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Holiday leftovers: The demise of the Green Bay Packers and the Weidner Center
By Bob Lowe
Jan. 12, 2006
Like families who purchased excessive food for the holidays, I have some leftovers waiting to be consumed. So, before tackling some of the latest goodies for 2006, let’s dispose of some of those leftovers from 2005.
First, a few thoughts about the Green Bay Packers. When Head Coach Mike Sherman was unceremoniously dumped by first-year general manager Ted Thompson after the final game, I was not among those who popped the champagne bottle and cheered. I felt Sherman deserved one more year to at least see what would happen if he were able to field a healthy team again.
This past 4-12 season – his only losing season since he took over in 2000 – was hardly an adequate barometer of Sherman’s ability to determine whether he should continue on as the head coach. Even though Thompson said his decision to dismiss Sherman was not based on this past year’s win/loss record, I tend to doubt that. If that were true, why did he extend Sherman’s contract for two years at the start of the season? If Sherman had compiled a winning record or made it into the playoffs this past season, it is hard to imagine that Thompson would have fired him.
Maybe Thompson didn’t feel comfortable with the man. Or, as he put it, "it’s time for a new face." He’s certainly within his rights to do so. I won’t fault him for seeking a fresh start, especially with the status of quarterback Brett Favre still in limbo.
Maybe it’s just a gut feeling at this point, but I have not felt entirely comfortable with some of the personnel moves Thompson has made as GM since taking over those duties from Sherman. Former general manager Ron Wolf, who along with former coach Mike Holmgren brought back the winning tradition to Titletown, inspired more confidence in me right from the start. Thompson has yet to make a decision that has not left me with some reservations and uneasiness. Some of his moves, including his appointment of new head coach Mike McCarthy, have left me with doubts about whether this is the direction that Packers should be pursuing.
I’ll wait to see what kind of coaching staff McCarthy selects and get some idea of the offensive and defensive philosophies that will be put in place before passing judgment.
Although Sherman did not take the Packers to the Promised Land of the Super Bowl, he deserves to be commended for his hard work, his ability to cope with adversity, his class and his dignity displayed throughout this tenure. And one more thing: I salute him for "discovering" halfback Samkon Gado, who became the feel-good Cinderella story in a year most Packer fans would just as soon wipe from their memories..
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The end of the NFL’s regular season also brought to an end to two of television’s revered football programs, ABC long-running "Monday Night Football" and ESPN’s "NFL’s Prime Time," the cable network’s signature football highlight show with Chris Berman and Tom Jackson that aired from 6:30-7:30 p.m. Sunday evenings.
The premiere of "MNF" games in 1970 coincided with when I first began taking an interest in football. When I migrated to the Fox Valley from Panama in the fall of 1970, I knew very little about football. "MNF" quickly captured my interest, due in large part to the bombastic flair of one of its most famous sportscasters, Howard Cosell, who managed to entertain me even while irritating me with his verbal excesses.
Because of the Internet and the expansion of cable TV programming, "MNF" lost half its ratings from its early years in the 1970s. But it still remained a top-10 prime time show. According to NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy, more viewers – and, significantly, more women – watched "MNF" this past season than ABC’s mega hit, "Desperate Housewives."
Beginning next season, ESPN will become the new home for "MNF" under an eight-year contract with the NFL. Al Michaels will return for his 21st season as play-by-play announcer and Joe Theismann will succeed the legendary John Madden as analyst on the program. You have to wonder if this is ABC’s way of nudging Madden towards retirement.
Madden has signed on as color commentator on a new Sunday evening football show to be called "Football Night in America" to be broadcast by NBC. This will be the first time since televising Super Bowl XXXII at the end of the 1998 season that NBC been allowed to get a slice of the NFL pie.
The peacock network signed a six-year agreement to broadcast what had been known as "Sunday Night Football" on ESPN. "FNIA" will be co-hosted by Bob Costas and Cris Collinsworth, both of whom will continue their regular gigs on "HBO’s Inside the NFL," along with Chris Carter and Dan Marino. The broadcast will be preceded by a live all-star entertainment gala, whose headline performers and host will be announced in this coming summer.
NBC also will have the flexibility of selecting the games it chooses to broadcast, after consultations with the NFL and Fox and CBS networks, both of whom will continue to broadcast Sunday afternoon games. This will avoid the fiasco of airing what some people consider to be "meaningless" games, such as the Dec. 19 contest between the Packers and the Baltimore Ravens, which the Pack lost, 48-3.
"NFL Prime Time" will become a 90-minute pre-game show prior to the Monday night games, hosted by Berman, Jackson, Steve Young and Michael Irvin, in effect replacing ESPN’s "Monday Night Countdown."
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When it was announced late last year that the Weidner Center for the Performing Arts was abandoning its Broadway series and laying off highly competent employees such as programming director Joi Brown and development director Nancy Herschfield, I felt a sense of sadness. I have fond memories of covering a host of Broadway shows such as "The Phantom of the Opera," "Cats" and "Rent" and illusionist David Copperfield, vocalist Roberta Flack, comedian Bill Cosby and jazz icon Wynton Marsalis during the Weidner’s heyday in the mid to late 1990s.
Several reasons were cited for the Weidner’s demise, including a decrease in attendance, the emerging popularity of other venues like the Resch Center in Ashwaubenon, a scarcity of blockbuster traveling Broadway shows that could fill seats, the state of the economy since 9/11, a lack of operating funds, alleged competition from the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center in Appleton and conflicting demands for revenue for programs at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay campus, where the center is located.
To these I would also add the fact that people aren’t going out to partake of live entertainment like they used to. You could blame this on the Internet, on-demand cable TV programs, the popularity of video games and the proliferation of home theater systems that are providing people with a broader array of stay-at-home entertainment options. I also felt that the Weidner was too isolated and far away from Green Bay’s central business district with its hotels, restaurants, nightclubs and shopping centers.
Even if it never regains its status as a venue for Broadway productions, I still think the $18.4 million performing arts center is a magnificent facility that greatly enhances the cultural life of Green Bay region.
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Finally, a special tribute to Lou Rawls, one of the most distinctive voices in show business, who died of brain and lung cancer on Jan. 6 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. Frank Sinatra once referred to Rawls as having "the classiest singing and silkiest chops in the singing game."
A prolific performer, the Chicago-born Rawls appeared on more than 60 albums, won three Grammy Awards and made numerous appearances in films and TV shows, including his signature efforts in raising more than $200 million for the United Negro College Fund. Among his biggest hits were "Love Is A Hurtin’ Thing", "If I Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda", "Natural Man"
"Lady Love" and the Philly-soul classic, "You’ll Never Find Another Love Like Mine."
While Barry White, who died in 2003, and Luther Vandross, who died last July 1, were basically romantic balladeers, Rawls velvet-smooth vocal versatility extended over several musical genres, including gospel, jazz, R&B and blues. He was especially known for his cool monologues on many of his tunes. Several years ago, Rawls performed at the Carlton Inn-West in Green Bay, a show I was privileged to attend. I will long cherish the memory of that dynamic performance, as well as his numerous songs he produced that are a proud part of my musical collection.
For comments or questions, contact boblowe@juno.com or by phone at (920)-731-4603. |
