Green Bay Packers: 5 Members of the Organization to Be Thankful for
On this Thanksgiving holiday, there are plenty of things to be thankful for.
Family, friends, good health, a roof over your head—you name it—this time of year is always a good time to reflect on the important things in your life.
For a lot of people in Wisconsin, the Green Bay Packers are just that: an important part of their lives. While it's certainly far down the list of things I'm thankful for, I'd be kidding myself if I didn't admit the Packers hold a special place in my life.
To be honest, there are hundreds of people who make the Green Bay Packers who they are. From the ticket vendor outside Lambeau Field to CEO/President Mark Murphy, each plays a significant part ensuring we always see the Packers we all are grateful for.
But as a Packers fan, which members of the organization should I be most thankful for?
Here is my list.
Charles Woodson/Donald Driver
1 of 5
The two players who best exemplify who the Green Bay Packers are have to be Charles Woodson and Donald Driver.
Not only have both had great careers wearing green and gold on the field, they've both been amazing people off it as well.
Woodson has arguably been one of the NFL's best cornerbacks since his arrival in Green Bay. Following his signing by the Packers in April of 2006, the former Heisman Trophy winner has intercepted 30 passes and scored seven touchdowns, and he was named NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2009.
But he's been even better outside the white lines. Woodson donated $2 million to the University of Michigan Children's Hospital in 2009, and his foundation has helped raise money for breast cancer research and gives out scholarships to kids going to college.
He's a class act, and we're lucky to have Woodson in both our defensive backfield and as a member of the community in Green Bay.
Driver has a similar story. Now in his 12th season, he's caught nearly 700 passes for over 9,000 yards and 52 touchdowns—pretty good numbers for a guy drafted in the seventh round back in 1999. In fact, Driver became the Packers' all-time leading receiver by catching his 596th pass last season.
While Driver is a three-time Pro Bowler on the field, he's a Hall of Famer off it. Since his rookie year in 1999, Driver has made over 300 appearances, and his foundation has contributed to communities all over Wisconsin.
Driver was rewarded for his effort in 2002 when the NFL named him their Walter Payton Man of the Year award, given to the player who shows excellence both on the field and off it.
Truth be told, on this Thanksgiving, we should be thankful for both Woodson and Driver. Because not only are they great Packers, they are great people who have probably made just as many fans with their work off the field as on it.
Mike McCarthy
2 of 5
To truly understand why we should be thankful for McCarthy, one only has to look back to 2006.
That's the year we brought on McCarthy to coach the Green Bay Packers, but it was also the year that nine other new head coaches were hired in the NFL.
Let's take a look at that list: Dick Jauron (Bills), Rod Marinelli (Lions), Gary Kubiak (Texans), Herm Edwards (Chiefs), Brad Childress (Vikings), Sean Payton (Saints), Eric Mangini (Jets), Art Shell (Raiders) and Scott Linehan (Rams).
Only Kubiak and Payton remain coaching their original teams, and Mangini is the only member of the list that has since found another head coaching job.
Jauron is a defensive backs coach in Philadelphia, Marinelli is defensive coordinator of the Bears, Edwards is an ESPN analyst, Childress was recently fired after a circus season, Shell is out of football and Linehan is the offensive coordinator of the Lions.
But besides Payton, is there another guy out of that class you'd want coaching the Green Bay Packers?
Not a chance.
That's not even mentioning that McCarthy is probably doing his best job as head coach of the Packers this season. I wrote in one of my previous articles that McCarthy should be a strong candidate for NFL coach of the year to this point. Would you disagree?
Who knows—by the end of the season, it's possible that the class of 2006 head coaches could have two Super Bowl winners.
Aaron Rodgers
3 of 5
The list of elite NFL quarterbacks is a short one, but there's no question that Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is knocking on the door.
I think if you asked nearly every general manager in the NFL, they'd love having Rodgers as their signal caller.
Really, why wouldn't you? Rodgers is young (26 years old), he's really good (after 30 more passes, Rodgers will qualify for the NFL's all-time passer rating leaders; he'll most likely be second in NFL history after those 30 passes) and he handled one of the all-time ugliest quarterback transitions with class and leadership.
He also treated us to arguably the best passing season in Packers history last season, throwing for 30 touchdowns and 4,434 yards and only seven interceptions. He started a little slower this season, but he's been among the NFL's best at the position over the past month or so of the season.
You know what the scary part is? He's only going to get better—and he's going to keep winning. Who knows—he might treat us to a few Super Bowl parades in Green Bay.
We should be very thankful for Aaron Rodgers.
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Ted Thompson
4 of 5
Why should we be thankful for general manager Ted Thompson?
A simple reason would be to tell you he's been responsible for bringing three out of the four people already mentioned in this article (Driver excluded) to Green Bay.
But Woodson, McCarthy and Rodgers aren't the only pieces Thompson has brought the Packers. We can look up and down the Packers roster, and Thompson's fingerprints are all over it.
On offense, Thompson brought us Greg Jennings, Jermichael Finley, Ryan Grant, James Jones, Josh Sitton and Bryan Bulaga. On defense, he's brought in Cullen Jenkins, B.J. Raji, Clay Matthews, Nick Collins, Tramon Williams and A.J. Hawk.
Overall, it's clear that Thompson has laid the foundation for the Packers to have the success they are having. While not everyone is happy with the way he works (is there a GM in the NFL that has 100 percent approval?), he's made the Packers into one of the NFL's best by utilizing the draft better than almost any GM.
On this Thanksgiving Day, be thankful for Ted Thompson. Because while many of you would never admit it, he's one of the NFL's better general managers.
The Fans
5 of 5
Finally, we should be thankful for Packers fans all across the world. Because unlike any other professional team in the United States, the fans actually own the Green Bay Packers.
But not only are we the owners of the team, we are also the NFL's best fans. In Green Bay, with a population of just over 100,000 people, we sell out every game without question.
In fact, we have a waiting list for season tickets that spans generations, and it almost seems like a rite of passage for fans to enter Lambeau Field for the first time.
We travel better than most fanbases, and in some cases we make other stadiums a home away from home. It's certain that no matter what city the Packers travel to, they'll have a strong following with them.
While players might be a little uneasy going out in Green Bay, they fully understand that being a Green Bay Packer turns you into a hero in this state.
We can't help we love our Green Bay Packers, and that's what makes us the part of the Packers that we all should be most thankful for.
Because without us, there would be no Green Bay Packers—and for many of us, that's a thought we can't stand to think.
Happy Thanksgiving, and "Go Pack Go!"
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