While scouting locations for the Winter Janboree, with the Wisconsin theme in mind, I stumbled across two Green Bay related things that are within close proximity of each other.
1. Vince Lombardi
Vince Lombardi took over a downtrodden Green Bay Packers team in 1959 and turned it into professional football's most dominant organization of the 1960s.
Lombardi, a tireless worker with exacting standards, led Green Bay to five championships in nine seasons as head coach. His Packers won the first two Super Bowls, and the trophy given to the league champion now bears his name. In his 15 seasons as an NFL assistant and head coach, his teams never had a losing season.
The Packers hadn't finished above .500 since 1947 -- while team founder Curly Lambeau was still roaming the sidelines -- when they hired Lombardi as head coach and general manager on Jan. 28, 1959. Lombardi was offered the job only after Iowa coach Forrest Evashevski turned it down.
The team went 7-5 in his first season for its highest win total since 1944. Green Bay played in the NFL Championship Game in Lombardi's second season and won it all in 1961 and '62. In 1965, the Packers started a run of three consecutive championships to bring Lombardi's total to five.
The Packers dominated the Kansas City Chiefs 35-10 to cap off the 1966 season in the first matchup between the champions of the NFL and AFL. A year later, it was another Green Bay Super Bowl blowout, 33-14 over the Oakland Raiders.
2. University of Wisconsin Green Bay Phoenix.
The Green Bay Phoenix men's basketball team is a NCAA Division I college basketball team competing in the Horizon League for the University of Wisconsin–Green Bay. The Phoenix saw success in the early to mid 1990s, making their first NCAA appearance in 1991 and the second round in 1994.
NCAA Division I tournament results: The Phoenix have appeared in the NCAA Division I Tournament five times. Their combined record is 1–5. Their highest seed was #8 in 1996.
Have fun and let's see if you can find Lombardi and The Phoenix in Waukesha.