Brett Swain Helped Keep A 50 Year Tradition Alive For The Packers
by Brandon on Aug 31, 2011 1:00 PM CDT
in Green Bay Packers Training Camp
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PrintThe Green Bay Packers released Brett Swain on Sunday. He wasn't just a backup wide receiver. He is a class act too. He made a graceful exit on Twitter, and he was featured in an AP story on the team's tradition of having players ride children's bicycles to and from practice. From the Washington Post:
With dozens of kids screaming, "Here! Here! Here!," carrying signs and calling to Green Bay Packers players, 9-year-old Elyse Ark doesn’t do anything fancy to get wide receiver Brett Swain’s attention. He first saw her standing quietly with her hand raised in 2008 and they’ve been riding bicycles together ever since...
Those three years created a special bond. Swain and his wife, Mary, have been to Ark’s house for dinner and Mary Swain even asked Ark to accompany her to a Packers game. Ark created a bright green sign with Swain’s name, jersey No. 16 and photos of him.
I spoke with Swain while I was in Dallas for the Super Bowl, and he seemed to be very patient and soft spoken as he tolerated my random questions. Best of luck to him in his future endeavors.
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Aw, I feel bad for the little girl now. Her buddy got cut. I’m sure she’s upset. I never thought about the bike riding thing from that angle before. I wonder if players do anything to talk to those kids or whatever. …poor kid. :^)
…ah well. I guess there’s bigger things than this for me to worry about. I’m sure the girl’s parents will explain the business side of football to her. …or maybe just tell her that he’s gone to a really nice farm out in the country.
I'm sure the timing may make this one easier to explain
“you see honey, he came here to win a superbowl with us, we won the superbowl, and now he’s going to a new job”
"IF CARDS CAN SIGN SUPPAN THEY CAN GIVE ME A HOME"
by Buddhasillegitimatechild38 on Aug 31, 2011 3:18 PM CDT via mobile up reply actions
Haha.
Right, good thinking.
“Honey, you see, there’s another child who cheers for a different team that needs him now. We can’t keep him away from helping them, now can we? How would you have felt if somebody had kept him from coming here? …bad, right?”
(sniffle) “Yeah, I guess.”
“So it’s good that he’s going to help them win, right?”
(sniffle) “…yeah, I suppose.”
by Curly Lambeau on Aug 31, 2011 10:08 PM CDT up reply actions
Honey, he was the 7th best WR at best. It would be ludicrous to keep him, especially when there’s UDFAs above him on the depth chart that will be much less of a salary cap hit.
(sniffle) Huh?
Put it this way sweetheart…you like the Packers, right?
(sniffle) Yeah.
Well, this makes them better. So, isn’t that nice?
(sniffle) …yeah, I suppose.
13.
Grossman: Sup, you insulin needing bitch! The sex cannon has arrived! Now get the hell out of my locker room, you chinless mother fucker!
by Wiedmann on Aug 31, 2011 10:19 PM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
Best wishes Brett
Nice story! It showcases the class that many Packer players possess. It’s also a tribute to the organization as a whole and their commitment to being fan friendly. IMHO, Packer fans are among the most knowledgeable and devoted fans in all of sports. It’s refreshing to see players reach back and say thank you. One little girl has a memory for a lifetime and it makes me feel pretty good to be a fan right now too. Brett Swain has been part of “the family” for awhile now and I wish him the best.
by Ratz on Aug 31, 2011 3:41 PM CDT reply actions 4 recs
If he caught that SB 3rd down pass, he'd have a job already
Still not with the Packers, but his fate was sealed when the packers decided to draft Cobb. He is a good player, and he’ll be productive somewhere. He’s tall with decent hands. He’ll make a 3rd string WR somewhere. I wish him the best of luck, as long as he’s not playing against the packers.
I Feel for her...
I was one of those kids back in the late 70’s. I never had a regular player to ride my bike tho. I alwasys had other things to do, play baseball, basketball or football. But my friends and I would show up once a week or so to watch and let a player ride our bikes. SOunds like she really got close to Swain. Hope he keeps in contact w/ her, that would really be nice. I’m sure she’ll find another player to ride her bike next year, maybe already has, but I’m sure she’ll always have a special relationship w/ Swain.
You've been Stroh'd™!!!
Hate to see him go
as he always seemed to hustle on special teams…good luck Brett!
Can we call him Bert yet?
13.
Grossman: Sup, you insulin needing bitch! The sex cannon has arrived! Now get the hell out of my locker room, you chinless mother fucker!
by Wiedmann on Aug 31, 2011 7:16 PM CDT reply actions 1 recs
Awesome story
I guess the only good thing about this is that if we’re going to get rid of a class act like that who wasn’t terrible on the field… we must really like what we have in our rookie WRs. Which is never a bad thing to hear
REPORTER: What do you think is happening to the team?
MICHAEL RAY RICHARDSON: The ship be sinking.
REPORTER: How far can it sink?
MICHAEL RAY RICHARDSON: Sky's the limit.
Its the Packer Way...
We keep players with questionable social habits, and police and legal issues who are not better than him. Good kid, good player, too many WRs – gosh, I hope he gets picked up by somebody.
HUH?!?
Its the Packer Way…
We keep players with questionable social habits, and police and legal issues
Did you forget your sarcasm font, there?
"Perfection is not attainable,
but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence."
"It's a great day to be great, baby!"
The Munsters of the Midway still suck!
by NorthStarr on Aug 31, 2011 9:46 PM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
Brandon Underwood?
13.
Grossman: Sup, you insulin needing bitch! The sex cannon has arrived! Now get the hell out of my locker room, you chinless mother fucker!
Then that statement is like saying water is wet.
The Packers do a much better job than the rest of the NFL.
Underwood doesn't make it
the Packer Way
"Perfection is not attainable,
but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence."
"It's a great day to be great, baby!"
The Munsters of the Midway still suck!
Yeah, but he won't make it based on performance
He was on the team for a while after his legal trouble. I am in no way saying that the Packers are like the Bengals or Raiders in the sense that we harbor criminals, but we aren’t immune to players with some legal problems.
13.
Grossman: Sup, you insulin needing bitch! The sex cannon has arrived! Now get the hell out of my locker room, you chinless mother fucker!
NO team is.
"Perfection is not attainable,
but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence."
"It's a great day to be great, baby!"
The Munsters of the Midway still suck!
I never said otherwise
13.
Grossman: Sup, you insulin needing bitch! The sex cannon has arrived! Now get the hell out of my locker room, you chinless mother fucker!
In Every Climb and Place....
by PhoenicianPakFan on Aug 31, 2011 11:14 PM CDT up reply actions 3 recs
Rec'd!
"Perfection is not attainable,
but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence."
"It's a great day to be great, baby!"
The Munsters of the Midway still suck!
.
"Perfection is not attainable,
but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence."
"It's a great day to be great, baby!"
The Munsters of the Midway still suck!
Brett Swain
Pro football—and Life in general—need more quality human beings like Brett Swain. I wish him only the best in his future endeavors, on and off the football field.
RBRC
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