All Hype Team
You may hate Taylor Mays now or have a strong opinion that C.J. Spiller isn't the man for the Green Bay Packers. But one thing is for certain, no matter who the Packers take on draft weekend all will be forgotten. And much like this weekend's holiday, those new Packers will instantly be anointed "the best that ever will be."
topten
You may hate Taylor Mays now or have a strong opinion that C.J. Spiller isn't the man for the Green Bay Packers. But one thing is for certain, no matter who the Packers take on draft weekend all will be forgotten. And much like this weekend's holiday, those new Packers will instantly be anointed "the best that ever will be."
I imagine the players love it. Who wouldn't? But sometimes as Packer fans we are all too quick to hold a player in higher regard than any other NFL team ever would. In the last quarter of a century there have many such demi-gods, most now left to a random mention on some obscure radio program. However, at one point and time, they could do no wrong. Here's my top ten Packers that we loved to over hype.
The Top Ten Hyper-Stars
10. Eddie Lee Ivery
A superstar coming out of Georgia Tech, the Packers snagged Ivery in the middle of the first round. Also, if your looking for superstar sounding name action, you can't really get much better than Eddie Lee. Plagued by drugs and injury, Ivery played eight years and never ran for a thousand. But, he was Eddie Lee Ivery, and we loved him.
9. Billy Schroeder
Everyone loved Bill Schroeder because he was a kind of fast white guy from a division three school in Wisconsin. Brett Favre made him a household name for nearly four years as Bill pert near posted three consecutive 1,000 yard seasons. Amusingly enough, Schroeder would also be number one on the all prick team. Either way, he retired a Packer, with help from the fan base that made him a hyper-star.
8. Phil Epps
I can't count the number of Packers that have achieved fan stardom with only a play or two. Phil Epps is one of them. Supposedly "faster than words" he was heir apparent to John Jefferson. The fans loved him and so did the press. He only caught one touchdown, but it was beautiful, and sealed his fame and a game against the Vikings forever.
7. Billy Lyon
We've always had an affection in Wisconsin for hard working overachieving white defensive ends. And for some reason, for nearly five seasons Billy Lyon kept hanging around. He never did anything, but he sure was there.
6. Terry Glenn
Terry Glenn could make acrobatic catches like no one on the planet. Unfortunately, he got hurt after every single one of them. But as a fan, you couldn't help but admire she-Glenn going up and coming down with some of the best grabs you will ever see. The bottom line? Not all that good as a Packer.
5. Herbert "The Whisper" Goodman
Why everyone loved this guy I will never know. But again, here in the north woods we tend to herald the good guys. When you look back and realize you where rooting for a guy who has a career rushing total of negative 3 yards, it's pretty damn funny. But, if there was a game-worn Herbert Goodman jersey for sale, I'd definitely have to get it.
4. Paul Ott Carruth
Big guys that are nice. Something that will always go a long way in Green Bay. In his three seasons as a Packer he never rushed for over 300 yards. But, he was always there to bash people on the goal line. Packers fan loved him for it. Maybe the second most hyped guy to ever come out of Hattiesburg.
3. Bernardo Harris
We love them blue collar in Green Bay, and they don't come any more blue-collar than Bernardo Harris. A perennial special teamer for the early part of career, Harris worked his way to a starting spot on the 1997 Super Bowl team. I have nothing but good things to say about Bernardo Harris, most people would tend to agree. On the field, well not so much.
2. Samkon Gado
Eight games, six touchdowns, and two long runs is all it took for Samkon Gado to forever live in Packers lore. We all know his story, we all loved him, he just wasn't that good. That being said, I am going to have a hard time parting with his chrome plated rookie card sitting on my desk.
1. Travis Jervey
We love the blonde beach guys here in Green Bay, and of all the over hyped players in the last quarter of a century, Travis Jervey is without a doubt number one. There wasn't but a handful of Packer fans who didn't adore the free-spirited blonde surfer from South Carolina, so much so he rose to fandom without ever having to leave special teams. When he made it to the Pro Bowl for his work on kick coverage, it was all over. A hyper-star was born, and will live in infamy forever.
