*AMERICA'S GAME: 2010 GREEN BAY PACKERS DEBUTS EXCLUSIVELY ON NFL NETWORK *
WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 7 AT 9:00 PM ET
Super Bowl MVP Aaron Rodgers, Charles Woodson & Head Coach Mike McCarthy Recount Bringing the Lombardi Trophy Back to "Titletown"
McCarthy's Motivational Tactic Prior to the Start of the Season Pays Off
Emmy-Nominated Actor John Slattery of "Mad Men" Narrates
Which play in Super Bowl XLV was "the most incredible" according to Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers? What was the motivational tactic head coach Mike McCarthy used prior to the start of the 2010 season that proved to be successful? Find out the answers to these questions and re-live the 2010 season through the words of Rodgers, McCarthy and cornerback Charles Woodson in the latest installment of the NFL Films-produced, Emmy Award-winning series, America's Game: 2010 Green Bay Packers exclusively on NFL Network.
America's Game: 2010 Green Bay Packers debuts on Wednesday, September 7 at 9:00 PM ET, one night before the Packers kick off the 2011 regular season at home against the New Orleans Saints, the previous Super Bowl champs. Featuring exclusive video and sound of the Packers during team meetings, practices, games and inside the locker room, America's Game offers an all-access look at the Super Bowl champions. The show is narrated by the Emmy-nominated actor of Mad Men, John Slattery.
In the hour-long special, Rodgers, McCarthy and Woodson recount the inside story of the 2010 season. After a heartbreaking loss to the Arizona Cardinals in the NFC Wild Card game a year before, the Packers entered 2010 with high aspirations. Despite a 3-3 start and injuries to key players, the Packers qualified for the playoffs on the final day of the regular season, sparking a postseason run to the franchise's fourth Super Bowl title.
America's Game, an Emmy Award-winning series, delves deep into the story behind the making of Super Bowl champions. Each episode is a 60-minute documentary in high definition, featuring key members of the winning team telling behind-the-scenes accounts from their championship season. With the signature NFL Films footage, combined with news clips and photos, highlights from team radio broadcasts, inside looks from team meeting rooms, sideline audio and other exclusive features, America's Game provides an epic and intimate portrait of championship teams.
Below is a sampling of what's notable and quotable fromAmerica's Game: 2010 Green Bay Packers:
*Rodgers slides on draft day to the Packers at pick number 24 *Entering the 2005 NFL Draft, Rodgers was considered a potential number one pick to go to the San Francisco 49ers, his favorite team growing up. However, then-offensive coordinator Mike McCarthy and the 49ers selected Alex Smith, leaving Rodgers to slide all the way to the Green Bay Packers at No. 24. He was picked to be Brett Favre's successor.
"I dreamt about being the quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers. I used to draw little plays on note cards and dream I was Joe Montana throwing passes in the backyard with dad."
- Rodgers on his childhood
"On the inside, there was a lot of disappointment, embarrassment, just thinking about how hard you worked. … But it was honestly the best thing that happened to me. I was 21 years old [and] I thought I was the best thing since sliced bread and I needed a little humble pie."
- Rodgers on slipping in the first round of the draft to the No. 24 selection
"Drafting a quarterback in the first round is a statement, we all know that. I think he was offended by it and wanted to prove that he was still the best quarterback on the team, in the league and I was going to be on the bench for awhile."
- Rodgers on being a high draft choice with Brett Favre still on the roster
*McCarthy's preseason motivational ploy pays off *Prior to the start of the season, McCarthy placed an empty picture frame alongside the team pictures of past Packer championship squads.
"Mike put a blank picture up there - there's no faces, there's nothing on it - and said this is where our picture will be."
- Woodson
"We can have our picture up on this board immortalized for every team to ever follow after you that lives on. That's what we're playing for, that's our ultimate goal. Stay focused."
- Rodgers
*The Lombardi Trophy Returns Home *With a 31-25 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Green Bay Packers won their fourth Super Bowl and brought the Lombardi Trophy back to "Titletown."
"It was really an exciting time for everybody involved in Green Bay, and even more so for my family in particular. I know everybody takes a lot of pride in the success of their son and siblings and everything, but we would have definitely preferred it had been someone else, you know, other than Pittsburgh."
- McCarthy on facing his hometown Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XLV
"That's how our season was. Things break, things happen. Fix it and move on."
- Woodson on Packers overcoming injuries to himself and WR Donald Driver in Super Bowl XLV
"One of my best friends on the team and the guy I respect the most is out. Just don't know what to say to him, so I just tried to go over there and comfort him and say, 'Hey, I'm going to get this win for you.'"
- Rodgers on Woodson leaving the Super Bowl with an injury
"To hear what Clay Matthews] says to [defensive lineman Ryan] Pickett and to the guys in the huddle about he thinks it's coming his way, and [says] 'Pickett, spill it,' in my opinion it ranks as the most incredible play in the [Super Bowl."
- Rodgers on LB Clay Matthews forcing a fumble by Steelers RB Rashard Mendenhall that was recovered by the Packers
"We knew when we got into the playoff run that we had as good a chance as any, and the confidence just kept building and we finished it in North Dallas. What's special about the 2010 team is they never lost sight of the goal. They always believed."
- McCarthy on the Packers run to Super Bowl champions
*More quotes…
*"That's the reason why you love the game. It's for that moment. It's to win the Super Bowl. It's everything."
- Woodson on winning the Super Bowl
- "They thought I was done. They thought I couldn't play the game anymore. 'He's lost a step, can't coach him, sleeping in meetings, bad locker room guy.' Could I still play football? No question about it."
- Woodson on leaving the Oakland Raiders and signing with the Packers in 2006
"They made one more play than we did. The one thing that did come out of that game, our guys had a lot of confidence that if we played that team again that we would be ready for them."
- McCarthy on the Packers' loss to the Atlanta Falcons in the regular season
- NFL NETWORK -
