Say it ain't so....

[HarveyWallbangers]

Barnett

"Not only was it important for me, but also the 15 others that were afraid to say how they felt. If you are going to be a leader you sometimes have to take steps that are not that popular. But a couple guys called me today to tell me thank you. That felt as rewarding as anything I have ever done. I'm really happy about this. Being a part of this picture means everything. It's everything we worked for."

[HarveyWallbangers]

http://espn.go.com/blog/nfcnorth/post/_/id/23447/page/espntexas/xlv-its-called-a-team-photo-for-a-reason

I reached out to ESPN.com contributor Ross Tucker, who played seven years in the NFL and also addressed the issue in Wednesday's Football Today podcast.

The Super Bowl photograph, Tucker said, is the manifestation of the most basic element of the game. It's the team. Eliminating a segment of players from the group erodes the team-first idea.

"Everything you preach about getting to the Super Bowl," Tucker said, "everything you talk about is team, team, team. 'We're in this together.' You should 'sacrifice your individual goals and do what's best for the team.' These guys on IR, they've kind of made the ultimate sacrifice. ... These guys have kind of given themselves up for the team and they want to feel like they're a part of it. All those guys were a part of it in a major way, especially for a team that barely got in the playoffs. Those guys were all a part of it."

Indeed, speaking to Michael Silver of Yahoo! Sports, Barnett said there is tremendous symbolism and importance to a Super Bowl photograph.

"In our team meeting room, there are pictures of past championship teams that line the wall, and we stare at them every day," Barnett told Silver. "There's a spot there that's empty -- that was for us, this year. We'd go in there and visualize being on that wall, and think about the effort it would take to get there. You'd see guys like Ray Nitschke up there, and that's motivation. So, now that we've gotten to the Super Bowl, to not be on that wall ... well, it's disheartening."

[Patler]

But is it THIS picture that matters, or the annual picture taken by the team? Or one taken after they win?

What about those years when a player is waived during the season? Do they come back for the team photo at the Super Bowl? Sometimes they have played as much as Grant this year, or Finley, or Barnett. Shouldn't their mug be on the picture too?
I think Will Blackmon was on IR for a day or two while they worked out his injury settlement. Is he coming back for the photo? He deserves it as much as Bell or Levine. I wonder if Blackmon uses Twitter?

[Scott Campbell]

Don't disagree about them being in the pic at all. Strongly disagree with the way they handled it. To go crying in public over this at this time is ridiculous.

Amen. I'm close to losing my patience with those two.

[sharpe1027]

Barnett only references players thanking him after he complained, but I'm sure it was about them and not himself. Whodathunk this would be newsworthy? A super bowl picture that only includes players that might actually play in the game. The horror! Seriously, blown way out of proportion all the way around. All those writers must really be struggling for a story. Two of the most storied teams are matched up against each other must not be enough.

[hoosier]

Barnett Not only was it important for me, but also the 15 others that were afraid to say how they felt. If you are going to be a leader you sometimes have to take steps that are not that popular. But a couple guys called me today to tell me thank you. That felt as rewarding as anything I have ever done.

I hate it when people pat themselves on the back on Twitter. Speaking of which, if that is the most rewarding thing he's ever done, maybe it's time for Nick to get involved in some public service work.

[mraynrand]

" Community involvement: This past offseason, participated in an autograph signing in Missoula, Mont., as a fundraiser for the local Ronald McDonald House * In 2007, traveled with the second annual Green Bay Packers Tailgate Tour, visiting communities throughout Wisconsin and making both scheduled and surprise visits with state residents * In 2006, was selected by a Door County elementary school student for the NFL’s Take-A-Player-To-School program, for which he picked up the student, escorted him to school and then spoke to groups of students about the importance of education, plus offered some football tips * Served as an organizer and instructor for the ‘William Henderson & Nick Barnett Football Camp’ in July 2006, a five-day youth football camp at St. Norbert College in De Pere, Wis. * Has interacted with participants at the annual Jerry Parins Cruise for Cancer, an annual motorcycle ride benefiting cancer patients and families throughout Northeastern Wisconsin * During the 2004 season, he and former teammate Javon Walker conducted the ‘Jam Tour,’ visiting 16 Wisconsin schools and giving motivational speeches to students * Donated $56 to the American Cancer Society of Wisconsin for each tackle he registered during the 2004 season * Took part in previous Green Bay Packers Fan Fest events, signing autographs and interacting with fans * Has participated multiple times in the annual ‘Brown County Breakfast on the Farm’, serving breakfast, ice cream and milk to attendees * Participated in the Edgar Bennett Celebrity Bowl-A-Thon multiple times, benefiting the March of Dimes and the Angel Fund for Children with Cancer, respectively, and in the Vince Lombardi Golf Classic to benefit the Vince Lombardi charitable fund * Also taped a public service announcement in the spring of 2008 for the UW Health System to promote the importance of organ donation"

[Smidgeon]

Barnett only references players thanking him after he complained, but I'm sure it was about them and not himself. Whodathunk this would be newsworthy? A super bowl picture that only includes players that might actually play in the game. The horror! Seriously, blown way out of proportion all the way around. All those writers must really be struggling for a story. Two of the most storied teams are matched up against each other must not be enough.

