Badgers see shared vision through to NCAA final

fpadmin | 04/07/2015

Lions, Vikings, Seahawks, Cowboys & Bears…Oh My!

All coming to Lambeau this year! Grab your spot from us in late April.

By CHRIS HAVEL

Packers would be wise to follow Wisconsin’s blueprint to success

Even the 24-7, 365-day ‘round-the-year beast called the NFL pumps its brakes for the NCAA men’s basketball championship game.
It was especially so for the Green Bay Packers, who had to look no further than Madison to admire the Badgers’ brilliance all season.
Ultimately, Wisconsin fell to Duke, 68-63, in Monday night’s title game in Indianapolis. The loss was painful, but the way the Badgers responded to last year’s last-second loss to Kentucky was impressive.
The Badgers didn’t hide from the loss. They hurt from it. They absorbed it. They learned from it.
Sam Dekker got stronger. Nigel Hayes developed 3-point range. Bronson Koenig returned ready to consistently contribute as a sophomore. And Frank Kaminsky merely came back to capture the NCAA men’s basketball Player of the Year Award.
Constantly, they were motivated by the loss to Kentucky. I suspect the Packers’ response to that gut-wrenching 28-22 overtime loss at Seattle in the NFC Championship Game will be similar.
In fact, it has been so far.
Mike McCarthy didn’t shy away from the loss. He analyzed it. He was honest with himself. He made changes.
McCarthy fired his close friend and special teams’ coordinator Shawn Slocum. He relinquished the play-calling duties so that he could focus on the big picture. In addition, it allowed him to further empower assistant head coach Tom Clements and offensive coordinator/receivers coach Edgar Bennett.
While the Packers’ roster will experience significant turnover compared with Wisconsin’s, the key players remain to right the wrong.
Aaron Rodgers is highly driven by nature. Imagine what it’s like for him to have to swallow the fact that Green Bay was five minutes away from a Super Bowl berth? Others have similar attitudes and motivation.
Julius Peppers telling Morgan Burnett to take a knee, and Clay Matthews literally taking a knee to rest on the sidelines at the most critical moment, surely want vindication.
No doubt Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb would like another opportunity to light up the scoreboard in the second half at Seattle, or wherever the title game is played. It’s something they failed to do in this most recent and painful playoff loss.
So far, the Packers have had a strong off-season. When they arrive April 20 for the start of team activities, I suspect there will be a pervading attitude of vowing not to miss that opportunity again.
Likewise, the returning Badgers vowed to avenge last year’s loss to Kentucky, and to do everything in their power to rewrite the ending. Dekker’s cell phone wallpaper showed the Wildcats celebrating. It was a constant reminder of how much it hurt to get so close and fail.
The Packers could follow suit and use as a backdrop the Seahawks’ recovery of the onside kick as major motivation.
On Monday, the Badgers were poised to become national champions. They had a healthy Dekker, and Koenig was an upgrade over Traevon Jackson at point guard. Also, Duje Dukan had become a 3-point threat, Josh Gasser continued to play relentlessly on a surgically repaired knee, and Hayes kept getting better each day.
With all of that going for it, Wisconsin had a great chance to be cutting down the nets in Indy. Instead, the Blue Devils prevailed. But that did nothing to diminish the Badgers’ run to the title game.
The Badgers defeated Coastal Carolina by two touchdowns to open their NCAA Tournament run. They followed it with an epic stretch of seven-point victories over Oregon, North Carolina, Arizona and Kentucky.
Wisconsin was on a mission. The Badgers weren’t going to be denied. Not by a misspent off-season. Not by past demons. Not by anything except Duke’s terrific freshmen and perhaps tired legs from contending with Kentucky in the semi-finals.
The takeaway from this isn’t that the Badgers came up short. It’s that they gathered themselves from a difficult defeat, made tremendous use of the off-season and had the greatest season in the modern era of Wisconsin men’s basketball.
It’ll be interesting to watch the retooled, rejuvenated Packers try to get beyond that crushing loss at Seattle in the NFC Championship and return to the Super Bowl.
Chris Havel is a national best-selling author and his latest book is Lombardi: An Illustrated Life. Havel can be heard Monday through Friday from 4-6 p.m. CDT on WDUZ FM 107.5 The Fan, or on AM-1400, as well as Fan Internet Radio (www.thefan1075.com). Havel also hosts Event USA’ MVP Parties the evening before home games.

