The Lambeau Leap is a touchdown celebration in American football in which a player leaps into the bleachers behind the end zone after scoring. The celebration was popularized after Green Bay Packers player LeRoy Butler jumped into the Lambeau Field bleachers after scoring a touchdown from a fumble recovery against the Los Angeles Raiders on December 26, 1993. The celebration has remained popular ever since, even as the National Football League tightened rules on touchdown celebrations in the early 2000s. Some safety concerns have been noted by players and staff, including inappropriate touching by fans and the possibility of an injury to the player leaping into the bleachers. Although uncommon, the celebration has been attempted by multiple players from opposing teams at Lambeau Field. The Lambeau Leap is an important component of the history and traditions of the Packers.
The first Lambeau Leap occurred on December 26, 1993, in a historically cold game between the Green Bay Packers and the Los Angeles Raiders. [1] [2] With the Packers leading 14–0 in the fourth quarter, Raiders quarterback Vince Evans took the snap, rolled to his right, and completed a short pass to running back Randy Jordan. Jordan was immediately hit by Packers safety LeRoy Butler and fumbled the ball. [3] The ball bounced directly into Packers defensive lineman Reggie White's hands; White turned around and tried to run to the end zone. However, Raiders guard Steve Wisniewski got a hold of White and slowly tackled him. [2] [4] As White was falling out of bounds, he tossed the ball to Butler, who ran the ball the rest of the way to the end zone for a touchdown. [5] After Butler scored, he dropped the ball, pointed to the bleachers, and leaped into the first row of fans, who then proceeded to embrace him for a few seconds. [6] Butler dropped back down to the field, recovered the ball, and celebrated the score with his teammates. [4] The Packers went on to win the game 28–0. [2] The win clinched the team's first playoff berth in 11 years. [5] At the time, instant replay was not in use in the NFL; had it been, replays clearly showed White stepping out of bounds prior to tossing the ball to Butler. The Raiders also argued that Jordan never fully completed catching the football and the pass should have been ruled incomplete. [7]
Although other players would perform the Leap, it was popularized by wide receiver Robert Brooks, who would do it after every touchdown he scored. [8] When the NFL updated rules regarding excessive celebrations in 2000 and 2014, the Lambeau Leap was grandfathered into the new rules, permitting it to continue, because it was an individual act of celebration that did not take on the form of taunting. [9] [10]
A few safety concerns have been noted by past Packers players and commentators. Primarily, there have been concerns for the player performing the Leap, specifically as they come down off the wall. In 2003, during a renovation of Lambeau Field, the wall between the field and stands was lowered, allowing for an easier leap for players. [6] Players have also noted that they have been touched inappropriately while performing the Leap and have had various drinks and food spilled on them. [11] Many players have also had trouble completing the Leap, either crashing into the wall too hard or not jumping high enough. [12] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Football League (NFL) removed fans from the first six to eight rows of the stands during the 2020 NFL season in order to limit possible interactions or exposure between players and fans. [13] As a result, the Lambeau Leap was effectively banned for the whole season. [14] This did not prevent players from leaping into the empty stands to reenact a Lambeau Leap. [15]
The Lambeau Leap has become an important part of the Green Bay Packers tradition. It is now an expectation that all Packers players who score at Lambeau Field perform the Leap. It also provides a connection between the players and the fans. [16] In 2014, a statue was built outside of Lambeau Field commemorating the Leap. It featured a shortened replica of the end zone wall and four Packers fans, which allows visitors to pose for pictures while doing their own Lambeau Leap. [17] Another replica wall was also built inside the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame highlighting the history of the Leap while also allowing fans to perform their own Lambeau Leap. [18]
The Packers have used the Lambeau Leap for various outreach events with fans. The Packers have hosted the Ultimate Lambeau Leap, a fundraiser event for the Special Olympics. In 2013, people who raised over $1,500 for the charity were given the opportunity to rappel down the side of Lambeau Field. [19] Taking advantage of a pun on the word "leap", the Packers also promoted a Leap Day event on February 29, 2020, that allowed a select group of fans to perform the Lambeau Leap at Lambeau Field. [20]
In 2020, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel named the first Lambeau Leap as the 43rd greatest Wisconsin sports moment. [2]
