| Exhibition Review | The Journal of American History, 93.3

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| Exhibition Review | The Journal of American History, 93.3 | The History Cooperative

Exhibition Reviews

Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame, 1265 Lombardi Ave., Green Bay, WI 54304.

Permanent exhibition, opened Sept. 2003. Daily 9–6, closed Thanksgiving Day; 8:30–4 Christmas Eve; 8:30–6 New Year's Eve. Call ahead on game days. Adults $10, children 6–11 $5, children under 6 free, senior citizens $8, group rates available. 25,000 sq. ft. Jack Rouse Associates, design.

The Road to Glory (video); 12 mins.

Internet: description of Hall of Fame and Lambeau Field, virtual tour, list of inductees, videos, online store, http://www.packers.com/hall_of_fame/.

The Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame is located inside the newly renovated Lambeau Field atrium. After paying admission, visitors watch The Road to Glory, a 12-minute video highlighting the history of "the most fabled franchise" in football history. As the video makes immediately clear, this is a shrine for Packers fans; anyone looking for a sober analysis of football history can clearly look elsewhere! Within this celebratory context, however, the Hall of Fame is a surprising amount of fun. On a deeper level, it raises (perhaps unintentionally) some interesting questions about the meaning of sport and America's obsession with winning.

The Hall of Fame is a quality operation. It gorgeously displays hundreds of Packers artifacts, incorporates dozens of high-tech touch-screen kiosks, well-made videos, huge photos, and hands-on activities to tell the story of the team's on-field triumphs from 1919 ("Winners from the Start") to the present. The exhibits are visually engaging and perfectly targeted to Packers fans. The Hall uses a combination of chronological and thematic approaches to tell the team's story. From the Packers' first game through the end of the 2003 season, visitors can learn about specific plays, watch player interviews, and see artifacts used by famous players. Each decade from 1920 to 2000 has several label panels and videos that concisely sum up the highlights. Every label also includes a "year in review," which attempts to tie football to larger world events. For example, the label for the Packers 14–13 victory over the Chicago Bears in 1989 mentions that George Herbert Walker Bush was president, Soviet troops withdrew from Afghanistan, and the Exxon Valdez ran aground. Although simplistic, these labels do represent an effort to place sports in a larger context.

This exhibit highlights Green Bay Packers' victories and allows visitors to stand among life-size players and listen to Bart Starr take the final snap during the Packers' thrilling win over the Dallas Cowboys in the "Ice Bowl" on December 31, 1967. Photo by Trevor Jones. Courtesy Trevor Jones.

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