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Living in wisonsin, Im constantly bombarded with cheesehead stories on the local news and radio shows. Finally they had a story that actually got my attention. They brought Randy in to give the team a motivational speech, pretty cool, check it out.
Couture has inspiring message for Pack
With Brett Favre astounding the masses once again — perhaps better than ever before — the sports world has a reason to put him on a pedestal. To say he's America's football idol would be quite the understatement.
But who in the sports world does Favre idolize? Who in his world does this Green Bay icon look up to? In a story that is far from the beaten path, Favre and head coach Mike McCarthy actually had the QB's sports idol fly into Green Bay to give the team their pregame speech in their first game after losing to the Cowboys.
The mystery guest speaker isn't exactly who you'd think Favre would get all giddy about.
The Packers brought in the Ultimate Fighting Championship's legendary heavyweight champion of the world, Randy "The Natural" Couture, to address the team Saturday night and stoke the flames as Green Bay prepared for the Raiders.
"It was unbelievable," head coach Mike McCarthy told FOX Sports after listening to the special guest speaker. "I don't think I've ever been around a guy that impressive before in my life. He's pretty much the baddest guy walking the country, but he's one of the most humble guys I think I've ever been around.
"You had to see the guys' reaction when he walked into that room."
McCarthy set up the surprise speaker perfectly. He talked to the team about fighting through adversity and what it's like to battle through together before rolling in a highlight film of America's most beloved mixed martial artist. The players whooped it up as Couture slammed, choked, punched and elbowed victim after victim.
"Then after the tape ended, all the sudden Randy walked into the room... you could hear a pin drop," said McCarthy. "They were shocked. I think it took a few seconds to sink in that the guy was in the room."
"It was a really cool experience for me," Couture said Sunday morning before heading to Lambeau Field. "I talked to the guys about not taking a loss too hard. When you face Dallas again and beat them in the NFC Championship game, nobody will remember that loss. Put it behind you and don't make it harder on yourselves.
"I also talked about the mental aspect of fighting because I use a lot of the same mental principles those guys bring on the field. I talked about visualization skills, the skills I use for all of my fights."
The highlight of the talk came when young, brash defensive back Frank Walker got up and said there was a linebacker in the room named Brady Poppinga who was much bigger than him and stronger than him and continually picking on him. Was there anyway Couture could knock him around a bit?
The room exploded in laughter.
"Hilarious," said McCarthy. "Only Frank Walker. Classic."
After Couture's speech he took questions from the players and Favre's idol continued his performance.
"The best question that was probably asked was when one of our guys wanted to know if he fights angry. Does he walk into that cage with anger?" said McCarthy. "He said never. It's a job, it's a competition, but you can't let anger play a part in your game plan.
"He really captured and reinforced the exact attitude I've been trying to preach here for a while. The attitude our guys have taken on this year. To hear it from me is one thing but to hear it from a guy like Randy is totally different."
The Packers had Couture on their sideline in a 38-7 win over the Raiders.
The entire affair came about after Couture battered Gabriel Gonzaga this summer, his last fight before announcing his resignation from the UFC. After his inspirational dominance — with a broken arm — over a guy who was heavily favored, McCarthy called a not-so-handsome NFL Insider friendly with Couture asking if there was any way to make it happen. The kicker was the fact that the day after the fight Favre too asked McCarthy if he had seen the fight and revealed to McCarthy that he was a huge Couture fan.
Said NFL Insider placed a call and Couture, who was about to leave the country to film a movie in Africa, immediately accepted. He couldn't have been more appreciative. It's ironic that the visit came after the team suffered its second loss of the year. Couture actually was set to stay four days with the Packers and on Saturday had lunch with America's favorite QB.
"It was nice sitting down with Brett because he's so much of a down to Earth guy," said Couture. "I've never done something like this before. The whole thing has been great."
Even better for Favre.
Couture has inspiring message for Pack
With Brett Favre astounding the masses once again — perhaps better than ever before — the sports world has a reason to put him on a pedestal. To say he's America's football idol would be quite the understatement.
But who in the sports world does Favre idolize? Who in his world does this Green Bay icon look up to? In a story that is far from the beaten path, Favre and head coach Mike McCarthy actually had the QB's sports idol fly into Green Bay to give the team their pregame speech in their first game after losing to the Cowboys.
The mystery guest speaker isn't exactly who you'd think Favre would get all giddy about.
The Packers brought in the Ultimate Fighting Championship's legendary heavyweight champion of the world, Randy "The Natural" Couture, to address the team Saturday night and stoke the flames as Green Bay prepared for the Raiders.
"It was unbelievable," head coach Mike McCarthy told FOX Sports after listening to the special guest speaker. "I don't think I've ever been around a guy that impressive before in my life. He's pretty much the baddest guy walking the country, but he's one of the most humble guys I think I've ever been around.
"You had to see the guys' reaction when he walked into that room."
McCarthy set up the surprise speaker perfectly. He talked to the team about fighting through adversity and what it's like to battle through together before rolling in a highlight film of America's most beloved mixed martial artist. The players whooped it up as Couture slammed, choked, punched and elbowed victim after victim.
"Then after the tape ended, all the sudden Randy walked into the room... you could hear a pin drop," said McCarthy. "They were shocked. I think it took a few seconds to sink in that the guy was in the room."
"It was a really cool experience for me," Couture said Sunday morning before heading to Lambeau Field. "I talked to the guys about not taking a loss too hard. When you face Dallas again and beat them in the NFC Championship game, nobody will remember that loss. Put it behind you and don't make it harder on yourselves.
"I also talked about the mental aspect of fighting because I use a lot of the same mental principles those guys bring on the field. I talked about visualization skills, the skills I use for all of my fights."
The highlight of the talk came when young, brash defensive back Frank Walker got up and said there was a linebacker in the room named Brady Poppinga who was much bigger than him and stronger than him and continually picking on him. Was there anyway Couture could knock him around a bit?
The room exploded in laughter.
"Hilarious," said McCarthy. "Only Frank Walker. Classic."
After Couture's speech he took questions from the players and Favre's idol continued his performance.
"The best question that was probably asked was when one of our guys wanted to know if he fights angry. Does he walk into that cage with anger?" said McCarthy. "He said never. It's a job, it's a competition, but you can't let anger play a part in your game plan.
"He really captured and reinforced the exact attitude I've been trying to preach here for a while. The attitude our guys have taken on this year. To hear it from me is one thing but to hear it from a guy like Randy is totally different."
The Packers had Couture on their sideline in a 38-7 win over the Raiders.
The entire affair came about after Couture battered Gabriel Gonzaga this summer, his last fight before announcing his resignation from the UFC. After his inspirational dominance — with a broken arm — over a guy who was heavily favored, McCarthy called a not-so-handsome NFL Insider friendly with Couture asking if there was any way to make it happen. The kicker was the fact that the day after the fight Favre too asked McCarthy if he had seen the fight and revealed to McCarthy that he was a huge Couture fan.
Said NFL Insider placed a call and Couture, who was about to leave the country to film a movie in Africa, immediately accepted. He couldn't have been more appreciative. It's ironic that the visit came after the team suffered its second loss of the year. Couture actually was set to stay four days with the Packers and on Saturday had lunch with America's favorite QB.
"It was nice sitting down with Brett because he's so much of a down to Earth guy," said Couture. "I've never done something like this before. The whole thing has been great."
Even better for Favre.
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