Bart Starr defined true greatness at every stage of the game

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There have been quarterbacks with more yards, touchdowns, completions and even championships, but there has never been an NFL quarterback who led like Bart Starr.

The all-time quarterback, who was the Green Bay Packers' best player at the time of their dynasty under the legendary Vince Lombardi, died early Sunday.

I had the opportunity to interview Starr twice, a few years after the end of his playing career, and we discussed Lombardi, the great Packers team in the 1960s, and what it was like. to leave the ranks of a team.^thround pick in 1956 and become one of the most memorable athletes of the 20^th century.

As a columnist and editor of Pro Football Weekly, I had the opportunity to talk about Lombardi with Starr and many of his former teammates, whom I've always considered the greatest coach in North American professional sports. American.

This is due in large part to my age, as the Packers had their best football and greatest achievements when I was only a boy in search of professional sports. In the mid-1960s, the Packers caught my attention as they always found a way to beat the Chicago Bears, Minnesota Vikings, Los Angeles Rams, Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Colts and Dallas Cowboys. as well as any team that dares to challenge them.

Their preparation and execution had something different and it always gave them the advantage in the most important games. Lombardi prepared his team and Starr delivered the biggest games at the most important moments.

If it looks a lot like Bill Belichick and Tom Brady, it should be fine. Football is perhaps much more complex and strategic than it was over 50 years ago, but the aspects of preparation and execution are the same.

When I spoke to Starr, I hoped to get an idea of ​​what it was like to play for Lombardi, or at least give me a little more than the anecdotes that helped to make popular culture.

Many know Lombardi's demanding techniques during training camp and said he wants his players to be in better shape than their opponents. In the 1960s, it was clear that Lombardi did not favor white players over black players, as evidenced by the famous release of defensive tackle Henry Jordan. "He treats us all the same way, like dogs."

Lombardi exerted his personality on all the players of the team, but he made only once that Starr reproaches his opponents.

Starr refused to allow Lombardi to criticize him, but he did not do so by challenging the strength, power or manliness of his coach. Instead, he used logic to convince him not to launch personal criticism against him.

Since Starr was the leader of his team, how could other players respect him if he was personally criticized by the coach? His ability to lead would be compromised and Lombardi realized his shift was right.

Starr did not have a problem with the great coach pointing out something he could have done better on the pitch, but he did not allow personal criticism.

Starr acknowledged his confrontation with Lombardi, but he downplayed it when I spoke to him. He pointed out how his coach had listened to him, had taken into account what he had said and no longer had this problem in the years to come.

However, goalie Jerry Kramer explained that Starr had the courage and the intensity to look his coach in the eye and tell him what he would not allow. "Lombardi would not have taken that from any other player, but he surely realized that Bart was right," Kramer explained. "He never took anything against Bart."

Starr led the Packers to the first two titles of the Super Bowl, but his most famous game and most famous game was taken from the Ice Bowl.

The Packers and Cowboys played in the NFL championship game on December 31, 1967 at Lambeau Field. Temperatures reached minus 15 degrees as play began and conditions deteriorated as the game progressed.

The visiting Cowboys played a brilliant match under the circumstances, as Tom Landry and the Dallas Doomsday defense had largely closed the Packers after two early touchdowns. Dallas led 17-14 in the final moments when Starr led Green Bay in a desperate attempt featuring all the details of Lombardi's preparation and abilities.

Not his ability to pbad or his physical talent, but his ability to play in the most difficult circumstances. His ability to follow Kramer's blocking of Dallas defensive tackle Jethro Pugh and the end zone earned him a place in the NFL tradition.

Perhaps the most elated place in the history of sports.

It was a team that survived in the most difficult conditions. It may have been the team's last moment and Starr was treating it that way. He never looked for personal glory for his winning touch, recognizing the team and his coach.

It was Starr all the way through. He was a man as honest and pleasant as you could meet in all circles and he was perfectly entitled to be proud of all his accomplishments and his place in the game.

But he did not ask for a personal glory that would surely have been his if that had been his choice. It was a part of his time when he lived and played, but it was more simply the way he lived his & nbsp; life.

