Ex-Packer Shares Stories From First Two Super Bowls

As Packers fans look forward to closing in on their fourth Super Bowl victory, one former player recalls the team's victory in the first two Super Bowl games.

Bob Long joined the Packers as a wide receiver in 1964, and he played on the teams that won the NFL Championship in 1965 and the first two Super Bowls in 1966 and 1967. The 69-year-old Brookfield resident is one of the oldest of the Lombardi-era Packers who still lives in Wisconsin.

Long signed autographs at Saturday and told tales of Lombardi, Bart Starr, Paul Hornung, Jerry Kramer, Ray Nitschke and other Packers legends. He was one of the younger players on the team, he said.

"I happened to be there. They call it good timing," he said with a smile.

He also recalled cold hands and slippery footing during the famous NFL Championship Game also known the Ice Bowl.

"As a receiver you don't like to run on fields like that," he said. "It's like running around on an ice rink. You slip and slide, and your cuts that are usually 90 degrees, you have to round them all. It was not a good day for passing, plus your hands got cold, your fingers."

He said his favorite Super Bowl story was the story of the first Super Bowl touchdown ever scored. He remembers the player that scored the touchdown, Max McGee, had been out drinking until 6:30 a.m. and was tired and hungover when they were called in a half-hour later for breakfast. McGee was not expected to play, but Lombardi put him in the game when Boyd Dowler was injured. McGee had forgotten his helmet in the locker room, so Long lent him his helmet. McGee then scored the first touchdown in Super Bowl history.

"I always tell my granddaughters, 'You see that first touchdown? That's my helmet,'" Long said. "That's a fun story."

Long said he has seen the game change over time, especially the salaries of the players. He said he started at $11,500, and they received a $15,000 bonus if they won the Super Bowl. He said money was never an issue for him and he would have played without any pay.

Wearing an official Super Bowl ring, Long pointed out the three diamonds on the ring are symbolic of the team's three consecutive championships, including the last NFL Championship game and the first two Super Bowls

A Pittsburgh native, Long predicted the Packers would win the Super Bowl because Rodgers and the rest of the team plays better in a dome. He also said he thinks the game will be decided by turnovers.

"I think they have a fighting chance," he said. "It will be fun either way."