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Kudos to Amy for making sure that the tickets to the tailgate party were waiting for me at the reception desk! Your personal phone call and text messages went above and beyond customer satisfaction! I can't wait for the 2024 season, rest assured that my go-to Packer's game supplier will be Event USA for a long time.
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-Jean-Pierre Mallette, Montréal, Canada

"Thank you so much Cathy, greatly appreciate your help. As always, EventUSA has been awesome to deal with in booking the Lodge Kohler package for the Tampa Bay Game, particularly for me traveling from Sydney, Australia, it takes the stress out of the booking process. "

-Kayle

"Good Morning, Nicole - Everything you did turned out great. The seats were great. Access to the air conditioned club lounge was great. Lots of Packers fans in the club lounge and overall at the stadium. The tailgate party at the fancy restaurant in the hotel was fabulous. The servers just kept on bringing out different sliders and desserts. Good thing that I got in a 30-minute run along the river in the morning. So, thank you! You may be speaking with me in November if I can work out getting up to Green Bay for a game. It's been too long since my last time. One of the best aspects of this weekend was interacting with so many people from Wisconsin and learning their personal stories of things Packers. And we even met a couple from St. Petersburg, Florida (my home county) and were able to tell them about the Varsity Club tavern and Packers bar in Clearwater where Mark Murphy's mother is in attendance -- very nice lady whose retirement home is in Clearwater, which borders my little city of Dunedin. Pre-COVID, I always went to the Varsity when the Packers games weren't televised locally -- lots of Wisconsin natives there, too + they serve brats and sauerkraut during Packers games. I'm glad that you are working for Event USA. "

-- Martin Lawyer, Dunedin, Florida

"Dennis - I was blessed to join Amy and some of your customers at the Morton's tailgate as well as after the game. She does an amazing job for you. Every single customer I met praised Event USA for being able to arrange the hotel and tickets and fabulous tailgate party in such a quick time. Having been to some great tour tailgate parties in Jacksonville and Kansas City and old San Francisco, a lot can be said of the long-term benefit of having really great tailgate parties. Morton's was probably one of the best - amazing food, patio sitting on the riverfront, walk to stadium, open bar!!! It was first class fun!!!"

-Matt

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"I want to thank Event USA and in particular Amy Flores for the Jacksonville trip. We have used you before and always were very pleased with the packages you have set up and your service. My son who lives in Charleston, SC and myself who lives in Minnesota, decided we needed to do a guys trip and decided to go through your company to see the opener in New Orleans. I initially called and talked with Amy about some questions I had and booked our trip. After itinerary and info was emailed to us, it soon became apparent that the trip to New Orleans wouldn’t happen. In steps Amy, wondering if we would be interested in Dallas if the game was moved there and a package was set up. Then finally the move to Jacksonville and continued communication from Amy on our interest. It was getting late at that point and I was wondering if she would be able to pull off setting up a package in Jacksonville. She did it. We went to Jacksonville and had a great time. The accommodations and the tail gate were fabulous. If only the Packer team we were hoping for had made the trip. Thank you Event USA and in particular Amy Flores."

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-Frank Chavez, Sacramento

"I just wanted to say that I had such a great time. The whole weekend was so much fun. I enjoyed the Player Autograph Party and the tailgate party was just the best. After coming from a country that loves soccer, it was nice to mix with people who have the same interests as me. Thank you once again, Green Bay is one very special place."

-Beverley Moore, Lancaster

"My accommodations at the Best Western Midway were excellent. I was picked up at the airport and returned promptly. No problems at all. Your representative at the hotel on game day was very pleasant and helpful. The tailgate party was super, great food, great drinks and lots of fun. Obviously, Lambeau Field and the game itself was great. I will continue to use Event USA in the future, and I will definitely tell anyone who I come across to give you a call. One last thing, the hospitality I experienced in Green Bay was incredible. I have traveled to many places, and I don’t think there are more friendly people than the people of Green Bay. Thank you again and see you next year!"

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-William D Lorge, Representative to the Wisconsin State Assembly