Occasionally, an opposing player will attempt a Lambeau Leap, with mixed results. During the 2007 NFC Championship game, New York Giants running back Brandon Jacobs faked a Lambeau Leap after scoring a touchdown, angering many Packers fans in the stands. [21] Before a game against the Packers on September 20, 2009, Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chad Johnson, then known as Chad Ochocinco, announced he would do a Lambeau Leap if he scored a touchdown, and then followed through by leaping into the arms of pre-arranged fans wearing Bengals jerseys. [22]
Packers kicker Mason Crosby performed his first career Lambeau Leap after kicking a game-winning field goal against the Detroit Lions in 2019. This was unique as it was Crosby's 13th season with the Packers and came after a field goal, not a touchdown. [23]
The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. They are the third-oldest franchise in the NFL, established in 1919, and are the only non-profit, community-owned major league professional sports team based in the United States. Since 1957, home games have been played at Lambeau Field. They hold the record for the most wins in NFL history.
Earl Louis "Curly" Lambeau was an American professional football player and coach in the National Football League (NFL). Lambeau, along with his friend and fellow Green Bay, Wisconsin, native George Whitney Calhoun, founded the Green Bay Packers in 1919. He served as team captain in the team's first year before becoming player-coach in 1920. As a player, Lambeau lined up as a halfback, which in the early years of the NFL was the premier position. He was the team's primary runner and passer, accounting for 35 touchdowns in 77 games. He won his only NFL championship as a player in 1929.
Lambeau Field is an outdoor athletic stadium in the north central United States, located in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The home field of the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL), it opened in 1957 as City Stadium, replacing the original City Stadium at Green Bay East High School as the Packers' home field. Informally known as New City Stadium for its first eight seasons, it was renamed in August 1965 in memory of Packers founder, player, and long-time head coach, Earl “Curly” Lambeau, who had died two months earlier.
LeRoy Butler III is an American former professional football player who spent his entire 12-year career from 1990 to 2001 as a safety for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2022.
Mark Hodge Murphy is an American football executive and former player who is the president and chief executive officer (CEO) for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). Murphy, a safety, went undrafted in the 1977 NFL draft after playing college football at Colgate University. He was signed by the Washington Redskins, where he played for eight seasons from 1977 to 1984. With the Redskins, Murphy won Super Bowl XVII, played in Super Bowl XVIII and led the NFL in interceptions in 1983, earning his sole Pro Bowl and All-Pro honor that season.
In gridiron football, touchdown celebrations are sometimes performed after the scoring of a touchdown. Individual celebrations have become increasingly complex over time, from simple "spiking" of the football in decades past to the elaborately choreographed displays of the current era.
The 2006 Green Bay Packers season was the franchise's 88th season overall and their 86th in the National Football League (NFL).
The 2007 Green Bay Packers season was the franchise's 89th overall and 87th season in the National Football League (NFL). The Packers finished the regular season with a 13–3 record and clinched their first winning season, playoff appearance and division title since 2004. They received for the first time since 1997 a bye for the first round of the playoffs, won their divisional round playoff game, and lost in the NFC Championship game to the eventual Super Bowl champion New York Giants. It was the first time the Packers had lost a home NFC Championship game, and only their third home playoff loss ever. This was the last season for quarterback Brett Favre as a Green Bay Packer, as he initially retired following the season but came out of retirement and was subsequently traded to the New York Jets during the offseason.
The 1993 season was the Green Bay Packers' 73rd season in the National Football League (NFL), their 75th overall. They had a 9–7 record and won their first playoff berth in 11 years, but their first in a non-strike year in 21 years. The record also marked the first back-to-back winning season since the Packers 1967 season. During the regular season, the Packers finished with 340 points, ranking sixth in the National Football League, and allowed 282 points, ranking ninth. In his third year as a pro and second with the Packers, quarterback Brett Favre led the Packers offense, passing for 3,303 yards and 19 touchdowns. Favre, who played his first full season, was selected to his second of eleven Pro Bowl appearances.
The Snow Bowl was a National Football League (NFL) game played on December 1, 1985, between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Green Bay Packers. Contested at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin, it is well known for its poor weather conditions, including heavy snow before and during the game. Only 19,856 fans were in attendance, with over 36,000 fans not showing up, making it the least attended game in Lambeau Field history up to that point; about two-thirds of the stadium was empty. The entire storm dropped over 14 inches (36 cm) of snow, before, during and after the game. The game itself saw the Packers dominate the Buccaneers for a 21–0 victory. Despite four turnovers, the Packers offense gained 512 total yards on 31 first downs, with the Buccaneers recording only 65 yards on five first downs. Packers' wide receiver James Lofton received passes totaling over 100 yards from quarterback Lynn Dickey by halftime. Packers defensive end Alphonso Carreker sacked Buccaneers quarterback Steve Young a then-team record four times.
The 1919 Green Bay Packers season was their first season of competitive football. The team was formed by Curly Lambeau and George Whitney Calhoun with help from the Indian Packing Company. Lambeau served as team captain, the position closest related to the modern position of head coach, while Willard Ryan served as the official head coach. The club posted a 10–1 record against other teams in Wisconsin and Michigan.
The 1940 National Football League (NFL) All-Star Game was an exhibition contest that the NFL organized after the 1939 season. The game was played between the Green Bay Packers, the league's champion that season, and a team of All-Stars made up of players from the remaining NFL teams. The players on the All-Star team were selected by a national poll of fans. The game, which was delayed a week due to rain, was played on Sunday, January 14, 1940, at Gilmore Stadium in Los Angeles, California, in front of approximately 18,000 fans. The Packers defeated the All-Stars by a score of 16–7 on three field goals and a 92-yard touchdown pass from Cecil Isbell to Don Hutson. The all-star game format was continued for another three seasons before ending due to World War II. A new all-star format, branded as the Pro Bowl, began after the 1950 NFL season, with these all-star games retroactively considered the first Pro Bowls.
The Lions–Packers rivalry or Yooper Bowl is a National Football League (NFL) rivalry between the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers.
The 2014 Green Bay Packers season was the franchise's 96th season overall, the 94th in the National Football League (NFL), and the ninth under head coach Mike McCarthy. The team tied with four other teams for a league-best 12 wins and 4 losses, while also adding a fourth consecutive NFC North division title. The club went undefeated at home for the first time since 2011. They also led the league in scoring, with 486 points, then the second-most in franchise history. It marked the first time since the 2009 season that the team had a 4,000-yard passer, two 1,000-yard receivers, and a 1,000-yard rusher.
The Instant Replay Game, also known as the Asterisk Game, was a National Football League (NFL) game between the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears on November 5, 1989. The Packers defeated the visiting Bears 14–13 on a controversial fourth-down touchdown pass from Don Majkowski to Sterling Sharpe with less than a minute to play in the game. Line judge Jim Quirk initially called a penalty on the play for an illegal forward pass, thus nullifying the potentially game-winning score. Quirk's penalty was based on the belief that Majkowski had thrown the pass after the ball had passed the line of scrimmage.
The Packers–Seahawks rivalry is an American football rivalry between the Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks. The Packers entered the National Football League (NFL) in 1921 and saw significant periods of sustained success under Curly Lambeau in the 1930s and 1940s, as well as in the 1960s under Vince Lombardi. However, the Packers entered the 1970s in a sustained slump. They only made the playoffs once from 1968 to 1975. The Seahawks entered the NFL in 1976 as part of an agreement to expand the league after the AFL–NFL merger. The Packers and Seahawks played their first game during the 1976 NFL season, with the Packers winning 27–20 at Milwaukee County Stadium. During the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, the two teams only played each other intermittently, as they were in different conferences. However, this changed in 2002 when the Seahawks were moved from the American Football Conference (AFC) to the National Football Conference (NFC). Teams playing in the same conference compete against each other in the regular season at least every three years and may meet more often if they share common positions in their respective division or are paired in the playoffs.
Dez Caught It was a National Football League (NFL) Divisional Playoff game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Green Bay Packers on January 11, 2015. The game, which was played at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin, gained notoriety after a play in which Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant attempted to catch a pass from quarterback Tony Romo in the closing minutes of the 4th quarter. The pass was initially ruled a catch before controversially being overturned after officials determined Bryant did not complete the process of a catch while he was lunging towards the end zone. The Packers would get the ball on the turnover on downs and run out the clock. They won by a score of 26–21 and moved on to the NFC Championship Game, where they would lose to the Seattle Seahawks. In the following years, the NFL changed the rules regarding catching a pass while falling to the ground. The new rules would likely have given Bryant a completed catch, although what constitutes a catch has continued to be debated.
The 2003 NFC Wild Card playoff game was a National Football League (NFL) playoff game between the Seattle Seahawks and Green Bay Packers on January 4, 2004. The game, which was contested at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin, became notable after Seahawks' quarterback Matt Hasselbeck proclaimed "we want the ball and we're going to score!" when the Seahawks won the coin toss before the start of the overtime period. Hasselbeck's comment was picked up on the referee's microphone and was broadcast to the stadium and the television audiences. Hasselbeck subsequently threw an interception that was returned for a game-winning touchdown by Packers' cornerback Al Harris. The score was the first defensive touchdown to win an overtime playoff game in NFL history and has been ranked as one of the best plays in NFL history. The dramatic finish advanced the Packers to the Divisional Round of the playoffs where they lost to the Philadelphia Eagles in the 4th and 26 game.
The 2019 National Football Conference (NFC) Divisional playoff game was a National Football League (NFL) playoff game between the Seattle Seahawks and Green Bay Packers on January 12, 2020. The Packers finished the 2019 season with a record of 13–3 under first-year head coach Matt Lafleur. Their record, after tiebreakers were calculated, was good enough for the 2nd seed of the playoffs and a first-round bye. The Seahawks finished the season 11–5 and the fifth seed in the playoffs. The Seahawks beat the Philadelphia Eagles 17–9 in the Wild Card round to earn the right to play the Packers at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin, in the Divisional round. The Packers built a 21–3 lead going into halftime, however the Seahawks finished the game on a 20–7 scoring run. After their last touchdown, the Seahawks attempted a two-point conversion to try to close the deficit to three points but Marshawn Lynch was stopped short. Both teams exchanged punts before the Packers were able to run out the rest of the game clock for the victory. The Packers advanced to the NFC Championship Game where they lost 37–20 to the San Francisco 49ers. The game is an important part of the Packers–Seahawks rivalry.
The Snow Globe Game was a National Football League (NFL) Divisional playoff game between the Seattle Seahawks and Green Bay Packers on January 12, 2008. The game, which was contested at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin, ended in a Packers victory, sending them to the 2007 NFC Championship Game. The Packers mounted their largest comeback in playoff franchise history, overcoming a 14–0 deficit in the first quarter after running back Ryan Grant fumbled in two straight possessions, leading to two Seahawks touchdowns. The Packers scored touchdowns on six straight drives, while also holding the Seahawks to just six more points the rest of the game. Grant would go on to set a franchise record for rushing yards (201) in a playoff game, while also scoring three touchdowns. Brett Favre also threw three touchdown passes, while the Packers defense held the Seahawks to just 28 yards rushing as a team. During the game, a snowstorm caused poor visibility and difficult playing conditions for the players, leading to its nickname. The Packers would go on to lose to the eventual Super Bowl champion New York Giants in overtime in the NFC Championship Game, which ended up being the last game of Favre's career with the Packers.