McCarthy’s Way

A new controversy has surfaced during “The Return To Titletown” week and it occurred almost immediately following the sound of the final horn. During the celebration, the mayor of our fair city decided that a name change of a ‘major artery’ thoroughfare was in store for our head coach. He promptly held up a street sign that said, ‘McCarthy’s Way. A roar erupted from the crowd, the coach had a Cheshire cat smile plastered on his frozen mug, and the mayor appeared as if he had just showed off the Holy Grail.

OK, I get it. Thirteen long years ago this proud city displayed their love affair with, at that time, their winning Super Bowl head coach by changing the name of a local street to ‘Holmgren Way’. It seemed fitting. The particular chosen path was a north/south route that carried thousands of vehicles a day in and around the ‘stadium district’ of shops, sports bars and casual and fine eateries. Very nice tribute to very likable and long-lasting head coach.

Beloved Coach Holmgren promptly left this devastated town of green and gold admirers for an incredible amount of cash and more power in his new company. That’s a bummer.

The townspeople were in shock and heartbroken. We (the team, of course) had made it back to prosperity. The whole state enjoyed a little more skip in their step after our 12th World Championship and now it seemed as if we all tripped on something. (probably a Bears fan) How could this happen? Why would anyone leave this mecca of the football world? This shrine. I mean, this is where Vince Lombardi lived!

Alas, he was gone. Holmgren Way was newly paved. The huge boulder with a bronze plaque was secured in a prominent locale for all fans to see and fawn over. Whoa is me. Will the team ever win the big one again?

Years go by. The Packers were a successful team but not a great one. A playoff game here … one there. Never deep into the post season and the fan base was getting restless. Our (again, the team’s) top-gun QB wasn’t getting any younger and making mistakes that killed our chances to tread further towards the goal. The whole retirement saga, new coaches. New GM’s. Bad feelings but the rose colored glasses were never far away. Hope was alive as changes were working in the teams favor.

A glorious thing happened. In the year of our Lord, 2011 … the Packers, once again, had won the Super Bowl. Lucky number 13! The town was crazy. The state was overcome with feelings of happiness and proudness. Our chests were a little more pronounced, our step was skipping again and all was back to where it belonged … including the Lombardi trophy.

Now what? Sure enough, first things first. Let’s changed a street name for our coach. Tradition. Bad omen? Will he stay? Go? Continue winning? For the fans we can only hope.

The mayor wants the change to be around the stadium or possibly downtown. (downtown? I doubt it) All things considered it’ll be a cheap change to make, so says the mayor. (don’t ask the residents or the businesses who must make all the changes, however) I imagine it’ll happen and soon.

Good idea or not? Time will tell. McCarthy loves it here but so did his predecessor. Various politicians aren’t so sure either way.

There’s an area of Green Bay, in an industrial park behind a Festival Foods on the west side, that has their streets named after some old Packers heros. There’s Starr Ct. A Hinkle Road. Lambeau St. Hutson Road. Even Taylor St. Curious. No one but some residents and those businesses who’s address they have on those streets know of this. Why are they located there? Good guess but I imagine it’s because the politicians at the time didn’t deem it necessary to make changes. Not until they changed a street to Lombardi Ave did it seem like a do-able idea. Funny how times change.

Once we have McCarthy’s Way, it’ll be grand. We’ll travel up Holmgren, to Lombardi, to MacCarthy’s all in view of Lambeau Field … the shrine of all shrines. We’ll again thump our chests, point and gawk, salute to the all mighty “G,” and pray for another championship. Beautiful.

There are people in Minnesota and Detroit that can only wish for these types of changes. Imagine a Childress Av. A Fontes Way. A Millen Road. A Tice Ct. Can you? Even in Chicago they only have the one Super Bowl victory and I admit I have no knowledge of any street changes. Maybe they do.

Those road ways in Detroit and the Twin Cities … maybe they are roundabouts … going nowhere.

Reiny