Upon seeing a sneak preview of the new Disney movie "Game Plan" on Thursday night, a few Packers players appreciated the film's family message.
"Game Plan" is a story about a star quarterback, Joe Kingman, living the glamorous single life of a professional football hero. Suddenly, an 8-year-old daughter he never knew he had shows up on his doorstep, and his life is turned a bit upside-down.
Kingman, played by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, struggles mightily at first with what his priorities should be.
"The point of the movie was for him to learn that it's not all about him, regardless of how much fame he has," receiver Donald Driver said. "There are other people out there more important than him. I think as the movie went on, he realized that.
"At first he didn't really care. He said, 'I don't have any kids.' But as things went on he realized he does love her, and it shows that family always is first in this game."
Driver and fellow receiver Greg Jennings were two of a handful of Packers players who attended the special screening at the Bay Park Square Mall cinema in Green Bay, along with several coaches and other employees.
Perhaps fittingly, Driver and Jennings were taking care of their own young kids during the movie and were admittedly distracted, unable to watch everything from start to finish.
But both did see one of the movie's key scenes, when Kingman is roped into wearing a ballet costume and performing on stage with his daughter's ballet class, with all of his teammates in the audience watching.
"No, not at all," Driver said when asked if he'd ever see himself doing something like that. "Not even close. I don't think my kids would pull that stunt on me."
Jennings paused at the question and then responded, "For my daughter, I would do it. I would do it for my daughter. I don't know if I'd do it just to do it. But when you're a parent you have to go above and beyond for your kids. That's the call of duty sometimes."
Though their stories aren't as exaggerated as Kingman's, both Driver and Jennings could relate a little bit to the challenge of finding that balance between parental responsibilities and a high-profile career.
"You have to have a game plan, and that's the name of the movie," Driver said. "You have to have a game plan for how you balance your life playing in professional sports. It's hard in real life to try to balance your life and your family, but as a man, as a player and as a father, I think I handle it pretty well. It works out."
