Surviving Sunday: Packers news, notes and links for the football deprived

You know what ticked me off about the Super Bowl? Not Cam Newton running away from a fumble. Not Peyton Manning schilling for bad beer and pizza during every postgame interview. I didn't even get that upset about all the dumb things Phil Simms said during the broadcast.

No, what ticked me off was the fact that legendary Bay Area headbangers Metallica didn't play the halftime show. Instead we got Coldplay (a not-quite-as-lame version of Nickelback), Beyonce (who pretended to know something about the Black Panthers) and Bruno Mars (no....just, no).

When people go to a football game or watch it on TV, they don't turn to their buddies and say, "Gee, I really hope they crank up 'All the Single Ladies' before kickoff." When the home team needs a big defensive stand, "Paradise" isn't amplified over the PA system and videos of Bruno Mars parading around in some silly outfit aren't shown on the big screen.

What you will hear during those situations is something from Metallica. Maybe "Seek & Destroy" or "Enter Sandman." Hell, one of my all-time favorite sports moments was watching Oakland A's pitcher Grant Balfour enter a game to clinch the AL West a few years back. The whole stadium absolutely lost their minds as Metallica's "One" was cranked to 11. Check it out for yourself!

What do you think football fans would have rather seen at Super Bowl halftime: Metallica busting out "Master of Puppets" and 70,000 people screaming their lungs out during the chorus? Or a bunch of scantily-clad women doing a lame dance routine in the end zone as Beyonce lip-synched to a pre-played track?

The answer to that question is Metallica. By far.

I also don't want to hear about the Super Bowl halftime show needing to appeal to a mass audience. Metallica has sold over 90 million albums. The "Black" album is the best-selling album of the SoundScan era. I know people young and old, rich and poor, male and female, black and white who enjoy Metallica. Metallica's appeal is just as broad -- if not broader -- than the three acts that were forced down our throats last Sunday.

I know, I know. Every year people bitch about the Super Bowl halftime show because (insert name of their favorite band) wasn't chosen to play. But this year was a real rip off. Metallica is from the Bay Area. Their appeal is far and wide. And their music is football.

By snubbing Metallica, the NFL once again proved that it doesn't actually care about football fans. 

Packers news, notes and links

  • Amen, Tom Oates. It's time former Packers safety Leroy Butler gets serious NFL Hall of Fame consideration.
  • With Josh Sitton, TJ Lang, David Bakhtiari and JC Tretter set to become free agents after the 2016 season, the time to start re-building the offensive line might be now according to Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. That very well may be the case, but can we get one more season out of those players where they're all healthy like they were in 2014? Please? Pretty please?
  • I agree with Jason Hirschhorn at Acme Packing Company when he writes that there isn't much room for Casey Hayward in the Packers defensive backfield, but I still hope the Packers re-sign him. You can't have enough defensive backfield depth, in my opinion, and Hayward is good player. We'll see what kind of offers are thrown at Hayward this spring.
  • It's never too early to start pretending I know what I'm talking about when it comes to NFL draft prospects. Dan Dahlke at Lombardiave.com has a nice primer on 3-4 pass rushers who could go early.
  • This is a great piece from Pete Dougherty of the Green Bay Press-Gazette on new NFL Hall of Famer, former Packers outside linebackers coach and (most importantly) ex-professional wrestler Kevin Greene.
  • Are you listening to the podcasts over at Packerstalk.com? If not, you should be. Shows like "Pulse of the Pack" and "Cheesehead Radio" help the offseason go by faster.
  • Letroy Guion re-signed with the Packers for 3 years and $11.25 million. That'll buy a lot of we--. Ah, never mind. It's a bad joke.

