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Every week, commenter RandBallsStu (branding!) tracks down a former Minnesota sports figure about whom you might have otherwise forgotten. This week, he found a bunch! Also, note that this will function as the final post of the day, as a crazy night is certain to follow
Stu?
Greg Jennings is the latest in a very long line of Green Bay Packers who have left that organization for their archrivals in Minnesota. (NOTE: here’s where your boring friend from Tomah says, “The Bears are our real archrivals,” and you laugh at him because your friend is boring and stupid and wrong and why is he your friend anyway? Would he help you move? No. He probably wouldn’t. Get better friends who aren’t boring and say dumb stuff like that.) This move has stirred the waters of the Packers/Vikings feud, which had been stilled since the Vikings helped put an end to their increasingly lost season. Grantland’s Steven Hyden, a Wisconsin native, wrote an entertaining, snark-heavy piece in which the Packers are favorably likened to Mad Men’s Don Draper. I don’t necessarily disagree with the premise, but I then inevitably compare Packer fans to Jon Hamm in the looks department, and die from scream-laughing.
A TAXONOMY OF WHO MOST MALE PACKER FANS RESEMBLE BY AGE:
Ages 12 and under: Jerry O’Connell in Stand By Me
13-30: young Chris Farley
31-34: Chris Farley the rest of the time
35-55: one of the BoDeans.
56 and older: Ed Gein
But my point here is not to argue that the Vikings are content with the Packers’ table scraps, or that any Green Bay player with the wherewithal to get the [redacted] out of Ashwaubenon and into a real city with things to do and places to go does so gladly. Rather, I just want to track down some of the athletes who’ve made that switch and see what they’re doing now. The results are below.
Brett Favre: the most noteworthy name on the list, the Vikings great most recently helped sell Jennings on signing with Minnesota. He spent last fall as the offensive coordinator of for Oak Grove High School football team in Mississippi, and was a part of the NFL Network’s Super Bowl coverage.
Ryan Longwell: one of the most reliable kickers in Minnesota history, this Vikings great was let go last offseason to make way for future Pro Bowler Blair Walsh. After staying out of football the entire regular season, Longwell was signed by Seattle to replace an injured Steven Hauschka in their playoff game against Atlanta.
Darren Sharper: this Vikings great retired after a stint with the Saints, and in 2012 he joined New Orleans’ WWL-TV as a football analyst. He was also a frequent guest on 1500ESPN during the 2012-13 season.
Robert Ferguson: the wide receiver was last seen playing for the Omaha Nighthawks of the United Football League. The Nighthawks are also home to former Bears running back Garrett Wolfe.
Bryce Paup: the DE/linebacker, who immediately became the NFL Defensive Player of the Year after leaving the Pack, moved back to the Green Bay area after his Vikings career ended in 2000. In February, Paup left his job as the head football coach of Green Bay Southwest high school to take an assistant coaching position with his alma mater, Northern Iowa.
Jeff Brady: was the subject of a recent Hunt Down. As it happens, he actually read this piece and called my editor to discuss it. He apparently does not care for Dan Barreiro’s “Ol’ Swivelhead” nickname.
Bucky Scribner: as previously documented, Scribner was a trailblazer in this transfer of assets from Green Bay to Minnesota before retiring to Kansas. DID YOU KNOW: I have used this name to reserve tables at restaurants.
Mossy Cade: the most controversial member of this club, and with good reason. After the linked Hunt Down ran, I received a couple emails claiming that Cade was still incarcerated, but was unable to confirm that information. His low profile remains low.
Gilbert Brown: unlike the others above, Brown actually started with the Vikings before settling for Green Bay. Minnesota cut Brown in training camp despite using a 3rd-round pick on him, and he was scooped up by the Packers, where he would become a folk hero with his “Grave Digger” dance and “corpulent even by Wisconsin’s anti-standards” physique. Since retirement, he’s been a part of multiple minor-league football ventures in Wisconsin, the most recent of which was as head coach of your Green Bay Chill of the Lingerie Football League.
Michael Rand wrote: