7. The Lambeau Leap
Lambeau Field
Green Bay Packers
This well-known tradition is symbolic of the close relationship that exists between Packers players and the men and women who not only fill the Lambeau stands, but own the team. It is a fan and player tradition in one.
For Green Bay players, the practice of vaulting into the crowd after scoring plays began on a sub-zero degree day (would you expect anything less?) in December 1993, when team icon Reggie White scooped up a Los Angeles Raiders fumble and lateraled to LeRoy Butler, who scampered into the end zone … and out of the end zone … then hurled himself into the stands.
Who could blame Butler for being excited? The touchdown helped clinch the Packers' first playoff berth since 1982.
On the eve of his induction into the Packers Hall of Fame this past July, Butler recalled in a hometown newspaper interview what was going through his mind when he took that very first leap of faith
"It was totally spontaneous. I'd just scored a touchdown … and just did it," Butler told the Florida Times Union. "People didn't know how to react.
"It was just a way to thank the fans that were stuck in the cheap seats. I wasn't trying to show anybody up. I just wanted to show my appreciation to fans sitting in that cold weather. It grew from there."
Indeed it did. And the cheeseheads in Green Bay are certainly grateful for it.
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