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There have been quarterbacks with more yards, touchdowns, completions and even championships, but there has never been an NFL quarterback who led like Bart Starr.

The all-time quarterback, who was the Green Bay Packers' best player at the time of their dynasty under the legendary Vince Lombardi, died early Sunday.

I had the opportunity to interview Starr twice, a few years after the end of his playing career, and we discussed Lombardi, the great Packers team in the 1960s, and what it was like. to leave the ranks of a team.^thround pick in 1956 and become one of the most memorable athletes of the 20^th century.

As a columnist and editor of Pro Football Weekly, I had the opportunity to talk about Lombardi with Starr and many of his former teammates, whom I've always considered the greatest coach in North American professional sports. American.

This is due in large part to my age, as the Packers had their best football and greatest achievements when I was only a boy in search of professional sports. In the mid-1960s, the Packers caught my attention as they always found a way to beat the Chicago Bears, Minnesota Vikings, Los Angeles Rams, Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Colts and Dallas Cowboys. as well as any team that dares to challenge them.

Their preparation and execution had something different and it always gave them the advantage in the most important games. Lombardi prepared his team and Starr delivered the biggest games at the most important moments.

If it looks a lot like Bill Belichick and Tom Brady, it should be fine. Football is perhaps much more complex and strategic than it was over 50 years ago, but the aspects of preparation and execution are the same.

When I spoke to Starr, I hoped to get an idea of ​​what it was like to play for Lombardi, or at least give me a little more than the anecdotes that helped to make popular culture.

Many know Lombardi's demanding techniques during training camp and said he wants his players to be in better shape than their opponents. In the 1960s, it was clear that Lombardi did not favor white players over black players, as evidenced by the famous release of defensive tackle Henry Jordan. "He treats us all the same way, like dogs."

Lombardi exerted his personality on all the players of the team, but he made only once that Starr reproaches his opponents.

Starr refused to allow Lombardi to criticize him, but he did not do so by challenging the strength, power or manliness of his coach. Instead, he used logic to convince him not to launch personal criticism against him.

Since Starr was the leader of his team, how could other players respect him if he was personally criticized by the coach? His ability to lead would be compromised and Lombardi realized his shift was right.

Starr did not have a problem with the great coach pointing out something he could have done better on the pitch, but he did not allow personal criticism.

Starr acknowledged his confrontation with Lombardi, but he downplayed it when I spoke to him. He pointed out how his coach had listened to him, had taken into account what he had said and no longer had this problem in the years to come.

However, goalie Jerry Kramer explained that Starr had the courage and the intensity to look his coach in the eye and tell him what he would not allow. "Lombardi would not have taken that from any other player, but he surely realized that Bart was right," Kramer explained. "He never took anything against Bart."

Starr led the Packers to the first two titles of the Super Bowl, but his most famous game and most famous game was taken from the Ice Bowl.

The Packers and Cowboys played in the NFL championship game on December 31, 1967 at Lambeau Field. Temperatures reached minus 15 degrees as play began and conditions deteriorated as the game progressed.

The visiting Cowboys played a brilliant match under the circumstances, as Tom Landry and the Dallas Doomsday defense had largely closed the Packers after two early touchdowns. Dallas led 17-14 in the final moments when Starr led Green Bay in a desperate attempt featuring all the details of Lombardi's preparation and abilities.

Not his ability to pbad or his physical talent, but his ability to play in the most difficult circumstances. His ability to follow Kramer's blocking of Dallas defensive tackle Jethro Pugh and the end zone earned him a place in the NFL tradition.

Perhaps the most elated place in the history of sports.

It was a team that survived in the most difficult conditions. It may have been the team's last moment and Starr was treating it that way. He never looked for personal glory for his winning touch, recognizing the team and his coach.

It was Starr all the way through. He was a man as honest and pleasant as you could meet in all circles and he was perfectly entitled to be proud of all his accomplishments and his place in the game.

But he did not ask for a personal glory that would surely have been his if that had been his choice. It was part of the time he lived and played, but more simply the way he lived.