The road to glory - Uncovering the Past

DURING THE MID- AND LATE 1990s, it seemed as if players from the Green Bay Packers--particularly Brett Favre--were constantly making appearances on our cover. And why not? The Packers, one of the game's cornerstone franchises, were on top, and Favre was football's most exciting quarterback.

But the last time Favre was on our cover (August 1999)--or any Packers player was, for that matter--the headline featured these foreboding words from the gutsy QB: "I'm at a Crossroads."

He certainly was. And so were the Packers. Since winning the Super Bowl title in 1996 and reaching the big game again the following season, Green Bay had been sliding down a slippery slope. Player changes had taken their toll on the roster, and the `99 season featured a new coach (Pay Rhodes) in the wake of Mike Holmgren's departure for the Seattle Seahawks. What's more, at 30 years old, Favre wasn't getting any younger.

The Packers failed to make the playoffs in 1999 for the first time since 1992, and they came up short again in 2000. The Pack, it seemed, had been dragged back to the pack.

Was this the end? Not by a long shot. This year, the second season with Mike Sherman as head coach, the Packers seem intent on recapturing their former Super Bowl glory. Favre is playing with the same freewheeling spirit that made him a three-time league MVP, and the defense has been punishing.

The key piece of the puzzle, however, has been our cover and "Interview" subject: running back Ahman Green. In his fourth season in the NFL and second with the Packers, Green has become a lethal all-purpose threat, rising to the same status as Marshall Faulk and Edgerrin James. Green has brought a whole new dimension to the Packers offense, a prospect that is downright scary for opposing defenses.

Yes, the Pack is back--back on our cover and back among the league's elite.

COPYRIGHT 2002 Century Publishing
COPYRIGHT 2001 Gale Group