Honorable Mention
Mark Clayton
Terry Mickens
Don Beebe
Derrick Mayes
Corey Bradford
Chris Gizzi
Matt Bowen
Paris Lenon
T.J. Slaughter
Robert Ferguson
Ruvell Martin
Hannibal Navies
Tracy White
R-Kal Truluk
Atari Bigby
Antonio Chatman
Aaron Rouse
Noah Herron
Taco Wallace
Kregg Lumpkin
Brett Favre
Who'd I miss?
Comments (13)
April 02, 2010 at 10:58 am
Personal information on wikipedia for Travis Jervey. I hope this isn't graffiti.
"He lived with teammate LeShon Johnson near the airport in Green Bay, WI. They cared for an aggressive pet lion named Nala"
April 02, 2010 at 11:01 am
...and you missed Abdule "Hitman" Hodge, the greatest Family Night star of all time. He really was awesome at Iowa though.
April 02, 2010 at 11:13 am
Tracy White? Greatest special teamer to ever walk the face of the earth is an honorable mention on the All-Hype Team?
Disrespectfully disagree! He's the greatest there ever was, is, and will be. To this day, he is also Ted Thompson's biggest mistake. Biggest. Mistake.
Tracy White fact of the day: Mike McCarthy informed Shawn Slocum that if he did not attend Tracy White's Special Teams Football Camp this summer, he and Chad Morton would be terminated.
It's just not hype when it's fact.
April 02, 2010 at 03:02 pm
Loved the honrable mentions. So true the last line.
April 02, 2010 at 06:33 pm
J-E-R-V-E-Y
GBP 4 LIFE
April 03, 2010 at 08:18 am
I remember my older cousin talking about playing 'walter peyton on the carry.' a game that he and his brother made up where you would line up in a narrow hallway and either side had a goal line, there was only one down to score a TD and just you against your brother.
The next day my brother and I came up with 'Travis Jervey on the carry.' That was one fun game, John was older, I was bigger....
Alex Tallitsch
April 03, 2010 at 08:37 am
Awesome. We played knee ball. Three down across the living room to the couch.
April 03, 2010 at 08:20 am
Tracy White Fact of the Day: if Tracy was doing doughnuts on his motor cycle without a helmet and fell, the pavement would be the one with the broken shoulder.
Nicely said Franklin!!
April 03, 2010 at 11:54 am
Cool article. For the record, I do believe Ivery would have been great, but he tore up his knees on some really horrible surfaces. I think one was at Philly and one was at Chitown.
As for Whisper, I liked him. I think if we played on turf, we would have kept him over Tony Fisher. Whisper had far superior speed, but in the mud and snow in Dec, that was mitigated. Dude does Ultimate Fighting now I guess. Great guy.
And as for Jervey, he had all the skills in the world, but never put it all together to be a pro. I think he went to a military academy, so never played "real" football. I remember he had never gone in motion before, and they had to explain to him how to do it. He did get in trouble for having a lion at his house. I remember that. LaShon Johnson was another guy with tons of skills. Real speed burner. Turns out he was practically legally blind. LOL. Dude ended up having lasik surgery or something, helped him out alot. He had the all time single game rushing record for awhile with the Cardinals. I think cancer pretty much finished his career when he was with the Giants. He was more into dogs than lions.
April 04, 2010 at 07:55 pm
Spencer Havner will be on this list soon.
April 05, 2010 at 12:19 pm
How can you forget John Jefferson?
Alex Tallitsch
April 05, 2010 at 07:01 pm
I didn't really forget him, but he was a superstar prior to the Packers getting him. Although he only had 4 or so 600 yard seasons, I suppose he could have gotten an honorable mention. I chose Phil Epps his successor instead.
April 05, 2010 at 12:26 pm
And you're right, Alex. I hate Taylor Mays...