Sacks & Give Backs- The NFL Gives Back to the Community

We all watched the ESPY’s, am I right?

Let’s talk about the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award. The Walter Payton Man of the Year Award is an award based on humanitarianism while being an extraordinary individual on and off the field.

Congratulations to all the nominees, Anquan Boldin from the 49ers, Aaron Rodgers from the Packers and lastly, a huge congrats to the winner, Thomas Davis from the Panthers.

Anquan Boldin, one of the most trustworthy wide receivers in the game plays for the San Francisco 49ers and was runner up for the award. He was nominated for the award due to his mission to give back to the underprivileged youth.

The Anquan Boldin Foundation started in 2004, and just last year, Boldin and his wife gave a staggering $1 million donation to the foundation to expand their impact.

Throughout Boldin’s career, 11 students have accepted four-year scholarships. Alone in 2014, four students received $10,000 scholarships to start their college careers. Boldin travels to third-world countries to lend personal aid and fight for political issues. Seriously? That’s how he spends his off season? What. A. Guy.

Now I don’t care if you’re a Bears fan or a what, here’s another player you have to show some respect for: Aaron Rodgers.

Photo: NFL

Rodgers the star quarterback for the Green Bay Packers was also a runner up for the award. He was nominated due to his constant and ever-giving attitude to children and young adults.

Rodgers has worked directly with Midwest Athletes Against Childhood Cancer and Make-A-Wish. Just recently he surpassed giving back $1.5 million of his personal efforts such as events and campaigns. He also has co-created an organization called www.itsaaron.com that works directly with charities and builds support in making a difference nationwide. Literally so presh. Shout out: Aaron, we love you!

Thomas Davis, linebacker for the Carolina Panthers received the Walter Payton Man of the Year award at the ESPY’s this year. And he deserved it.

Photo: Panthers

Davis and his wife founded the Thomas Davis Defending Dreams Foundation, a non-profit that was established to enrich the lives of underprivileged children and families. This organization provides mentoring programs and community outreach programs that include holiday activities and meals for children and women in Charlotte, North Carolina.Not only has Davis found his niche in giving back to the community, the Panthers have proved as well that they are fit for task as well by donating $100,000 to victims of the Charleston shooting victims.

Respect.

Not only do individuals of the National Football League give back, but full on NFL teams participate within the community as well, and contrary to popular belief, not because they’re forced to.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers put on “Bucs Cut for a Cure” where players such as the No.1 draft pick Jameis Winston sat in a chair and let children with cancer shave their heads in an effort to fight pediatric cancer.

Photo: WFLA

The Carolina Panthers put on a “Moms’ Safety” clinic designed to help women who have children who play football. They teach them the safety of proper gear, hydration and how to make it a family and team effort to make sure that safety is a priority on the field.

The Houston Texans hosted the world’s largest kids triathlon that was present by Texas Children’s Hospital in an effort to educate children about staying active and healthy.

The Kansas City Chiefs hosted a Play 60 celebration for local elementary school students which honored children for their commitment to exercise, sports and a healthy lifestyle.The Indianapolis Colts teamed up with country music star Garth Brooks in celebrating the opening of the Child Life Zone at Riley Hospital for Children.

Photo: NY Daily News

Country music and charity? Game on.

These are just a few small examples of how much the NFL does in fact, give back to their surrounding communities. So maybe it’s time we take a page out of their book and do a little help ourselves?!

Not going to lie, I’d love to watch a little guy shave off Tom Brady’s luscious locks just to see the look on his face once they were gone. What? That was only for Tampa Bay? Whatever, a girl can dream can’t she.

– Carly

Our Trip to Lambeau

What type of Southern Californians go to the Midwest in December?
Diehard Packer fans, that’s who.

A Monday night game, mediocre weather forecast (thanking the man above) and the best team in the National Football League? Sign me up. Our trip to Titletown, USA was filled with booze (lots of it), bratwursts and the coolest fans the NFL has to offer.

One of the two, Hailey, had made this journey once before, however her trip ended in misery as it was the dreaded 2008 playoff game against the Giants. YIKES. Regardless, can we pause on how SWEET IT IS to be best friends with the same favorite NFL team. Sure does make life a little easier.

Bars & Days Leading up to the Game

Our group of four consisted of the two of us and our two guy friends Blake and Brett. It’s always nice to have some men around when you plan on drinking your liver sideways in an unfamiliar town, always remember that.

We had three nights in Green Bay so we did what college taught us to do… Bar hop. A little bit of pregame, then we headed out to Kroll’s West, a total hit among the locals. Oh, and it’s located right across the street from Lambeau.

We got some kickass apps and some drinks and decided to call a cab to head to the next bar. The bartender serving us overhead Blake trying to find a cab and offered to drive us to the bar. Uhm, yes?! Looking back on it, maybe it wasn’t the smartest decision, but regardless, Lisa the bartender from Kroll’s got us to Stadium View safe and sound. They do say the locals of Green Bay are the best people you’ll ever meet and we can now attest to that.

Stadium View was your typical busy bar, fun and got us inebriated. Thanks Fireball. Needless to say, time got away from us that night and we headed back to the hotel. But this time, we got Uber. Oh how we love you Uber.

We woke up the next day on a mission: to be tourists. We went to the Pro Shop at Lambeau and kicked our hangover with what other than burgers, cheese curds and Bloody Mary’s at a true classic, Curly’s Pub. Curly’s, named after the late and great Earl Louis “Curly” Lambeau the first coach of the professional Packers team.

After drinking our hangovers away, we made a move to downtown Green Bay and after wandering, we landed at Anduzzi’s. Highly rated and highly recommended. So much so that we actually spent the pregame before the pregame before the game at that bar the next day (yeah, we go hard like that.)

Game Day

Waking up for game day was rough on all of us. I mean, Anduzzi’s will get you. So naturally, we started out there on Monday. Hair of the dog mentality, you know?

They put on a pregame tailgate party where you drink at your car in the parking lot and then party there all day under a tent, because yes, it started snowing. We participated in the tented outdoor live band and dance party. Let’s just say that we think the boys might have enjoyed the dance party more than us! And yes, we got video to prove it.

Thanks Brett for this!

After that, we decided to venture on to a locals’ tailgate that we got invited to thanks to Brett’s Uncle who happens to be a Green Bay expert! En route to this tailgate we almost gave up, as we were lost wandering the streets of Green Bay, in 20 degree snowy weather, without a proper liquor coat. Than like an oasis in a desert, there it was.

Once we saw it, I think all of our faces looked like any kid’s on Christmas morning. If you get one thing from this article, that tailgate before the game was one of the coolest tailgates we have ever seen. And trust us, we’ve been to our fair share of tailgates.

A huge warehouse building with a full tip-only bar inside that had WARM bathrooms. If you’ve ever been to the North in the winter, you know the importance of this. The tip was simply a courtesy contribution to keep this tailgate alive and running time & time again. There was a fire pit with a grill making some of the best bratwursts you’ve ever tried. They even had a school bus that they re-vamped as a Green Bay bus for this tailgate party. The bus was revamped with a bar inside, the ultimate sound system, & colored strobe lighting, movie theater-like seats and a big screen just in case you needed to stay out of the cold to watch. We were shot-gunning beers and making as many local friends as we could.

To be honest, the locals probably got a bigger hit out of us than we did of them. They thought we were hysterical with how we “oo’ed and awe’d” to their lifestyle. Can’t forget to mention that that this warehouse was WALKING DISTANCE from the stadium. Clearly, these people really know what they’re doing.

It was hands down the best part of the trip, other than watching the Packers beat the Falcons. Duh.

Next, we headed to the game. And boy were we amped after that pregame.

Although we were freezing, we had done some pre-planning preparation and packed some vodka in flasks that we smuggled in our seven layers of clothing. Pat-down checks upon entering the snowy stadium while wearing seven layers of clothing were a breeze. We ended up putting it in some hot chocolate and (shockingly) it was magical. And let’s talk about the brats. I thought the bratwursts at the tailgate were good, but the ones at Lambeau were the greatest ever.

The game was incredible and our offense was as usual, on fire. There is nothing like seeing Jordy Nelson catch a ball from Aaron Rodgers and run it into the endzone for an 80-some yard touchdown.

All in all, the trip to Green Bay was not only something to check off the bucket list, but doing it in the beginning of December for a Monday night game, was the best decision we have ever made. The four of us made a promise to return once every year just to bask in the glory of it all. Let’s just say anybody can turn into a cheesehead, but when you go to Lambeau for a Packers game, it’s hard to leave Wsiconsin without gaining a heart full of gold… gold cheese that is.

– Carly & Hailey