Willie Davis - Closing the Gap: Lombardi, the Packers Dynasty, and the Pursuit of Excellence

This book is dedicated to my two mentors, Coach Eddie Robinson, who helped shape everything Ive done in my life, and Coach Vince Lombardi, who still pushes me toward excellence each and every day

Contents

Commitment to Excellence by Vince Lombardi

I owe most everything to football in which I have spent the greater part of my life. And I have never lost my respect, my admiration, or my love for what I consider a great game. And each Sunday, after the battle, one group savors victory; another group lives in the bitterness of defeat. The many hurts seem a small price to have paid for having won, and there is no reason at all that is adequate for having lost. To the winner, there is one hundred percent elation, one hundred percent laughter, and one hundred percent fun; and to the loser the only thing left for him is a one hundred percent resolution, one hundred percent determination.

And its a game, I think, a great deal like life in that it demands that a man or womans personal commitment be toward excellence and be toward victory, even though you know that ultimate victory can never be completely won. Yet it must be pursued with all of ones might. And each week theres a new encounter, each year a new challenge. But all of the rings and all of the money and all of the color and all of the display, they linger only in the memory.

The spirit, the will to win, and the will to excel, these are the things that endure and these are the qualities that are so much more important than any of the events that occasion them. And Id like to say that the quality of any mans life has got to be a full measure of that mans personal commitment to excellence and to victory, regardless of what field he may be in.

Vince Lombardi

Foreword by Bart Starr

There are certain qualities that I believe make up a leader. Both on and off the football field, Willie Davis has shown that he possesses all of them, and that is why hes always been an inspiration.

Commitment. This is especially important if you played for Coach Lombardi. When Willie and I played, one thing I always noticed was his quality of work, the absolute and total commitment to his job from the time he walked on the field to the moment he left. That wasnt something he saved just for the games. Willie was always one of the most committed and hardest-working players at practice, as well. Its one thing to commit to the game. Its something else altogether, a true demonstration of a persons quality and commitment, when they give that same effort in practice, in meetings, or in any other part of the game. Willie was always committed.

Preparation. Willie was someone you could ask to do anything because you knew this man had come prepared. You could see it growing in practice as the week went on. He would focus on the game plan, the drills, the strengths and weaknesses of our opponent, how he wanted to play against them. You would see the result of this preparation come game time. I firmly believe this mans performance on the field was a result of his approach to practice during the week.

Discipline. I was raised in a military family and was always thankful for the valuable lessons I learned from that upbringing, especially when it came to discipline. When you have discipline, you can control and do anything. Discipline is an almost immeasurable quality that will get you where you want to go. Willie took his work seriously, both as a football player and later on in his many business ventures. That discipline has led him to unbelievable success. Anything Willie does, hes successful, and discipline is a key factor.

Toughness. There were few players in the league who were as tough as Willie. He was at his best in games in which we struggled. When it was tough, he rose to the top and took our defensive people right along with him. It was a rewarding experience. I loved watching him set the pace. It was also reassuring for the offense. We could always trust our defense would get the job done. Willie made sure of that. He made everyone who worked with him raise their level of expectancy and performance.

Drive. At my first meeting with Coach Lombardi addressing the team, he told us that we were going to relentlessly chase perfection, knowing full well we would never catch it because nothing is perfect. But in the process, he said, we will catch excellence. It was that speech that made me realize we were going to winbefore we even stepped on the field with him as our coach, I knew we were going to win. We would hear that message throughout his entire time as our coach. It was a special kind of drive that Coach Lombardi felt and noticed in his players. He was not one to point out individuals very often, so if you were acknowledged for good play, it was a big deal. One thing Coach would notice was driveand he would remind us quite often what a pleasure it was to work with people like Willie Davis.

Humility. Despite all of his success both on and off the field, Willie has been the same great guy. Hes been very humble, looking at hard work and success as a responsibility rather than a privilege. Thats something Ive always respected. He also credited those who worked with him. I think of Dave Robinson, our linebacker who was overlooked too much. Willie made sure everyone knew what an outstanding linebacker Dave was and how much he contributed. Willie was always there to inspire the other players.

Attitude. Next to God , I think attitude is the strongest word in our vocabulary. You can tell almost everything about a person based on attitude. You will see it reflected in how they go about doing things, how they carry themselves, how they treat others, how they approach their work. Willie has always had a great attitude, and its constantly on display. You could see it in how he played, how hes worked, how hes lived.

You take all of these qualities and its no wonder Willie has experienced so much success. Throughout this book, Willie talks about some of these same qualities with a unique perspective on how he developed them and how they helped him succeed. Im excited that he finally decided to share his story. Anyone reading it will get more than just a sports storyit is a true success story. Others can apply some of these qualities to their own lives to become leaders in whatever they do.

I had the privilege of playing with our defensive captain, a remarkable man who knows better than most what it means to be a leader.

Bart Starr

Preface by Jerry Kramer

I didnt really get to know Willie Davis in his first year or two. To be truthful, our relationship was not active. I had my group of guys on offense that I hung around with, and he was a quiet guy who stayed to himself or hung with the defensive players. For as good of friends as we are now, we didnt have much of a relationship for those first few years.

However, I did quickly develop respect for Willie, mainly because I saw how hard he worked. I saw a lot of similarities between Willie and me in terms of ability and motivation. I think I recognized that Willie, like myself, was adjusting to life in professional football. We were both coming from completely different worlds, but we shared the same goals and challenges of earning both our place on the team and the respect of the coaches and our fellow teammates. And we were both going about it in similar ways by working as hard as we possibly could. Success was critically important for both of us, and I recognized that in Willie.

The first time Willie and I spent any time talking about anything other than a football game was a couple years into our careers while we were