Non Packer links and other nonsense

  • "The real story behind NFL owners' battle to bring back to Los Angeles" once again shows that the NFL doesn't actually care about football fans.
  • The world of professional wrestling lost a true pioneer when Daniel Bryan retired due to health reasons on Monday. Childs Walker of the Baltimore Sun had a great piece on Bryan this week.
  • I missed this story about crime and violence in international waters when it originally came out, but it's fascinating.
  • Cancer update: After my first chemotherapy treatment on Feb. 4, I was back to whatever my new normal is around Tuesday afternoon. My next treatment is scheduled for Feb. 18. I tried to do something a little different on my Caring Bridge site this week. Instead of venting, I posted some of the cool things people have sent me as I continue this fight. You can read it here.
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Comments (32)

Fan-Friendly This filter will hide comments which have ratio of 5 to 1 down-vote to up-vote.
Packer_Pete's picture

February 14, 2016 at 06:41 am

Please don't call Budweiser 'beer' Adam. It falls more into the category 'flavored water' :-) Otherwise, solid article...

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Bearmeat's picture

February 14, 2016 at 09:17 am

Pete,

The way you speak of Bud it makes it sound almost drinkable. I think the correct term is pi$$ water ;)

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WilsonMaywick's picture

February 14, 2016 at 09:27 am

More specifically panther piss.

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adamczech's picture

February 14, 2016 at 10:22 am

The disgusting pool of filthy water that forms under a restaurant dumpster tastes better than Budweiser (and Papa John's).

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Packer_Pete's picture

February 14, 2016 at 12:03 pm

Bearmeat I actually wanted to to write 'cowpiss' but then someone would've thought I take a shot at a certain poster here...
And you are right it really is not drinkable LOL

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Bearmeat's picture

February 14, 2016 at 12:08 pm

Cowpiss is better. And that guy deserves the shot across his bow. lol!

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Tundraboy's picture

February 14, 2016 at 01:23 pm

Only thing worse than Bud is Michelob. Yuck. Leinys for me!!

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ray nichkee's picture

February 14, 2016 at 02:04 pm

I call that crap and the all the light stuff sex in a canoe beer. F*ck*ng near water.

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Thegreatreynoldo's picture

February 14, 2016 at 07:55 am

I missed the byline, but after reading the first nine paragraphs I did not have to check to see who wrote the article - I knew instantly. Not that I disagree. Now I will check out some of the links. Edit: Loved Dahlke's article and then went to read the links he provided, including the one to the ILBs. I have to agree with Dalhke that Oklahoma LB Eric Striker does seem undersized, coming in a 22 pounds. I once had a cat that weighed about the same.

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Lphill's picture

February 14, 2016 at 08:24 am

Glad your fighting the fight Adam, as a former New York City Police Officer I was appalled by Beyoncé , I picked up on it right away what a disgrace all they needed was a black lives matter segment to follow up , absolute disgrace . Also if you noticed when all the kids were on the stage they were mostly non white which was a clear protest against immigration reforms.

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WilsonMaywick's picture

February 14, 2016 at 09:32 am

No such thing as a former cop Lp. You are always a cop and I salute you for your service.

Adam, keep fighting brother!

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Oppy's picture

February 14, 2016 at 09:38 am

Yes, the messege was painted very clearly about immigration- we must close our borders to the English, Irish, and all other European immigrants.

I thought I was the only one who picked up on that.

Hey, here's a thought: considering the word "love" was featured in the stands, maybe the message was unity, and the crowd was populated with children of all. Different ethnicities for that reason. And maybe, just maybe, "white" children didn't seem prevalent to you because you divide all ethnicities into 'white' and 'other'.

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Rossonero's picture

February 14, 2016 at 09:55 am

Thank you for posting some sanity on here!

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adamczech's picture

February 14, 2016 at 10:09 am

The message didn't bother me. The blatant attempt to commercialize legitimate social issues did.

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TarynsEyes's picture

February 14, 2016 at 08:52 am

I rather put my head in a bucket of ice for 30 minutes than watch the half time show.

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ray nichkee's picture

February 14, 2016 at 02:25 pm

I'm with you on that one. I was out ice fishing and timed it perfectly that i was home in time to watch the second half minus the commercials.

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WilsonMaywick's picture

February 14, 2016 at 09:31 am

Watching even a minute of that halftime show scarred me for life. We need to start a drive to bring Metallica to the next halftime show now!

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barutanseijin's picture

February 14, 2016 at 09:39 am

Beyoncé was a plus in my book. Not a fan of Cold Play or Bruno Mars, but who watches football for the music? Always possible to use the mute and crank your own tunes to 11.