I think what happened is his first instinct wasn't to think about the impact of his words but to say that he was hurt for being left out. Acceptable.
He explained why it meant so much (seeing the pictures on the wall, etc). Acceptable.
But by not thinking about the medium through which he was expressing this displeasure, he provided a distraction for the Packers. Unacceptable.
He realized by the response of fans/teammates/coaches/whomever that he was being a distraction and almost immediately explained he didn't want to be a distraction. Acceptable.
Other IR people called him and thanked him. Acceptable.
Feeling guilty for having been part of the distraction, he let the twitter public know that it wasn't just him who wanted this. Debatably necessary.

In short, he had a legitimate reason for feeling left out, used an ill-advised method to make himself heard and/or garner public sympathy, and supported his viewpoint that others wanted it too. Natural social progression. Nothing to see here, folks.

[jmbarnes101]

They should have respectfully went to see Ted or MM and informed him/them of their displeasure. Packers people aren't selfish me first people and I wouldn't be surprised if this bit them in the butt. Nick especially since the defense has been better without him playing. I wouldn't be surprised to see him traded next year and this having a piece to play in that decision. As a leader he should have known better.

[Cheesehead Craig]

Let's see: Posted their displeasure on the internet then are surprised that they are a "distraction". Dumbasses.

[sharpe1027]

No matter who you side with, it is not a big deal.

[Guiness]

Finley said they went to the team, and the team wanted no part of what they were selling.

Backup offensive lineman Evan Dietrich-Smith(notes) began the year in Seattle and signed with Green Bay on New Year's Eve. He gets to be in the team photo while Finley doesn't?

Who the hell said that about EDS? That's low. The guy is out there playing, and you doubt his contribution?

[pbmax]

Doesn't anybody in the Green Bay organization know how to use photoshop, for Chrissakes?

I don't care how many times we ask Fritz, they still refuse to airbrush Slocum out of the pictures.

[pbmax]

I will ask again, what is the significance of this photo when the IR players are coming to everything else and can be on the sideline during the game? What is the photo used for? Has anyone every seen one of the pregame photos of the other Packer SB teams? I would think post game photos after winning would be more important, and if you lose, who cares?

I put this answer up in the other thread as well, but just in case that one drops....

Barnett tweeted that these photos of previous championship teams are on the walls of the meeting rooms and that he has been staring at them for seven years. He claimed he even knew the space the next one would occupy. Now I don't know if these phtotos are preseason, pre-Super Bowl or post-Super Bowl, but he is aware of them in the team's environment and they appear to be important.

So I don't think this is made up of whole cloth, but I am unsure whether Barnett is worried about the correct photo.

And either way, no one should have been on Twitter about it.

[denverYooper]

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/114728989.html?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed

What went into your thinking and did you change your plans for the photo based on the reaction by Nick? Really the reaction was a total overreaction, and just to make it clear, I will tell you exactly what happened, as opposed to what I really think about it.

"I really think it was a crock of shit that those guys handled it the way they did"

Monday, actually Sunday night, (GM) Ted Thompson, (security director) Doug Collins and (administrative assistant) Matt Klein and (PR director) Jeff (Blumb) is very much involved in that, too, all of the planning for the Super Bowl. I chose to stay out of it because I did not want to be occupied with any of the planning as I was ... the part that I was in '07. It was an experience that I felt that I learned from. So with that, they had a lot of questions for me. It started Sunday night on the plane back. So first, the most important part was travel, for the families and the players, so we addressed that Monday and how we are going to do that.

As far as the IR situation, it's different. We have 15. It's a large number, so there are different components that went into why they traveled when they traveled. So with that; so I spent Monday and Tuesday, really getting the schedule ready for this week. And then Tuesday the captains, Aaron and Charles, came up to the office. We had a couple of things we had to discuss and they brought the issue, I guess you would call it, to my attention. I had heard about the Twitter (complaints from LB Nick Barnett and TE Jermichael Finley) and didn't really frankly pay much mind to it because of the individuals involved. So we discussed it, we discussed a number of things, curfew and they did what good captains do. We had a conversation, I said I'll look into it.

Ted was traveling to Mobile. I talked to him that night, and he said, 'Hey, they usually do the picture on Tuesday.' I said, 'I'm going to move it to Friday.' As you know how Ted is, he goes, ‘You take that picture any time you want.’ So we moved the picture to Friday. That's really the end of it.

So I haven't seen Nick. I haven't seen Jermichael, either one of them, since Chicago. I think they made a poor decision, what they did. But we feel great because if that's the biggest issue that we have in our preparation, we are going to have a hell of a week. So it's not that big of a deal.

Was part of it not wanting 15 guys who don't have work to do down there for the full week and the potential distraction that could come from that? There's a number of components and I really don't want to waste anybody else's time with it. It's unusual, because your initial plan is you take everybody. But you're off site -- there's a number of reasons why it was Thursday(for IR guys to come down) as opposed to Monday, and good reasons. Because at the end of the day, it's about getting ready for this game. It's not that they are not part of the team. They are in the photo. You want them in the photo and that's important. That part is in place. But we have to do -- we have to create the environment and the structure down there to get these players ready for this game and that's what every decision has been based on.