Jeremy from Alexandria, VA
Vic, I went to graduate school in Georgia for sports management a decade ago. Upon hearing I was from Wisconsin, a professor was kind enough to inform me the only reason the Packers sell out every week is there is nothing else to do in the state. I argued this was not true, and that ticket sales had more to do with demeanor of the people and strength of the brand. What reasoning do you feel is more correct?
Ask your professor if he would sit outside in sub-zero temperatures to watch a football game, or would he find something else to do, such as sitting in his warm house and watching the game on TV?
Brett from Marietta, GA
Vic, in your opinion, was there a seminal moment when football stopped being just a sporting event and became part of America's zeitgeist?
There were three: the 1958 NFL title game, the "Ice Bowl," and the "Immaculate Reception."
Peter from Budapest, Hungary
Vic, you are a straight man. This is why we trust you implicitly. So, please be honest, as always. Is soccer the biggest threat to football?
No. The thing that makes football as popular as it is, danger, is also the greatest threat to the game.
Brian from Cumming, GA
I thought Coach McCarthy's comment of "my philosophy is that if they're healthy, they play," was very interesting and almost as if saying circumstances such as an upcoming bye week shouldn't have an impact on personnel decisions. In your opinion, do you think this can be a short-sighted judgment or do you think it sends a message that's better for the team in the long run?
So, we don't want them to play in the preseason, and now we don't want them to play in the regular season, either? They don't pay these guys to not play. If the doctor says a player is healthy, he plays.
Alexandre from Providence, RI
Aaron Rodgers is on the verge of eclipsing Unitas as the fastest to reach 30,000 yards. I'm more impressed that Unitas holds the record Rodgers will likely break. How did Unitas accrue so many yards in that era of football?
By inventing the down-and-out, precision-passing, two-minute drill, and the back out of the backfield. He did it by inventing the passing game the men who break his records play. By the way, they laughed at me a few years ago when I said the day will come when a quarterback will throw for 6,000 yards. Tom Brady is on pace for 5,548. Hurry-up offenses are going to push passing records so beyond Unitas' era that Unitas will become a forgotten man.
Drew from Oakdale, MN
I know we are playing the Chargers this week, but do you think the players are looking ahead to playing the Broncos and having the game be between two undefeated teams?
No, but if the Packers and Broncos each win this week, the whole football world is going to begin looking ahead to that game, because the Packers and Broncos will each be on their bye next week and that'll give TV two weeks to hype that game. Rodgers vs. Manning? It would be a ratings bonanza.
