- Super Bowl Championships: 4
- Last Super Bowl Championship: Super Bowl 45
- Claim to Fame: The only non-profit, community-owned major league professional sports team in the US
- Claim to Shame: After winning Super Bowl 2, they only made the playoffs twice in the next 25 years
Despite playing in one of the smallest markets in professional sports, the Green Bay Packers have solidified themselves as one of the most historic and successful football franchises of all time.
The Packers were founded in 1919 by Curly Lambeau. Lambeau would assemble a team and gather funding for uniforms and equipment from his employer, the Indian Packing Company.
The Packers franchise has a long history of trials and tribulations, from an impressive 10-1 inaugural season, to being kicked out of the league for disguising college players, the Packers have seen it all.
The Packers have won 13 league championships, more than any other American football club, and four championships during the Super Bowl era. The Packers won the first two Super Bowls, in the 1966 and ’67 seasons, under hall of fame coach, Vince Lombardi.
Historically, the Packers have been a competitive franchise. But the last two seasons have marked something of a nadir, at least in the Aaron Rodgers era. The All Pro QB was lost to injury in 2017 and the Pack stumbled to a 7-9 season, ending their streak of eight straight playoff appearances.
Back under center in 2018, Rodgers was expected to lead the team back to the playoffs and an NFC North title.
That didn’t happen. Green Bay went 7-8-1 with a healthy Rodgers, and head coach Mike McCarthy paid the price.
The 2019 season will be the first with 39-year-old Matt LaFleur as head coach. He has a somewhat revamped roster to work with, but not necessarily in a good way. Clay Matthews is gone, as is longtime slot receiver Randall Cobb. Coming in are LB Za’Darius Smith, G Billy Turner, and rookie DE Rashan Gary.
As usual, Green Bay’s fate rests on the arm of Rodgers. But as we saw last year, he can’t turn an imbalanced, ineffective supporting cast into an elite attack. LaFleur will have to inject some life and creativity into the Packer offense if this team is going to get back to the apex of the tough NFC North, where the Bears and Vikings also have Super Bowl aspirations.