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adamczech's picture

February 14, 2016 at 10:08 am

Having Metallica cranked to 11 on my speakers w/ Beyoncé dancing around on my TV screen would have been....interesting :)

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Bearmeat's picture

February 14, 2016 at 11:49 am

This is when being a classical musician comes in handy. I have very little knowledge of anything pop culture related - including music. I don't know who Bruno Mars is. I vaguely recognize Metallica. I do know who Beyonce is... but that said, I haven't enjoyed a halftime show since U2 several years ago. I hardly watched it - muted most of the time.

If you expect the music to suck, you're not disappointed when it does.

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Rossonero's picture

February 14, 2016 at 10:03 am

People are panicking about the offensive line way too much. RELAX. Packers management knows this is coming too and you can bet they are planning accordingly. Except for Bulaga, the rest of the OL was drafted in the 4th or 5th round, so Ted doesn't need to blow a 1st rounder on an OT.

Hayward is gone. He can play in the slot and that's it. Can't blitz, can't play outside, struggles in zone coverage and doesn't make many big plays. He's this year's Davon House.

Fun facts: Denver free agents Malik Jackson and Danny Trevathon were both late round steals in the 2012 draft. Jackson in the 5th round and Trevathon in the 6th. So much for all those draft "experts."

Keep fighting the good fight in your battle, no one fights alone.

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Tundraboy's picture

February 14, 2016 at 01:27 pm

Other than Rodgers, Matthew's and so far Randall, it looks like Ted likes to waste 1st round picks in other ways.

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Bearmeat's picture

February 14, 2016 at 12:07 pm

RE: the Rams relocation piece by ESPN: Jerry Jones is such a jerk. I remember clashing with Nagler when Al Davis died about his current value to the league. I maintained that whatever value Davis had back in the old AFL, that time had long since passed and the league was better off without his drama. Nagler vehemently disagreed.

I think the same thing about Jerry Jones right now. I am not going to wish death on anyone. But I wish Jerry Jones would be forced to sell his ownership of his stadium and of the Cowboys and a gag order placed over his mouth for the rest of his remaining life.

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TarynsEyes's picture

February 14, 2016 at 12:48 pm

Many of those who have obtained a high station in life are deemed more so of speaking from the ass than the mouth in time.
An issue that is equal of many of lower ranks is they seem embedded on putting their ear to either orifice even knowing the sound to be expelled as one of repungence. : )

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Bearmeat's picture

February 14, 2016 at 02:43 pm

touche

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Irish_Cheesehead's picture

February 14, 2016 at 01:14 pm

Metallica is originally from LA, not the Bay Area. Lots of other choices they could have made, though:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_bands_from_the_San_Francisco_Bay_Area

In the end, who cares? It's about the football. Halftime gives me a chance to go pee and get more snacks!

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ray nichkee's picture

February 14, 2016 at 02:17 pm

The band originated in LA but before most of us knew about them they chose san fran as a homebase.

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ray nichkee's picture

February 14, 2016 at 02:47 pm

Thanks adam, now i got metallica stuck in my brain. I mean it. I'm going to have to listen to the Cliff albums for bit now. I'm not sure why the sheep can even stand cold play. I do have a hard time thinking about how metallica could do a halftime show when most of their songs are long enough for the short event. Would it be a metallica medley? Would they have time for a kick ass instrumental opening? I'd be all for it but they deserve at least 45 minutes to play.

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WKUPackFan's picture

February 15, 2016 at 02:30 am

They could play King Nothing for 45 minutes, it would be alright with me.

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Lphill's picture

February 14, 2016 at 03:33 pm

Thanks for the kind words Wilson Maywick!

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EdsLaces's picture

February 14, 2016 at 08:56 pm

Keep fighting man!! Metallica not being the halftime show was a complete joke. Most of Beyonce and Bruno Mars' fans are probably asleep by that time. And by the way did you see what Chris Kluwe said about P. Manning sheesh...

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WKUPackFan's picture

February 15, 2016 at 02:33 am

The last time Kluwe was relevant was when he bartended for Andy Cohen on What's Happening Live.

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