that '72 Packer team win over the Vikings:
I cannot like this post enough, sschumer!
At SF in the playoff game and was I ecstatic.
I remember reading a bit about the game after it happened. SF folks (don't remember who) after examining videos of the Pack said they knew they were a hell of a team.
Still remember Newsome picking up the fumble and running it in and I thought, "We can win this!"
First game Lombardi coached.
phaedrus posted:At SF in the playoff game and was I ecstatic.
I remember reading a bit about the game after it happened. SF folks (don't remember who) after examining videos of the Pack said they knew they were a hell of a team.
Still remember Newsome picking up the fumble and running it in and I thought, "We can win this!"
Was that the game where Holmgrem rode in on a Harley and the Pack went up 21-0 early?
For me the sea change came when they signed Reggie White. It meant the old way of doing business was over. Change that had been delayed for 20 years had finally come and that meant they could accept change as a necessary component. Success would come eventually. I never expected the current streak of relevance though.
Winning Super Bowls XXXI when I was high fiving the Packers players from the first row of the stadium with 1 minute left in the game.
That is when i knew.
mrtundra posted:Although the "real" glory wouldn't return until Favre became our starter, the game when the Majkowski led Packers were down 42-0 at halftime to the LA Rams led by Jim Everett. The Packers ended up losing 45-42, but I felt they had what it takes in them, to win. Majkowski deserves a lot more credit than he gets for leading the Packers.
.
I was so pissed that I missed this game even though it was a loss. I remember I was at a wedding (The 2 people getting married didn't care much for football) and I'd go out to the car every so often and listen to the score. It sounded like a hopeless cause at halftime being down like 31-7, but by the time I got back out to the car again it was something like 38-31. I think the Packers were going in for the tie but Brent "Fumblewood" Fullwood fumbled in the red zone and that ended the Pack's hopes to make the comeback. That's how I remember it, but it was almost 30 years ago so I can't say for sure that's exactly what happened.
I never saw the game but remember hearing about it and listening to snippets here and there on the radio.
FIGHTPHOE93, I saw and remember that game well. Without double-checking on the Internet, I'm pretty positive Fullwood incredibly fumbled at the damn 1 yard line Killed what had been an incredible comeback led by Majkowski and Sharpe.
1995, The TJ Rubely game.
He was the greatest #12 ever (before 2005...sorry Dickey)
Based on that game, I knew next year they would win it all!
grignon posted:For me the sea change came when they signed Reggie White. It meant the old way of doing business was over. Change that had been delayed for 20 years had finally come and that meant they could accept change as a necessary component. Success would come eventually. I never expected the current streak of relevance though.
I will always remember when I heard about that signing. It was the days before the internet and I got to work and they said "hey your Packers signed Reggie White" I of course cussed at them and told them never in a million years would they do that. They then showed me the newspaper and I almost fell over.
I also never expected how long the Packers (for the most part) have been in the thick of things every year. I still to this day stop and think about how awesome this run has been.
