Super Bowl pregame speech written by.....Lloyd Carr
Don't know if it's been on here, but I haven't seen it anywhere, and can't find it, but this was a pretty cool story from SI and the Super Bowl. We all know about Charles Woodson's halftime speech, but this is the first I've heard about his pregame speech:
It was a huge loss, not only because Capers had transformed Woodson from a Hall of Fame--caliber cover corner into a blitzing, run-support inside defender ("It's been refreshing for me," Woodson said in mid-January) but also because it's Woodson's voice that the Packers players hear. He was the last man to talk to the team before the Super Bowl, ditching a long-planned speech he'd written when Lloyd Carr, his coach at Michigan, texted him and said, "Remember, just win." That is what he told the Packers before the biggest game of their lives.Just win.
Pretty cool. The article and sidebars also cover his halftime breakdown telling the team "You know how much I want this", and all the changes to the defense Capers had to go through after Woodson and everyone went down.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1181765/1/in…
February 11th, 2011 at 10:47 PM ^
Whoa, Woodson was Hall of Fame caliber in 1997. Everything afterward January 1, 1998 has been gravy. What has he been up to since, anyways?
February 11th, 2011 at 10:48 PM ^
Wait wait wait. Lloyd texts?!
February 11th, 2011 at 10:51 PM ^
Tremendously, it seem.
February 11th, 2011 at 10:51 PM ^
Lloyd Carr speaks and the world follows his commands.
February 11th, 2011 at 10:54 PM ^
Yeah he sends me funny pictures all the time.
Good stuff
February 11th, 2011 at 10:53 PM ^
Al Davis say this?
February 11th, 2011 at 11:11 PM ^
February 11th, 2011 at 11:36 PM ^
Wasn't that the "Climbing the Summit" season? I remember seeing that covered during the following season, how LC used climbing Mt. Everest (not that he had climbed it) as a motivational theme for the season...but I could be mistaken.
February 11th, 2011 at 11:48 PM ^
I believe Lloyd gave each member of the team a book to read about someone climbing Mt. Everest. Something special about the person persevering. First blind person to reach the summitt??? Can't remember. They also had a climbing pick ax which they used throughout the season as an inspiration. This is all from memory so I might be a little hazy on the details.
February 12th, 2011 at 12:28 AM ^
It was "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer. He was part of an expedition that got caught in a storm which killed several climbers. At the time it was the deadliest single event in the history of Mt. Everest (it might still be, I can't be sure).
February 11th, 2011 at 11:32 PM ^
Al Davis did say it best, just win baby win! (snoop dogg voice)
February 12th, 2011 at 7:27 AM ^
+1 to you, for inserting the Snoop Dogg voice. It made me picture Snoop's voice coming out of Al Davis. That's some funny stuff, yo.
February 11th, 2011 at 11:35 PM ^
i love being a packer and michigan fan! If it wasnt for UM, the packers dont win the their superbowls in 96 and this year. Look how huge desmond and woodson were for these teams
February 12th, 2011 at 9:53 AM ^
February 12th, 2011 at 10:45 AM ^
The story was that Woodson stood up in front of the Michigan locker room before the 1997 season. He had just been listening to seniors and such set the goals for the team. A lot of talk at the time from various media forums, if you recall, was that M stood for Mediocrity, after back to back 4-loss seasons. The team was hungry. And instead of saying "let's win the big ten" or "go to a good bowl game", Woodson stood up and said: "Just win." And win they did. Lloyd texting him that is pretty neat, a classy way to remember the past. Pure Lloyd. But Lloyd didn't write it -- Woodson did, in 1997.
February 12th, 2011 at 5:16 PM ^
of the story makes it an order of magnitude more awesome.
February 12th, 2011 at 10:55 AM ^
Lloyd's legend continues...