Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - Packer Plus
Team enjoys win; more work lies ahead
Editor’s note: This story was published Jan. 13, 1997. It was edited here for space.
Green Bay — Before the Green Bay Packers started planning for their first Super Bowl trip in 29 years, they had some celebrating to do.
And who can blame them? After a grueling 16-game regular season and two weeks of sudden death football, the Packers had reason to pause. They have accomplished something 28 other teams can only fantasize about.
“This is a dream come true,” wide receiver Antonio Freeman said in a locker room crowded with reporters. “I’m only 24 years old. I’m still a young guy.
“A lot of young guys don’t get this opportunity this early in their career. I just think about all those childhood days about maybe playing in the Super Bowl. Now it’s all a reality.”
Some players weren’t really sure they were living in reality after their impressive 30-13 victory over the Carolina Panthers in the National Football Conference Championship Game.
In front of a home crowd of 60,216, they handled the Panthers the same way they handled 14 other opponents previously this season. They won methodically and convincingly, earning a berth in one of the world’s greatest sports spectacles.
“The last 5 minutes of the game, you have the game won and you just want the game over to get the celebration going,” center Frank Winters said. “It’s amazing. It really hasn’t hit me yet.
“It probably won’t hit me for a while. Right now, it just feels like we won the game.”
The Packers celebrated like champions immediately after the game. They stood outside among their faithful fans and watched as the George Halas NFC Championship trophy was presented to team
President Bob Harlan, general manager Ron Wolf and coach Mike Holmgren.
It was a reception fitting of champions but nothing like the one they’ll receive if they come home with the Vince Lombardi Super Bowl trophy two weeks from now. It is something they will visualize every moment leading up to the Jan. 26 game in New Orleans.
“If we win this game, this town will turn upside down,” said wide receiver Don Beebe, who along with Jim McMahon are the only Super Bowl veterans on the team. “I want to experience what it feels like to win.
“I might wear my pads home on that plane ride. I’m not taking those pads off.”
The Packers unquestionably have a daunting task ahead of them. Not only must they win a difficult football game against the AFC champion New England Patriots, they must deal with an immeasurable amount of hype surrounding the game.
They will be analyzed and scrutinized by several thousand reporters after they arrive in New Orleans next week. They will be housed away from home for six days with nothing to do but think about the most important 60 minutes of football of their lives.
Lucky for the players, they will be guided through the experience by coach Mike Holmgren, a veteran of two Super Bowls while an assistant coach with the San Francisco 49ers. He is joined by offensive coordinator Sherman Lewis, who picked up three Super Bowl rings during his tenure as an assistant for the 49ers.
“When you get down there, there’s nothing like the Super Bowl,” Lewis said. “You see what it’s all about and how big it is and you get excited everyone get excited.
“Our biggest concern is not getting distracted. The media hype is unbelievable. But I think we have enough veterans, and with Mike being there before and me being there before that we can relate to it pretty good.”
According to Lewis, the Packers will treat this week as though they were playing a game on Sunday instead of two weeks from now. The players will report this morning for meetings and the coaching staff will start preparing a game plan shortly after that.
Beebe, who appeared in three of Buffalo’s four Super Bowl losses, said he would warn the players not to get distracted during Super Bowl week. He will also try to convince them that this is the chance of a lifetime.
“It’s tough to lose,” Beebe warned. “We’d fly home and that whole off-season, it’s awful. It’s an awful experience if you lose.
“You dominate teams all year and then you finally get to the Super Bowl and lose and than you’re labeled as losers. We have to be focused all week on what we have to do. That’s the most important thing.”