The Green Bay Packers are one of the most iconic franchises not just in the NFL, but in all of professional sports. The fan base is a dedicated group that follows their team closely and also travels with the team on the road. I’ve seen games where the Packers were the road team and many of the stands were filled with green and yellow. Over the years, some big names have played for this organization. Of course, we know Bart Starr. Then, one of the best ever to play the position of quarterback in Brett Favre. Next, there was Reggie White and Charles Woodson to name a few more. There was also a popular player amongst the fans named Leroy Butler. This August, he will join the names I listed in Canton as a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
I always say every defense in the sport of football has that one player who’s electric and the other ten guys feed off that energy. That’s the perfect way to describe Leroy. Every game he played, he always bought the intensity and passion. Those are the guys you always want to be around because they’re the ones who force you to want to be better. Leroy checked the box for what a safety should do on the field. He covered a lot of ground and had the ability to drop back in space in pass coverage. As a safety, it’s always key to watch the quarterback and he has had his eyes on the signal-caller. Wherever he wanted to get, he got there. Leroy had a terrific nose for the ball. Wherever the ball was, number 36 was. He had such a strong nose for the ball. You could also play him in the box and he could rush the passer on a safety blitz which is so difficult to defend because they rush at the very last minute. Leroy was a menace on the field. He made tackles, forced fumbles, got the key interceptions, and had no issues returning the ball to the end zone. This was one of the guys you had to know where he was at all times.
He finally got in. I understand he had to wait, but he’s finally going to be inducted onto the greatest team in the world as Andre Reed once said. Here’s a fun fact about Leroy. He’s credited with creating the very popular “Lambeau Leap”. The popular celebration first happened in 1993 when the Packers were playing the Raiders. Leroy forced a fumble, scooped the ball up, and returned it for the touchdown, then leaped into the endzone to celebrate with Packer fans. Early in his childhood, he was challenged by physical problems and often had some difficulty walking. What a story. Congrats to him.
