Green Bay Packers Information
Arguably one the most popular and successful teams in Football history, the Green Bay Packers officially became an NFL franchise in 1921. Since that time, the Packers have the most NFL Championships with twelve, three of which were Super Bowl titles (I, II, & XXXI) and nine were titles that came before the Super Bowl era (1967). The Packers also have the distinction of being the only publicly owned team in the NFL. They are owned by 112,015 community stockholders in the Wisconsin area that represent the 4.75 million shares to the franchise and rights to Lambeau Field.
A team so rich in history also has the most famous head coach of all time, Vince Lombardi. During the 1960’s, Lombardi led the Packers to five Championships in seven years, to this day the most dominant era for the Green Bay Packers. The NFL Championship trophy has since been named the "Lombardi Trophy" after all of his accomplishments and accolades in football.
In 2007, the Packers fell to the New York Giants in the NFC Championship game 23-20 in overtime. The loss marked the end of an era with QB Brett Favre at the reigns. For 16 seasons, Favre was the mastermind behind the Packers offense, leading them to seven Division championships (1995, 1996, 1997, 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2007) four NFC Championship Games (1995, 1996, 1997, and 2007), two NFC Championships (1996 and 1997), and one Super Bowl championship (XXXI).
After the 2007 season, Favre announced his retirement from the NFL. During the 2008 pre-season he asked for official reinstatement. The league granted his reinstatement even after the Packers had offered their former star $20 million dollars to stay retired and help out the organization in other ways. Favre refused and re-joined the team, only to be traded away to the New York Jets in August of 2008.
The Packers had moved on and arranged for young QB Aaron Rodgers to take the starting job. Rodgers met all expectations based on statistics, but the team couldn't find a way to win close games; resulting in a 6-10 overall record. Rodgers rallied the Packers to a 11-5 campaign in 2009, finishing second in the NFC North behind Favre and his new found Minnesota Vikings. The Packers then fell short to the Arizona Cardinals 51-45 in a hard fought, offensive heavy Wild Card battle.
In 2010, the Packers had a 10-6 record, just under the Bears for second place. They won the NFC Wildcard game against the Eagles, won the Divisional game against the Falcons, won the NFC Championship against the Bears, and ultimately got a Super Bowl Championship ring after their 31-25 win over the Steelers.
They followed up with Championship year with an even better regular season record of 15-1, their only loss coming in the third to last game of the season against the Chiefs. They had a first round of the playoffs bye week, but lost to the eventual Super Bowl Champs New York Giants in the Divisional Championship. The Packers are primed to continue their success and will look to the 2012-13 season to get back on top.
