Green Bay Packers induct Jordy Nelson, Josh Sitton to Hall of Fame
Jordy Nelson and Josh Sitton officially took their places alongside other Green Bay greats Thursday night when the Packers inducted them into the Hall of Fame.
Coincidentally, Nelson, the receiver, and Sitton, the offensive guard, arrived in Green Bay in the same year. The Packers selected Nelson in the second round of the 2008 NFL Draft. Sitton heard his name two rounds later. Together, the two helped the Packers win a Super Bowl and passionately devoted much of their careers to the fans at Lambeau Field.
“It makes it extra special to be in the same draft class, to win the Super Bowl together,” Nelson said Thursday in a pre-induction press conference. “We were lucky enough to go to the Pro Bowl together and be inducted into the Hall of Fame together.”
The Packers announced that Nelson and Sitton would go into the Hall of Fame last November. The actual induction was Thursday night. The day Sitton found out he was headed to the Hall that he texted one of his coaches.
The coach messaged back ‘Dude, that’s not like Detroit Lions Hall of Fame, that’s the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame,'” Sitton said. “You get done, you start thinking about all of the people that touched your life to help you along the way. So many people that had a hand in my success.”
Sitton added: “Everything is all about football in Green Bay, from the fans to the organization to the players, it’s everybody. That winning culture is within everybody, and you can tell the difference the second you walked in another place. The expectation is to win championships in Green Bay, from the 5-year-old fan to the president to the coach to the new guy on the team. That was the biggest difference I felt when I went elsewhere.”
Jordy Nelson, Josh Sitton shared favorite memories
Nelson moved back to Kansas when he retired from the NFL. He said his favorite memory always will be the touchdown he caught in the Super Bowl. There’s a story behind it. During the 2010 season, Nelson said he missed a hand signal from Aaron Rodgers. He ran a comeback route, although Rodgers thought he was going long. The result was an incompletion by about 40 yards.
But the play worked in the Super Bowl. That’s because Nelson saw Rodgers tap his helmet.
“I claim (the hand signal) was never taught, he claims different,” Nelson told reporters. “Fortunately, I screwed up in the regular season. The same signal came up in the Super Bowl. He tapped his head. You can see it on film. We got it right. For me, it’s not only the touchdown, but a little bit of the story behind it.”
Nelson caught 550 passes for the Packers and scored 72 touchdowns. Those numbers rank fourth and third in team history.
Sitton said he ‘hung his hat’ on always playing
Meanwhile, Sitton always, always played. The guard started 112 regular season games and another 13 in the post season with the Packers. He made the Pro Bowl three times.
“For whatever reason, I really hung my hat on that. I wanted to be out there on the field of play and if I couldn’t I was extremely disappointed,” Sitton told reporters. “I took pride in being able to gut through things. (And) I thought that even if I was out there at 80%, that was probably pretty good.”