Behind the Scenes with FOX’s NFL crew: Brady, Lombardi and the specialness of Lambeau Field

By Richie Zyontz
FOX NFL Lead Producer

Editor’s Note:Richie Zyontz has been an NFL producer for FOX since 1994 and is in his 23rd season as the lead producer. He has more than 40 years of experience covering the league and has produced seven Super Bowls. Throughout the 2024 NFL season, he is providing an inside look as FOX’s new No. 1 NFL team, including NFL legend Tom Brady, makes its journey toward Super Bowl LIX. Read more behind-the-scenes stories from Richie Zyontz here.

There’s a sameness to traveling around NFL cities. For those of us covering the games, it’s mostly airports, hotels and stadiums, a somewhat humdrum pattern in what many consider a glamorous business.

But there is one place that swims against the stream, that maintains its charm among all 32 NFL stops. And that’s Green Bay, Wisconsin, where virtually all food is drenched in butter or cheese, and where life revolves around their beloved Packers.

Reminders are everywhere. Lambeau Field sits on Lombardi Avenue not far from Holmgren Way. Packer banners and signage are omnipresent, adorning front yards, backyards, and storefronts. Our hotel is blanketed in Packers history. In fact, I had Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Nitschke glaring down at me from the bathroom wall. It’s a little discomforting stepping out of the shower feeling nice and clean and seeing old No. 66 covered in mud and looking primed for a fight!

Packers memorabilia is everywhere, including this photo of Ray Nitschke in a hotel bathroom. (Photo courtesy of Richie Zyontz)

The house that Vince built … and Madden loved

It takes only a 10-minute ride from the stadium to take you to a modest ranch-style home adjacent to the Fox River. Constructed in 1959 by Vince and Marie Lombardi, it became their residence throughout his 10-year tenure in Green Bay. To football historians, it has become a shrine, a prime stopping point for a quick snapshot.

[Related: More from Tom BradyMore from Richie Zyontz]

About 30 years ago, the house came…


Source link : https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/behind-scenes-foxs-nfl-crew-brady-lombardi-specialness-lambeau-field

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Publish date : 2024-11-05 17:28:33

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