Lombardi Middle School

Everything in Green Bay, Wisconsin, revolves around the Packers. In season, out of season, doesn’t matter. It might not always be football season, but it’s always Packers season.

The airport sells the ubiquitous foam cheeseheads. Lambeau Field’s atrium is open for tours and its restaurants serve food and beverages every day. There’s a bar called the Stadium View which has (wait for it) a view of the stadium.

The NFL’s smallest market is proud of its nickname – Titletown.

But not everything is idyllic. Not everything is perfect.

Here, in the season marking 50 years since Vince Lombardi’s last as the Packers’ coach, there is a problem. Lombardi Middle School, named for the gruff and driven boss of five NFL champions in a seven-year span, has canceled its football season. It cannot find a coach.

You would think, if you listened to postgame radio shows after a Packers loss, that everyone in Green Bay was a football coach. Not true.

WLUK-TV reported that the school had been advertising for coaches since April and did not receive a single application. The school district’s website says a middle school coaching job pays $2,149 a season, WLUK added. The school’s principal said that students would be able to play for a variety of club teams, but not for the school.

Green Bay. Lombardi Middle School. No football? What’s next, a shortage of cheese curds? No bratwurst on the grills it the Lambeau Stadium parking lot? No snow in January for the playoff game?

What irony. According to vividseats.com – a secondary market for game tickets – two seats for the opener against the Seattle Seahawks on the 20-yard line would cost $1,930. Throw in parking, hotel, food, beer and brats and you’ve got enough to hire a football coach for Lombardi Memorial School.
 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman