The Bridge Ep. 53: Jerry Kramer, Green Bay Packers legend, joins the show to discuss his career, Super Bowl 1 and 2, Vince Lombardi and more

Jerry Kramer

It’s the show before Super Bowl 51, and while The Bridge was not broadcasting live from Radio Row in Houston (or live in general), we tried our best to pretend we were. And, we ended up with perhaps the best guest in the history of the show.

Before we get into Episode 53, as a reminder, The Bridge is now broadcast as a one hour radio show every Wednesday night at 7 ET on Sports Radio America. Once the dust settles from that live broadcast, the show is released as a podcast on iTunes and this website on Fridays. You can listen to the live show every Wednesday on Sports Radio America here or through the TuneIn app.

We wanted to do something different this week in lieu of most sports talk shows taking their talents to Radio Row to interview athletes, celebrities and really anyone with the credentials to walk by. Instead of breaking down the Super Bowl for a second straight show (you can listen to Around the NFL’s @ChrisWesseling break down the game here), we went rogue. We scrapped the usual segments. We researched the hell out of our guest. It was all worth it.

For some back story, Christopher “Mad Dog” Russo does a Super Bowl trivia contest on SiriusXM Mad Dog Sports Radio the week before several shows on the station head out to Radio Row. Listeners are asked up to four questions, the last of which proves the hardest, for a chance to win tickets to the Super Bowl. Last year, Mad Dog asked his listeners: “Who was the last Green Bay Packers offensive lineman announced during the pre-game introductions of Super Bowl 1?” Caller after caller answered incorrectly, prompting Chris to unleash one of the most famous on-air rants in his career. IT IS NOT BILL CURRY! IT IS NOT FUZZY THURSTON! IT’S NOT FORREST GREGG, IT’S NOT JERRY KRAMER! The rant is often played or referenced on the channel, especially by friends of the show, the Morning Men.

One of the players mentioned in that rant was Jerry Kramer, a Packers legend who is more than deserving of the NFL Hall of Fame. Jerry is a five-time NFL champion, five-time First-team All-Pro, a member of the NFL’s 1960s All-Decade team, a member of NFL 50th anniversary team and a member of the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame. At 81-years-old, he’s one of the best unofficial spokesman’s for the Vince Lombardi led Green Bay Packers. And, when we called him (thanks Mike), he was kind enough to agree to come on the show, without knowing anything about us. Hopefully, we didn’t disappoint.

To start the show, you’ll hear Chris Russo’s rant from last year’s Super Bowl trivia that served as the inspiration for this show. After that, strap in. The interview with Mr. Kramer starts at the 10:55 mark.

– In the interview, we discuss:

Who was the last Green Bay Packers offensive lineman announced during pre-game introductions for Super Bowl 1 (12:14), why he decided to start playing football and how he ended up at the University of Idaho (14:34), how far he could kick and playing multiple positions (18:24), what Green Bay Packers fans were like (20:36), first impressions of Vince Lombardi (22:51) and the moment the team believed in him (25:18), if winning the NFL Championship game meant more than winning Super Bowl 1 (27:06), how nervous Vince Lombardi was for Super Bowl 1 (29:37), how he prepared to play in the Ice Bowl (31:31), what he noticed in the film room that led to the game-winning play (33:37), how to run the “Green Bay Packers sweep” (36:42), why he didn’t sell his Super Bowl 2 championship ring (40:37), if that was the ring he lost in the bathroom of an airplane (45:10), what was the inspiration for writing a book about the 1967 season (46:45), what it would mean to get elected into the NFL Hall of Fame (49:52), how he’s been keeping up with technology (52:39) partnering up with Blimpie for the Super Bowl (54:15) and who will win Super Bowl 51 (55:16).

Call in or text the show 24/7 at 929-BRIDGE7, that’s (929) 274-3437. Contact the show with your questions, comments, stories or hot takes and you might be featured in the next installment of The Bridge.

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Show music: ‘Actionable’ and ‘Epic,’ courtesy of www.bensound.com.

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