A Fan's Heart, Divided Against Itself

[pbmax]

Name the player, who when mentioned or remembered, provides the highest elation AND the biggest disappointment for you. We are looking for the absolute value of emotion as a sum, most elation plus most disappointment.

Could be over a play or a career, a career cut short or a player moving on to another team.

And I don't think Favre can be the answer for most, though what do I know. He played too long for there to be a singular disappointment that rivals the 96 Super Bowl win for me.



My answer is Allen Rossum. Not only was he a dynamic return guy, he also played dime DB versus the Rams in the playoff blowout. While the game was close (not nearly long enough), he was doing a fine job or previously unstoppable Marshall Faulk. It was not his first go at dime, but he really held his own there. I loved that the guy who Wolf or Thompson might have found too small was succeeding as a Smurf defending DB.

I loved the maneuver by the DC, Ed Donatell I believe, and I loved the results PLUS he was fantastic as a return guy.

Losing him to FA was not immediately a catastrophic disappointment, but it has become a bigger one as the franchise has struggled to replace him for going on 2 decades.

[Upnorth]

How can this not be Favre????? The times are almost inumerable, but I will say the greatest disappointment was the 2009 Season, followed by one of his greatest moments of elation which was his final play of 2009 season. HOw about 2007 ot vrs denver and 2007 ot vrs NYG? Heaven and Hell.

[hoosier]

The first name that comes to mind is Bryce Paup, who was an absolute terror off the edge. I couldn't believe Wolf let him go. The GB defense wasn't the same after he left. Even when it got really, really good in 1996, it still missed the intensity that his pass rush brought. Wayne Simmons brought a different kind of intensity but his was much more combustible.

[gbgary]

How can this not be Favre????? The times are almost inumerable, but I will say the greatest disappointment was the 2009 Season, followed by one of his greatest moments of elation which was his final play of 2009 season. HOw about 2007 ot vrs denver and 2007 ot vrs NYG? Heaven and Hell.

this...but i'll try to think of someone other than bf.

thinking...don't hold your breath

[Anti-Polar Bear]

Jon Ryan.

I personally witnessed Ryan punt in person, and his punts were so beautiful, I'd fuck 'em if I could.

Btw, Rossum also played some offense for the Pack, thanks to none other than Mike Sherman.

[Patler]

Several come to mind for different reason:

Ted Hendricks - He might have had the single most dominating season that I have seen from a Packers defensive player. When he was acquired, it seemed like a one year deal because of his pending USFL contract. When the league folded, there was a feeling of elation, thinking maybe Hendricks could be on GB for a while, and GB might resurrect itself. When he left, it wasn't just losing him, the feeling was that GB was becoming irrelevant in the NFL. It was more than just losing the player.

Tim Lewis and Sterling Sharp - both were phenomenal players, and their careers ended so abruptly and unexpectedly. Losing Sharp was losing a special combination, Favre and Sharp. I had expectations that they would challenge some of the greatest combinations ever. Lewis was just being mentioned as being maybe the best cover corner in the league, and then it was done.

James Lofton - such a bright spot on the team. So exciting to watch, when there wasn't always a lot to be excited about. So disappointed in the circumstances of his departure.

Eddie Lee Ivery - so great in college. So exciting for him to come to GB, because that was the time when a running game could carry a team. He looked so good and was chewing up the Bears when he hurt his knee. Back in those days, a knee injury meant he would never be the same, but he came back and looked like he could be the same. But it didn't last because he had another major injury. Knee injuries often ended careers in those days. Ivory still had a career, but I always wondered how good he could have been. He had looked like he could be a very special talent, not just a good running back.

[HarveyWallbangers]

ELATION

James Lofton. He was the only true star player the Packers had for many years when I first started watching the NFL.

1989

DISAPPOINTMENT

Tim Lewis. Just started playing at All-Pro level when his career was cut short by injury.

[HarveyWallbangers]

Several come to mind for different reason:

Ted Hendricks - He might have had the single most dominating season that I have seen from a Packers defensive player. When he was acquired, it seemed like a one year deal because of his pending USFL contract. When the league folded, there was a feeling of elation, thinking maybe Hendricks could be on GB for a while, and GB might resurrect itself. When he left, it wasn't just losing him, the feeling was that GB was becoming irrelevant in the NFL. It was more than just losing the player.

Tim Lewis and Sterling Sharp - both were phenomenal players, and their careers ended so abruptly and unexpectedly. Losing Sharp was losing a special combination, Favre and Sharp. I had expectations that they would challenge some of the greatest combinations ever. Lewis was just being mentioned as being maybe the best cover corner in the league, and then it was done.

James Lofton - such a bright spot on the team. So exciting to watch, when there wasn't always a lot to be excited about. So disappointed in the circumstances of his departure.

Eddie Lee Ivery - so great in college. So exciting for him to come to GB, because that was the time when a running game could carry a team. He looked so good and was chewing up the Bears when he hurt his knee. Back in those days, a knee injury meant he would never be the same, but he came back and looked like he could be the same. But it didn't last because he had another major injury. Knee injuries often ended careers in those days. Ivory still had a career, but I always wondered how good he could have been.

Funny. I was typing mine up as you were posting this.

[Patler]

Funny. I was typing mine up as you were posting this.

Losing those two were punches to the gut. For those of us who were fans then, both had impacts, probably heightened by our fears that the Packers would never matter again.

[denverYooper]

Sterling Sharpe
Nick Collins

Both forced to retire in their prime

[Patler]

How did I not mention Nick Collins along with Lewis and Sharp. He was special in 2010 after a steady climb, and made a key play in the Super Bowl. He should have had so many years left. It was easy to think about the possibility of a HoF career.

Maybe Collins impact was less than the others because he wasn't all the Packers had at the time.

[Anti-Polar Bear]

The player who really broke my heart was J-Mike.

Match up nightmare. Great route runner. Brash. Everything Dick Rodgers ain't.

Goddamn I miss J-Mike!

[Smidgeon]

Nick Collins and Finley's knee injury.

Both were on their way to superstar status. Then career enders (although Finley's was a slow burn).

[Cheesehead Craig]

Gilbert Brown. My goodness that man was a stud when he wasn't the size of a cargo van. Too bad he couldn't keep his weight under control.

Who didn't love the "Gravedigger" celebration?

[Patler]

I hated to see Finley's career end, more so because of what I still hoped he might accomplish. But my rational mind told me he was never going to be the true superstar that he possibly could have been. Too many inconsistencies/quirks in his game, but he was still young, so there was still hope.

A disappointing loss for me, not a devastating one. For me, certainly not like losing Collins, for example.